Cultural Identity In Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony

Cultural identity is the sense of belonging to a group of people. Culture connects a person with their own heritage and ties in traditions and beliefs. However, finding a community to be accepted by is problematic when not harmonious with heritage. Trials and hardships allow people to learn from their past. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel Ceremony, Tayo is seen as a disgrace due to his biracial background and has no sense of belonging or identity. In order to fight his inner demons and grow individually, he goes on a journey back to his ancestors’ land to find his past. Ceremony emphasizes the importance of culture and community. Irrational fears of alienation and separation lead to Tayo’s self-loathing which only worsens when he serves in World

Before his journey, he is introduced to Old Ku’oosh, the Laguna medicine man who represents very traditional ideals and morals to ceremonies. Old Ku’oosh is described as man who uses an “old dialect” and “repeat[s]” older phrases that even Tayo “never heard” of (31). The medicine man shows Tayo conventional means of Native American culture. Alternatively, since the older, traditional ways do not aid in Tayo’s rehabilitation, he will have to invent a new ceremony from what he learns along his journey. Old Ku’oosh introduces Tayo to another medicine man, Betonie, who modernly represents Native American culture without losing its traditional roots. Instead of the “weeds and dust” Ku’oosh promoted, Betonie had mixed medicines (31). Tayo commends Betonie on his “good English,” and “comfort of belonging with the land” which is all Tayo wishes to gain (108). Betonie expresses his modernized concepts to show Tayo that Native American cultures and tribes are all different, yet share a similar, deeper meaning. His unorthodox take on Native American culture and ceremonies opens Tayo to find his own individual ceremony consisting of reconciliation and healing. Tayo realizes the importance of preserving tradition in his society and although both medicine men have contrasting ideologies on how they perform their ceremonies, both keep the Native American traditions alive. Tayo learns from the medicine men that he must deal with trials and hardship in order to fully heal. Following the cessation of his ceremony, Tayo recovers a peaceful mindset and is no longer troubled by his horrific troubling, grim war memories. Tayo’s understanding of his Native American culture strengthens his well-being and allows to move on from his dreadful