Main Timeline

• C. 1922: Tayo is born.
• 1941: Tayo and Rocky enlist and are sent overseas. Harley, Emo, and Leroy are at Wake Island. Josiah dies on the pueblo. Tayo and Rocky are taken prisoner
• April–May 1942: Rocky is wounded, and dies on Bataan Death March; Tayo curses the rain and the flies, and ends up in a POW camp. Drought begins in New Mexico
• July 16, 1945: Trinity Site Test in New Mexico, first atomic bomb test.
• 1945–1948: Tayo is in veterans hospital mental ward; Tayo is sent home and begins adventures in Dixie bar with Harley, Leroy, Pinkie and Emo.
• May 1948: Tayo is lying in bed, sick at his Auntie's house. Harley arrives on a burro and convinces him to go and get a beer. Ceremony with Ku'oosh fails.
• Late July 1948: Tayo says he is better, but the old men believe that he needs a stronger ceremony, so they refer him to Betonie. Tayo leaves for a while and meets Harley, Leroy and Helen Jean, who go as far away as San Fidel. He wakes up in the morning and vomits, and finally sees the horrible truth about his friends' drunkenness.
• Late September 1948: Tayo goes to Mt. Taylor on his ceremony, trying to retrieve the spotted cattle. He meets Ts'eh, sleeps with her, cuts the fence and retrieves the cattle from the white rancher, meets the hunter, and brings the cattle home.
• Winter 1948–1949 Tayo lives with Auntie, Grandma, and Robert before going back to the ranch to look after the cattle
• Summer 1949: Tayo meets Ts'eh, they pick flowers and herbs, Tayo gets a yellow bull to breed with his cattle, and Ts'eh warns him that "they" will be coming for him at the end of the summer.
• Late September 1949: During the fall equinox, Tayo gets drunk with Harley and Leroy before coming to his senses and disabling their truck. He and Emo have their final confrontation near Jackpile Uranium mine and Trinity Site, and opts not to stab Emo with the screwdriver, letting him kill Harley and Leroy. The next day, Tayo tells Ku'oosh and the elders in a kiva at old Laguna everything that he has seen.

Mythical Timeline

• Creation: Ts'its'tsi'nako (Thought Woman or Spider Woman) and her daughter/sisters Nau'ts'ity'i (Corn Woman) and I'cts'ity'i (Reed Woman) set life in motion
• Recovery/Transformation: The Keresan prayer for sunrise (Keres is a Native American language, spoken by the Keres Pueblo people in New Mexico)
• Departure: Corn Woman scolds Reed Woman for being lazy, and she departs; Drought begins
• Departure and Recovery: Pa'caya'nyi introduces Ck'o'yo medicine, and the People forget their obligation to Nau'ts'ity'i

Storytelling

In Ceremony, there are no conventional chapters and a part of the novel is written in prose, whereas other parts are written in a poetic form. The novel weaves together a number of different timelines and stories throughout. Apart from the function of storytelling words are very important for the Laguna oral tradition. The responsibility of humans is to tell stories, because words do not exist alone, they need a story. (229).^[1] Betonie and Tayo's grandmother tell various stories and therefore fulfill this responsibility. The significance and the power of words are emphasized by Tayo cursing the rain with words and by the following appearance of the drought (230).^[1]  Based on the Spiderwoman one can also see how powerful words and thoughts are. The Spiderwoman is a mystical creature who set the world and whatever she says or thinks appears (Preface).^[2] When she vocalizes her thoughts and by doing so names things, they become reality (230).^[1] Through storytelling myths are handed down and they teach the history of the Laguna people and how they live (71).^[3] They also connect the past with the present (71),^[3] because myths are old and when they are being told, they become a part of the present.

Ceremony and healing

The purpose of ceremonies is the transformation of someone from one condition to another (71) ^[3] as in Tayo's case the transformation from diseased to healing. Ceremonies are ritual enactments of myths (71) ^[3] which incorporate the art of storytelling and the myths and rituals of the Native Americans (70).^[3] They are important for Tayo's identity construction as one can see through his mental development after his experience with Betonie and the ceremony (144).^[3]

In the novel “healing” means the recovery of the self and the return to the roots (45)^[4] and one important part of the process of healing is rejecting witchery (54).^[4] Tayo is stuck in between multiple worlds, between Laguna culture and white culture, and between witchery which is seen as a force opposite to creativity.^[5] Tayo rejects witchery when he refuses to drink alcohol his friends offer him (144).^[6] He does not only refuse to drink alcohol, he also distances himself from his old friends and a life full of violence. The search for the Laguna culture and its rituals also helps him to deal with turning away from witchery (54).^[7] He respects the rituals of his culture by being open for the ceremonies which is another important aspect for his healing (54).^[4] Tayo is being taught spirituality by Betonie, this way he internalizes the Laguna culture (133).^[8] It is important that the Laguna community, e.g. his aunt, who tells Tayo to go to Betonie, helps Tayo with his healing, because that way Tayo can overcome the alienation he feels caused by him being half-breed. Betonie also helps Tayo to recover through ceremonies which relates Tayo's American identity to his Laguna identity and therefore combines his past with his present (150).^[8] The fact that Tayo learns more about and experiences ceremonies is another important aspect which leads him to healing, because he learns about his culture.

The appreciation of the Laguna culture is essential for his healing. He still needs a spiritual ceremony after the white man's medicine, which indicates that he needs to experience his old and his new culture (53).^[4] When Tayo covers the deer's dead body at the deer-hunting, which is a gesture performed out of respect, he shows that he initiated Laguna myths, because Laguna mythology connects all living creatures (48).^[4] Through his connection with his lover Ts'eh, Tayo is able to move forward in his healing, not only in body, but also in his spirit as he connects to the divine feminine within himself.^[9] After all of these experiences Tayo's dreams no longer haunt him, because he learns to deal with his past and he is able to link the American to the Laguna culture (151).^[8] The cattle function as spirit guides, which leads him to healing (374),^[10] because through them he learns to forgive himself for the drought (376).^[10]

Throughout the novel Silko delves into the complexities of being caught between multiple world views and cultures.^[11] She focuses on the importance of blending the cultures, showing how Tayo can only regain health when he chooses how to identify, and by creating his own world that bridges the gap.^[12] Through Ceremony Silko invites the reader to take a look at the witchery within everyone, and points out the steps one can take to create healing and wholeness.^[13]

Native/Ethnic identity

The identity of the protagonist Tayo is influenced by his ethnicity. Tayo is described as “half-breed” because, in contrast to his mother, who is a Native American woman, his father is white and does not belong to the Laguna community. His father left the family and Tayo and his mother were supported by his aunt and her husband. The Laguna community in which he has grown up segregates him and he experiences despair for not being fully Native American (71).^[3] That he is not trained or educated in the Laguna way of life supports this fact (71).^[3] Therefore, Tayo struggles between white and Native American culture and he feels like not belonging to any culture at all. The Laguna people believe that every place, object, landscape or animal relates to stories of their ancestors (2).^[8] To develop this cultural identity it is important to take care of the land and the animals. By taking care of the cattle Tayo begins to take a more active and creative role in relations to nature and to his people which supports development of his cultural identity (248).^[14] On top of that the cattle function as a symbol for being alienated and different, because they are a mix of different breeds, as well. This is described as positive because the “half-breed” cattle are, like Tayo, strong, robust, and can survive hard times. Therefore, they can be seen as a leitmotif for surviving (367).^[10]

Moreover, the city of Gallup represents the struggle of American and Native identity. As being a former Native American city, which was built on Native American territory, Gallup changed into a city that relies on the “Indian” tourism industry. The white Americans suppress the real presence of Native Americans and push them to the borders of the city (491).^[15] The Native Americans who lived in the city of Gallup and felt related to the land were pushed back to a specific zoning place under the bridge to divide them from the white civilization (265).^[15] They use the former image of the city to attract tourists and make profit. Now only ethnically mixed outcasts live there (265).^[15] As Tayo states: “I saw Navajos in torn jackets, standing outside the bar. There were Zunis and Hopis there, too, even a few Lagunas.” (98).^[16]

Military service and trauma

Serving in the war as an American soldier also enhances Tayo's identity struggle. When he was in the war, he represented the United States, but by returning to his hometown he feels invisible as an American and drifts in time and space (132).^[8] By laying down the uniform of an American soldier, Tayo, and also the other Native American veterans, are not recognized as Americans anymore. This is underlined by the funeral of Tayo's friends Harley and Leroy. Tayo and his friends struggle to shape their identity between two different sorts of signifying realms, one the "official" American identity (signified by the flag) and the other, that of the erased Native American (signified by the corpse) ( 490).^[15] Furthermore, he has a trauma from war and feels responsible for the death of his cousin Rocky. This trauma often keep him from sleeping long, if at all, with memories from his time in the war and time spent with Rocky coming to haunt him.

The physical effect of Tayo's traumatic experiences manifests itself as intense nausea and vomiting, which native literary critic Jude Todd sees as directly related to Pueblo mythology that stories are held in the belly, thus by vomiting, Tayo is purging himself of the oppressive lies told to him over the course of his life.^[17] While it is only through the completion of native healing ceremony laid out by Old Betonie, as pointed out by critic Susan Blumenthal, that Tayo is able to overcome both the trauma of war and the trauma of colonization.^[18]

Tayo's personal trauma accrued in the war has been identified by several literary critics as being analogous to the collective trauma suffered by indigenous people affected by internalized colonialism.^[19][20][21] Literary critic Joanne Freed suggests that the use of traumatic experience is central to the power of the narrative as it allows non-native readers to better identify with the native protagonist by effectively sharing Tayo's war trauma, thereby opening up the reader to the experienced by Tayo as an indigenous person.^[21]

Throughout the book, Tayo deals with various forms of trauma caused by his military service. Used as a literary device, this trauma allows readers to have a closer look at the violence and cruelty of history. Silko uses trauma and prejudice to tell her story, and it brings a lot of the ugliness of humanity to light. Tayo's trauma also serves as a story telling medium. The reader learns about his past through these flashes of memory, and it allows for a deeper experience within the story. Tayo's trauma manifests in visual reproductions, causing him to relive the same horrible experiences over and over again. Upon his return home, Tayo reacts to his survivor's guilt, as many have before him, through alcohol use. The white doctors can't help him, and the Natives can't either until he meets Betonie. This healer helps Tayo get through his dark thoughts and even turns it around so that Tayo plans to become a native healer as well.^[22]

Hybridity

A major theme of Ceremony focuses on the struggles that stem from the mixed-race heritage of Tayo. Tayo is a half-white half-Pueblo Laguna Native American man who grapples with his identity after he returns home from WWII. As he comes to terms with tragic events he faced during the war, he must also navigate his assimilation back into society as a Native American man.^[23] Hybridity is also encountered in the landscapes of the novel. After serving in the tropical wet Philippine Islands during the war, Tayo returns home to find the Pueblo people in a drought. Tayo had cursed the rain as a soldier, but returns to find his home in need of it.^[24] Other themes involving hybridity include the loss of land and a forced assimilation into society. Tayo and his family must interact with the land in ways that are forced on them by a history of colonization while trying to maintaining their cultural traditions.^[25]

Hybridity is something that Tayo struggles with heavily over the course of the novel. Constantly at war with the two sides of his heritage, Tayo has to figure out how to be both white and Laguna without losing the other part of himself.

Matriarchal culture

In Ceremony and in the Laguna culture, a matriarchal society, there is a matriarchal hierarchy.^[26] The rules of matrilineal descent dictate that a bride continue to live with or near her mother, and not her husband's family, even after the bride's marriage (matrilocal residence/matrilocality).^[26] The husband must then move into his wife's - and mother-in-law's household, and resulting children belong to the clan of their mother (not their father).^[26] Because Laura, Tayo's mother and Auntie's sister is dead, care of young Tayo is relinquished to Laura's sister and mother, Auntie and Grandma, and Auntie is then obligated to raise Tayo as her own.^[2] In matriarchal societies and in Ceremony, if you are a woman, and older than the rest of the women in your family, you have the final say in every aspect of the family's life. In Ceremony, Grandma and Auntie have some struggles on what should be done about Tayo's illness, but in the end it is always Grandma who decides.^[2] Grandma suggests to Auntie that a medicine man is needed to heal Tayo.^[2] Although Auntie is reluctant, she agrees, and the medicine man comes and tries to help Tayo heal from his shell shock.^[27] In fact, there are multiple examples of Auntie and Old Grandma not agreeing on the right course of action throughout the novel. Though it is not stated explicitly, ultimately the way Old Grandma felt it should be handled is always how it ends up. Including when Tayo wanted to go off to war. Though Auntie was fine with Rocky going, there was an understanding that Tayo was meant to stay and help around the farm. In the end, Old Grandma told Auntie to let him go, and he went.^[28]

Night Swan is another significant female character in Ceremony, who represents both sexual agency and maternal teachings as a part of Tayo's journey to healing.^[26] She is introduced as Uncle Josiah's archetypal mistress lover at first, but also briefly becomes Tayo's lover and introduction to women as sexual beings.^[26] All the same, Tayo refers to Night Swan as naiya, or mother.^[26] Another clear example in Ceremony of this matriarchal culture or hierarchy is when Tayo's uncle, Josiah, saves money of his own for 25 years to buy his herd of cattle, at Night Swan's urging.^[27] This example makes it clear that the women of the family have control of the money, evidenced by the fact that Auntie makes a certain comment to her brother Josiah about how he is wasting his 25 year's worth of money ($500) on the herd.^[27]

Along with this representation of matriarchy in the Laguna culture, the poems, creation stories, and healing stories throughout the novel all center around a woman or woman figure including Spider woman, Reed woman, and Corn woman.^[27] It is argued that this matriarchal representation is due to the Laguna people attributing the existence of life itself, as well as the agency of its inhabitants, to knowledge and the spoken word, which are in turn attributed to divine female beings in creation stories, such as the Spider Woman mentioned in Silko's novel.^[26] Even the first word of the entire novel is “Ts’its’tsi’nako”^[29] which is the name for Thought-Woman who is attributed in Laguna culture for the creation of the universe.^[30]

Later on in the novel, Tayo also has a lover called Ts'eh, who like the Night Swan, is meant to encapsulate the divinity of nature and female creationism in some aspect, while also assisting Tayo along his journey.^[26]

Traditionally, in the Laguna culture, the men are the agriculturists and feed their family and communities, and the women own the land and houses and pass them down to their daughters.^[31] Silko shows more examples of the matriarchal hierarchy when she is describing the character Robert, Auntie's husband. Robert lives in Old Grandma's house with Auntie and is always describes as being quiet while the women of the house discuss the important issues. Silko even gives insight into Robert's mindset during arguments in one passage, “... he was patient with them because he had nothing to say. The sheep, the house, and the fields- everything belonged to them, including the good family name.”^[32] It is described that although the Laguna peoples are matriarchal, they have a very collaborative community effort to keep their culture and peoples alive.^[31]

Agency of animals

The intelligence of animals, and the character's beliefs around that topic, is an ongoing theme during the course of Ceremony. To give some background, most Indigenous peoples have mythical figures that take the form of humanoid animals, including characters like Coyote . Native Americans believe that current animals are descendants of these figures, and are capable of thought and rational choice. All animals are examined through the compassionate lens of Tayo, juxtaposed by his counterparts such as Harley and Emo.^[33] Tayo continually ponders the intent and actions of the animals around him, while other characters view them as being stupid or unfeeling objects. Below are some examples from Ceremony in which Tayo tangles with the concept of non-human agency.

On Tayo and Harley's 25 mile long burro ride “going up the line” ^[2] to the nearest bar, Harley spends much of the trip “cussing out his burro”,^[2] while Tayo notes how intelligent it is of the burro to know when Harley is asleep, and how it manages to subtly change course as so it can graze during the bulk of the trip. This is an example of Tayo's heightened sensitivity and respect towards animals and their priorities as individuals.

In Native American culture, the Spider-woman has been noted to be one of the most foundational figures. She is the creator of the universe and often attributed to bringing wisdom and social values to her peoples.^[34] Her presence in Tayo's personal healing process is instrumental, as he is a male deeply affected by an imbalanced state of masculinity due to the pressure of returning as the “Macho war hero” archetype when he is in fact struggling to fathom what the fundamentals of heroism even are.^[35] The Spider-woman is there to give Tayo the opportunity to nurture himself and to create an internal maternal relationship with himself in which he is able to nurture and cultivate a reborn, balanced and healthy being out of the ashes of his trauma.

As Tayo is trying to navigate Floyd Lee's land, he locks eyes with the mountain lion. The mountain lion walks away, leaving pawprints in the ground. Tayo sprinkles yellow pollen into the pawprints to honor the mountain lion, and then finds his way.^[2] Mountain lions represent skills associated with hunting to Laguna Pueblo people.^[1] The assumption here is that because Tayo respects the mountain lion, they help him on his journey. There is some debate as to if the mountain lion has a human counterpart. Some people, like Edith Swan, believe the hunter Tayo encounters after leaving Lee's land is the mountain lion.^[1] Some believe the mountain lion is Ts’eh. Both interpretations make sense, as they are thought to be mountain spirits because of the symbolism that surrounds them in Ceremony.^[36]

When Tayo and Rocky are hunting, Tayo covers the dead deer's head with his jacket. This, rubbing cornmeal on the deer's nose, and other traditions are done to respect the animal's spirit.^[2] The Laguna Pueblo people believe if the spirit is not respected, future deer will not choose to die on their reservation.^[10]

Cattle are a reoccurring symbol in Ceremony, though critics have disagreed over what this symbol represents.^[37] In a collection of essays titled American Indian Fiction, Charles Larson argued that the cattle represent the future of Tayo's people. Larson identifies that Tayo's loss of the cattle is a reflection of his belief that he had severed his connection to his people.^[38] "Animals and Human Development in the Contemporary American Indian Novel," a critical study by Peter G. Beidler concluded that the cattle represented a guide for Tayo.^[39] Susan Blumenthal discusses both of these interpretations, as well as her own in "Spotted Cattle and Deer: Spirit Guides and Symbols of Endurance and Healing in "Ceremony."'^[37] Blumenthal states that the spotted cattle are a hybridization of Native and Western culture. The cattle are a mix of the Mexican Breed and the Hereford which makes the cattle more suited to survive, representing the advantages of cultural hybridization.^[40] Silko consistently uses metaphors to compare the cattle to deer or antelope, marking a spiritual hybridization as well, as deer and deer spirits represent freedom and wildness in Laguna culture.^[37] This hybridization is reflected in other themes throughout the novel, including the adaptive nature of Native cultures, Tayo's ethnicity and culture, and the mixed ceremonial or healing practices.