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Matriarchal Culture

In Ceremony and Laguna culture there is a matriarchal hierarchy. What it comes down to is that 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 but in the end it is always Grandma who decides. For example in Ceremony Grandma suggests to Auntie that a medicine man is needed to heal Tayo, although Auntie is reluctant to agree, the medicine man comes and tries to help Tayo heal from his shell shock. Another clear example in Ceremony of this matriarchal culture or hierarchy is when Tayo's uncle saves money of his own for 25 years to buy his herd of cattle. This example is a place that makes it clear that the women of the family have control of the money, Auntie makes a certain comment about how he is wasting his 25 years worth of money on the herd, which was $500. Along with this representation of the matriarchy in Laguna culture, within the poems throughout the novel, the creation story and healing stories all center around a woman or woman figure including Spider woman, Reed woman, and Corn woman. In Laguna culture the men are the agriculturists and feed their family and communities, although the women own the land and houses and pass them down to their daughters traditionally. It is described that although the Laguna peoples are matriarchal, they have a very collaborative community effort to keep their culture and peoples alive.

Contribution for A Radiant Curve

Historically Native American stories were exaggerated to increase the significance of the lesson within the story. Although most stories were told as entertainment and teaching for the tribal peoples. Storytellers were held in high standard within tribal society because they held the lessons and histories needed for the tribe to continue to grow and be successful. The need for story telling has always been about community survival, education and interaction. The importance of social interaction was greatly attributed to storytelling and the gathering that would happen for it. The need for the continuance of these oral stories has grown significantly since colonization, for many present day Native Americans, their culture is lost to them but with a new revitalization through written form it can be found again. With this revitalization many Native Americans are able to receive the cultural teachings they need and are able to continue the tradition of passing them down to younger generations.