"The Way to Rainy Mountain" is a beautifully written and deeply personal essay by Native American writer N. Scott Momaday. In it, Momaday traces the journey of his Kiowa ancestors from their ancient homeland in the Montana mountains, down to the southern plains of Oklahoma, where they were forcibly relocated by the US government.
The essay is structured as a series of interconnected vignettes, each of which focuses on a different aspect of Kiowa history, culture, and spirituality. As Momaday travels from place to place, he reflects on the stories, traditions, and ceremonies that have been passed down through generations of his people.
One of the most striking themes of the essay is the way in which Momaday connects the past and the present, weaving together stories from Kiowa folklore with his own contemporary experiences. For example, he describes how the Kiowa people used to roam the vast grasslands of the southern plains, hunting buffalo and living in harmony with the natural world. However, with the arrival of white settlers and the forced relocation of the Kiowa to a reservation, this way of life was forever changed.
Throughout the essay, Momaday reflects on the ways in which the Kiowa have adapted and survived in the face of tremendous change and adversity. He celebrates the resilience and strength of his ancestors, and pays tribute to the traditions and customs that have sustained the Kiowa people for centuries.
At the same time, however, Momaday is deeply aware of the losses and sacrifices that have been made along the way. He writes movingly about the way in which the Kiowa have had to give up so much of their traditional way of life in order to survive in the modern world.
Ultimately, "The Way to Rainy Mountain" is a celebration of Kiowa culture and history, and a tribute to the enduring spirit of a people who have faced great challenges and overcome them. It is a powerful and thought-provoking essay that will leave a lasting impression on anyone who reads it.
The Way to Rainy Mountain Analysis
He arranges these diverse materials to form a narrative wheel, in which the voice of Kiowa oral tradition, the voice of historical commentary, and the personal voice of the author take turns telling stories of multiple journeys that form a single journey of the human spirit. Kiowa storytellers recite newer legends about their forebears and their life on the plains. Tayo In Ceremony 1478 Words 6 Pages The power of stories manifests itself in literature, film, and more generally life. Her child kept bringing balls of the meat outside and returning to ask for more. Both poems accurately portray the parent-child relationships within an abusive home, even if they have different Rhetorical Analysis: The Challenger 1361 Words 6 Pages During the 1980s, space exploration was a popular topic to watch, listen to, and learn about in American life. The protagonist, Phoenix, an elderly black woman, takes a long and treacherous journey from the countryside to the nearest city, all in hopes of collecting medicine for her sick grandson. As a Kiowa, he describes the land with such intimacy, that it seems as if he owns the land and he is one with the land.
"The Way to Rainy Mountain" by N. S. Momaday: Analysis of Chapter 17
During their journey, they befriended another tribe who helped them in their journey and shared their resources, tools, strategies and religious beliefs including the worship rites of the Sun Dance. A talking dog agrees to help a man escape his enemies, and in return the man cares for her puppies. Iktomi is dressed the part of a Lakota Brave, but inside he does not act the part of a Lakota Brave. Women are already strong. A man is out looking for food when Tai-me the sacred Sun Dance doll appears, covered with feathers. They turned back home after that, longing for the familiarity of their homeland. XII 1986 , pp.
The Way to Rainy Mountain Summary & Study Guide
This seems to be yet another challenge to linear narrative; Momaday mixes all parts of Kiowa history, undermining notions of chronology and cause and effect. Also, he gives incredible imagery of what the weather and land was like back then. For instance, Momaday 1969 tells about when a man killed his wife because she agreed to spend time with the leader. While the voice of the tribe seems to be telling a story that justifies the mistreatment of women, the second two are more critical of the Kiowa treatment of women. Kiowas were very tied to the earth. While in linear Western stories events tend to follow one another based on cause and effect, the story of the buffalo is different, because the driving event is a mysterious intuition that tells the man how to kill the buffalo.
