Respect for Culture

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Respect for Culture
Culture is an important aspect of any society. The basic foundation of any civilization can be found deeply embedded in the culture that a particular group of people ascribe to. Modernization has had the effect of eroding the traditional cultures of particular groups of people.The short story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko, exemplifies the situation of Native-American culture versus modernism [through Christian religion].The purpose of this paper therefore is to try and exemplify the conflict of the Native-American culture with Christianity as portrayed in the story. The paper is going to take a chronological approach on how the Native-Americans place importance to their culture and they will go to great lengths to maintain their tradition. At the same time the paper is going to show how the Native-American culture has tried to embrace modernity and hence creation of cultural conflict. At the end of the paper, it is expected that the above issues will have properly been highlighted. Respect for Native-American Culture Even from the title of the short story, it is very evident that the Native-Americans place great importance to their culture. The story has been based in Silko’s hometown of Laguna, New Mexico; where an old man was found dead while rearing sheep. The old man was handed an Indian traditional Burial according to the community’s customs. Leon and Ken found Teofilo [the dead old man] had passed on under a cottonwood tree (Silko 646). Their first instinct was to perform a traditional practice and they painted his face (Silko 647). They then took the body and wrapped it in a red blanket before transferring the body to their home. According to the Pueblo culture, the dead are painted on their chin and nose to make it easy for them to be recognized in the afterworld (“The Man to Send Rain Clouds” Para 8) this is also as evidenced when
"...before they wrapped the old man, Leon took a piece of string out of his pocket and tied a small gray feather in the old man's long white hair. Ken gave him the paint. Across the brown wrinkled forehead he drew a streak of white and along the high cheekbones he drew a strip of blue print. He paused and watched Ken throw pinches of corn meal and pollen into the wind that fluttered the small gray feather. Then Leon painted with yellow under the old man's broad nose, and finally, when he had painted green across the chin he smiled. "Send us rain clouds, Grandfather"... (Silko 647)
Additionally, they sprinkle water on the body and scatter some corn on the body so that the dead can have sufficient water and food as their spirit journeys to the after world. Pueblo culture teaches that death is not the end of existence; it is a cycle where the spirit of the deceased finds its way back into the society and helps the community by making rain available to help nourish the ground(“The Man to Send Rain Clouds”). When the two [Leon and Ken] had finished performing the initial rights on the dead body of Teofilo they travel back with the dead body at the back of their truck (Silko, 647). On the way they meet a catholic priest who was concerned about the disappearance of Teofilo. The two assure the priest that Teofilo is okay and the priest asks them to bring the old man to church the following Sunday for mass (Silko, 647). Ken and Leon knew that had they told the priest that Teofilo is dead, then the priest would demand that the old man receive a Christian burial which would ...