Ritual and Renewal: Keres Traditions in the Short Fiction of Leslie Silko

Abstract

At one time, the ceremonies as they had been performed were enough for the way the world was then. But after the white people came, elements in this world began to shift; and it became necessary to create new ceremonies. I have made changes in the rituals. The people mistrust this greatly, but only this growth keeps the ceremonies strongThat's what the witchery is counting on: that we will cling to the ceremonies the way they were, and then their power will triumph, and the people will be no more." -Betonie in Ceremony

Leslie Marmon Silko and the Laguna oral tradition

“…In her article on the Keres traditions in Silko's short fiction, LaVonne Ruoff (1978) gives the summary of the basic elements of the traditional abduction story as listed by 4 Franz Boas.…”

“…I will have to do the things he did. I will have to take care of things.,,6 Ruoff (1978) says that the story focuses on the importance of the continuum of the oral tradition in both religious instruction and in storytelling. 7 This importance is also stressed in Silko's (198l) new work, Storyteller.…”