Lullaby by Leslie Marmon Silko
"Lullaby" by Leslie Marmon Silko is a poignant short story that explores themes of loss, memory, and cultural identity through the experiences of Ayah, a Navajo woman. Set against a backdrop of snow falling under a cottonwood tree, Ayah reflects on her past, including the birth of her eldest son, Jimmie, and the subsequent tragedy of his death in combat. The narrative delves into her profound grief over the loss of Jimmie and the forced separation from her younger children, Danny and Ella, by government authorities due to health concerns.
As Ayah navigates her current life, she grapples with feelings of estrangement from her husband, Chato, and their children, who have become distant figures in her life. The story captures the struggles of an Indigenous family facing systemic challenges and personal hardships, highlighting Ayah's resilience and connection to her cultural roots. Ultimately, as she sings a lullaby that evokes the nurturing elements of earth and sky, the narrative underscores the enduring bonds of love and the longing for belonging amidst the complexities of their lives.
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Lullaby by Leslie Marmon Silko
First published: 1974
Type of plot: Lyric
Time of work: The 1970's
Locale: Near Cebolleta, New Mexico, on the Navajo reservation
Principal Characters:
Ayah , an old Navajo womanChato , her husbandThe bartender and patrons , who can be found in Azzie's Bar
The Story
Ayah sits under a cottonwood watching snow fall and recalling events in her past. The sound of the wind reminds her of the songs of the holy people, the Yeibechei, and the snow is like the tufts of wool that her mother and grandmother wove when she was a little girl. Sitting under an army blanket, a gift from her eldest son, Jimmie, she remembers his birth in a stone hogan. Her mind moves to the day a representative from the government came to the ranch where she and Chato, her husband, were living to tell them about Jimmie's death in combat. The messenger had not understood their wish not to have the body returned. She had not cried at the time but had mourned later, when Chato's horse fell on him, breaking his leg, and the rancher for whom they worked refused to pay Chato again until he could work. She remembers grieving, too, for this eldest son after the two youngest surviving children, Danny and Ella, were taken away from her, evidently because the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) authorities feared that the children might contract tuberculosis. She had tried to foil the agents, hiding all day with the children until the government car left. However, more officials and BIA police had arrived the next day and taken the children: Ayah had unwittingly signed her permission. She remembers resenting Chato for many years, punishing him by keeping her distance, because he had taught her the skill that lost her the children. She realizes that she and Chato are really strangers to each other.
Ayah begins walking toward Azzie's Bar, where Chato usually spends most of their monthly welfare check. She plods slowly through the snow, thinking of him as a stranger. As she enters the bar, she feels the stares of the men inside. She remembers brief visits from Danny and Ella, and how the children gradually became estranged from her, until they saw her with the eyes of strangers and could no longer speak to her in Navajo.
Chato is not in the bar, and Ayah continues her search outside. She intends to take him to the adobe barn where they sleep when they come to the village of Cebolleta; afterward they will return to the old hogan. They will tend the few sheep left and their drought-dried garden. After being displaced by the rancher when Chato was no longer able to ride, and after five years of drought, they have finally been reduced to depending on monthly welfare checks.
Ayah catches up with Chato walking along the pavement, and together they start walking out of town. She thinks about how he is becoming forgetful, calling her by her sister's name and trying to go back to the ranch to work. She suggests that they rest in the shelter of some boulders, and she pulls the blanket around both of them. As they sit there, the storm passes and the sky clears. Ayah feels the crystal air begin to freeze. She resolves to let Chato sleep and tucks the blanket around him. Sitting with him, she feels again intense love for her children. She begins to sing a lullaby that begins by telling the baby that "the earth is your mother, she holds you. The sky is your father, he protects you."
Bibliography
Aithal, S. K. "American Ethnic Fiction in the Universal Context." American Studies International 21 (October, 1983): 61-66.
Antell, J. A. "Momaday, Welch, and Silko: Expressing the Feminine Principle Through Male Alienation." American Indian Quarterly 12 (Summer, 1988): 213-220.
Chavkin, Allan, ed. Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony": A Casebook. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Danielson, Linda. "The Storytellers in Storyteller." Studies in American Indian Literatures 5, no. 1 (1989): 21-31.
Dunsmore, Roger. "No Boundaries: On Silko's Ceremony." In Earth's Mind: Essays in Native Literature. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1997.
Garcia, Reyes. "Senses of Place in Ceremony." MELUS 10 (Winter, 1983): 37-48.
Hirsh, B. A. "The Telling Which Continues: Oral Tradition and the Written Word in Leslie Marmon Silko's Storyteller." American Indian Quarterly 12 (Winter, 1988): 1-26.
Jahner, Elaine. "Leslie Marmon Silko." In Handbook of Native American Literature, edited by Andrew Wiget. New York: Garland, 1996.
Lincoln, Kenneth. "Grandmother Storyteller: Leslie Silko." In Native American Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
Nelson, Robert M. "Rewriting Ethnography: The Embedded Texts in Leslie Silko's Ceremony." In Telling the Stories: Essays on American Indian Literatures and Cultures. New York: Peter Lang, 2001.
Sax, Richard. "One World, Many Tribes: Crosscultural Influences in Silko's Almanac of the Dead." In Celebration of Indigenous Thought and Expression. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.: Lake Superior State University Press, 1996.