The Man to Send Rain Clouds by Leslie Marmon Silko
"The Man to Send Rain Clouds" by Leslie Marmon Silko is a poignant short story that explores the intersection of Native American traditions and Catholicism through the lens of a family's experience with death. The narrative centers on Teofilo, an elder who dies while tending to sheep, and the subsequent preparations for his burial by his family, Leon and Ken. As the brothers-in-law honor Teofilo's memory using traditional customs, they encounter Father Paul, a Catholic priest who represents institutional religion. The story highlights the cultural tensions and contemplations surrounding faith and ritual, particularly when Louise, Teofilo's granddaughter, suggests that the priest sprinkle holy water on the grave, symbolizing a blend of beliefs. This act leads to a moment of reflection for Father Paul as he grapples with the significance of his participation and the mysterious disappearance of the holy water. Silko’s narrative is rich in its portrayal of the characters’ connection to their cultural heritage while also navigating the complexities of external religious influences, ultimately illustrating the resilience and adaptability of indigenous practices in the face of change.
On this Page
The Man to Send Rain Clouds by Leslie Marmon Silko
First published: 1969
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: The 1960's
Locale: A Pueblo Indian reservation in the Southwest
Principal Characters:
Teofilo , an old sheepherderLouise , his granddaughterKen , her husbandLeon , Ken's brother-in-lawFather Paul , a Franciscan missionary
The Story
The old man Teofilo has died peacefully while tending sheep out at the sheep camp, away from the village. Leon and Ken find him under a cottonwood tree, but because his sheep have wandered away, the two brothers-in-law first collect them and put them in the corral. Then they prepare Teofilo for burial by painting his face, tying a gray feather in his hair, and wrapping him in a red blanket. On their way back in the truck, they meet Father Paul, who asks about Teofilo. Leon turns the question aside, avoiding the imposition of a Roman Catholic funeral. After the medicine men have performed the traditional funeral, Louise—Teofilo's granddaughter and Ken's wife—tells Leon that she thinks the priest should sprinkle holy water so that Teofilo will not be thirsty. Leon invites Father Paul to bring his holy water to the grave. In spite of the irregularity—Father Paul tells Leon that last rites and a mass should be said before a proper Catholic burial—he accepts the invitation to be part of the ceremony and sprinkles the water. He cannot understand how and why the water disappears almost before it hits the sand, prompting a moment of crisis and climax in the story, as the puzzled priest returns to the mission unaware of his own effectiveness in the ceremony.
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.