Global Expression in Multicultural Literature: Tradition

About Me

My name is Suzanne Parker-Camarena. I am from Utah and currently reside in Arizona. I am a wife to my husband and mother to our four children and “mother-lady” to my husband’s two daughters from his first marriage. I am also owned by three cats of the feline persuasion. I am a student at Grand Canyon University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree with an emphasis on Professional Writing. My current course of study is Multicultural Literature. Multicultural literature is a genre of writing that is inclusive of all cultures in the world, whether they be national, religious, or language, etc. To considered global literature, the writings, feelings, and meanings are able to be related across cultural differences to draw the reader into the experience. An example of Multicultural Literature is taken from “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid:

"...this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard; this is how you smile to someone you don't like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don't like at all; this is how you smile to someone you like completely..."

It reminded me of how my husband's very traditional Mexican mother used to speak to her older grandchildren when they would visit her. Even as the sentence never ends in Kincaid's work, Grandma would go on and on, at times, barely seeming to take a breath between admonishments.

Multicultural Literature also blurs national boundaries by creating an avenue for all people to learn of different cultures other than their own and finding a way to possibly relate or understand more of each other. Kincaid was able to accomplish this as well because I could relate to her narrative and understand the never-ending admonitions she was listening to from who I believe to be the elder women in her life. After being reminded repeatedly to not behave like a slut, the girl questions at the very end if the baker will actually let her squeeze the loaf of bread and the response she receives made me laugh out loud because I remember hearing the same warnings and conclusions. This was the response: "...you mean to say after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread?"

20^th century literature related so well the many struggles we all faced for cultural identity and the ability to understand others and more of ourselves. It covers topics of religious struggle, female rights, cultural bias, extermination, and thankfully, rebirth, strength, and determination to not just survive, but thrive. The examples listed in my blog entries below are just a fraction of the global literature available to immerse oneself in. My opinions are my own and I hope in no way dissuade the reader from forming their own. It is a journey that is well worth the effort.

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Tradition

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Tradition!

The opening sequence to the acclaimed and iconic musical “The Fiddler on the Roof” introduces the theme of tradition. In terms of “tradition”, the Jewish community is not far removed from the Navajo.

The Navajo are steeped in tradition from clothes, art, spiritual beliefs, and day to day living. The Night Chant is an example of a Navajo tradition performed only a few times per year for the purpose of healing. In the poem of the same name, the lines below were particularly expressive:

"Happily may fair white corn, to the ends of the earth,

come with you.

Happily may fair yellow corn, to the ends of the earth,

come with you.

Happily may fair blue corn, to the ends of the earth,

come with you.

Happily may fair corn of all kinds, to the ends of the earth,

come with you.

Happily may fair plants of all kinds, to the ends of the earth,

come with you.

Happily may fair goods of all kinds, to the ends of the earth,

come with you.

Happily may fair jewels of all kinds, to the ends of the earth,

come with you."

The purpose of the repetition is to maintain the rhythm and beat of the chant. It is lyrical and hypnotic. Corn and its pollen are not only integral in Navajo culture as a food staple, but also in prayers, rituals and traditions. The pollen is only harvested by women of the tribes. One of the Navajo experts in the paper referenced below comments that scholars never completely understand the Navajo way, especially if they leave out the corn traditions. I enjoyed how the writer described that corn is more accurately described as "prayer". Also, for all of the rituals and ceremonies corn pollen is part of, there is one it is not associated with--death.

Navajo woman collecting corn pollen

The connection between spirituality and the natural world is a theme in Native American literature. Select one passage from Silko’s story and discuss how the human relationship with nature influences spirituality in this passage. Then, explain how Silko builds on and/or changes the “The Night Chant’s” representation of spirituality and nature.

The Storyteller

Another Navajo tradition is teaching lessons in the form of a story. From Silko's "Yellow Woman" is the following:

"The river water tasted good, and I sat in the shade under a cluster of silvery willows. I thought about Silva, and I felt sad at leaving him; still, there was something strange about him, and I tried to figure it out all the way back home. I came back to the place on the river bank where he had been sitting the first time I saw him. The green willow leaves he had trimmed from the branch were still lying there, wilted in the sand. I saw the leaves and I wanted to go back to him--to kiss him and to touch him--but the mountains were too far away now. And I told myself, because I believe it, he will come back sometime and be waiting again by the river."

She wove the story of "Yellow Woman" into her reality as a way to cope with her situation--dealing with excitement of the forbidden romance while also dealing with the harsh reality that her lover was a thief and murderer. The images of fresh grasses and trees, until the situation heats up on their way to Marquez, where the scenery changes to a harsh setting. The woman heads for home, back to her family, and notices the leaves from the branches were wilted in the sand. The spirituality and nature in Yellow Woman is in no comparison to that of Night Chant. Night Chant represents healing and Yellow Woman represent cowardice and deceit, hence the name Yellow Woman.

WATCH:

Navajo Night Chant (audio only)

Navajo Indians Dancing

APPLY:

Choose activities for students to relate their family’s traditions and how they are similar to the Navajo tradition.

Family Traditons Activites