(((home)))

I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about one word. Assuming you’ve read the title, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the word I’ve been thinking about is “home”. As I’ve been thinking about this, I’ve noticed a few connections to what I’ve read for the honors program this semester. It’s kind of a rare and strange feeling when what I learn in a class and what I learn in life line up. Anyway, my college experience and a few of Leslie Marmon Silko’s writings have led me to what I believe to be a basic truth for all humans. This truth is that everyone needs a home. We all need to belong.

The previous statements are purposefully vague because I think that people can belong to many different things. They can belong to a place, a person, or a set of ideas/beliefs. Silko’s novel Ceremony and her memoir The Turquoise Ledge both seem to touch on this idea of belonging. In what I’ve read so far, it seems to me that Silko has found her sense of belonging in the land around her and in her culture.

While thinking about home and belonging, I came across a song called “Home” by a little-known band called SPOOK HOUSES*. I immediately thought of Silko when I heard the lines, “A home is a home and I know where I am, I found all the dirt and I loved all the land; I burrowed deep and I burrowed hard, I know that a home is a good place to start”. These lines seem to parallel the Native American view of nature and land. The singer knows the land that he calls home and even claims to love it. So much of The Turquoise Ledge is dedicated to memories of Silko walking or riding through the arroyo or desert right by her house. Her personal passion for the land can be seen in her own beautiful descriptions of the desert. For example, she writes, “Night. Heavenly delicious sweet night of the desert that calls all of us out to love her” (The Turquoise Ledge, 88). Through the eyes of Native Americans, there should be a mutualistic relationship between people and the land that they call home. Throughout Tayo’s journey for reconciliation in Ceremony, he comes to respect and appreciate the beauty of nature. Tayo found his home in the land of his people, but he really found belonging in their culture.

The catalyst for Tayo’s healing is the medicine man named Betonie. He guides Tayo through the modern ceremony that connects him to the culture and traditions of his ancestors. Silko’s belonging to her culture can be seen in her connection to her ancestors. She dedicates a large portion of her memoir (76 pages) to talking about her ancestors. Their beliefs and traditions are carried on through Silko’s actions, writings, and life.

I think that turquoise stones can represent Silko’s belonging to her home and culture. Turquoise played many important roles in Native American society. The most important purpose was to combat witchcraft. Silko finds many turquoise stones around her house and claims that it is right above what she calls “The Turquoise Ledge”. This “Turquoise Ledge” seems to symbolize the connection that her home has to the land and ancestors.

When I consider where my home is, I think that my home is my family. Some of Silko’s other writing has motivated me to keep in touch with my family and grandparents. It has been incredibly rewarding to begin to purposefully learn their stories and learn from their wisdom. In closing, I’d encourage others to seek out where they belong in this world. To seek the answer to this question:

Where is home?

* Some people think that quoting lyrics isn't appropriate, but to me, songwriters are just authors with rhythm