Introduction
Modern society nowadays can be seen to some extent as a community that does not have many restraints in terms of self-obligatory values and rules to follow. The person grows up with many expectations to fulfill and the only limitations that are put on him/her might be considered the generally accepted ethics and the law. However, many cultures still practice today the obligation of the rules that should be followed in order to meet the standard of the values within a certain social cell, i.e. a tribe, a town, or a country. As examples of such cultures in the modern world could be eastern and Arabic cultures. Another example is shown in the subject of this paper which is the kinship rules depicted in the novel “Waterlily” by Ella Cara Deloria that describes the Indian life of the Dakotas, or “Sioux” from a female perspective. This paper analyzes the importance of kinship in the novel along with providing some of these rules that were played by the natural and supernatural worlds.
Analysis
In defining the goals for the Dakotas in keeping the kinship rules, as stated by the author herself, “to keep the rules imposed by kinship for achieving civility, good manners, and a sense of responsibility toward every individual dealt with” (Deloria x) The kinship rules to the Dakotas can be viewed as some sort of guide on how to behave within your small society. This guide includes many rules and many directions that cover such small details as the way the person should cam relatives and friends, “You must not call your relatives and friends by name, for that was rude. Use kinship terms instead. And especially, brothers and sisters, and boy cousins and girl cousins must be very kind to each other.” (Deloria 34). It can be seen through the novel that many of these rules put many obligations that are very strict especially in the case of women, such as the example with Blue Bird when “the kinship rule of avoidance kept her silent as long as it was her father-in-law who walked ahead leading her horse.” (Deloria 4) In general, Kinship is more than blood or biological relation; it is a tie consisting of rules based on a system of values that connects all the Dakotas and keeps their structure impregnable to changes with time.
Many rules surround the ceremonies that the Dakotas were celebrating related to the natural and supernatural worlds. For, instance the Sun Dance –an “organized complex, made up of many small rites and elements accompanying the actual dancing while gazing at the sun.” (Deloria 113) The Sun Dance – a ceremony where all the men fulfill their vows made and pray, also involves people from the enemy tribes coming to this celebration and can be viewed as a gathering where the tribes forget about their rivalries.
Ghostkeeping, on the other hand, is a ceremony of grief over the dying relative, where once he/she dies all of the participants wail for the death of that person, and “there was no virtue in control of grief over death as there was in control of all other emotions.” (Deloria 142) The participation in such a ceremony by a relative requires the person to be able to take the custody of such a ceremony as if it is not taken properly, it can cause dishonor to the family of the passed person.
Another ritual ceremony is the Hunka – where the hunk (the child beloved) is assigned with such a name after he recovers from an illness. This ceremony is a sort of fulfilling a promise made with prayers that a celebration would be made after a child recovers from his illness. “The singling out of a child for the honor was accepted by the other children when they understood.” (Deloria 75).
It is seen how all the rules are connected within the ritual life of the tribe in a way that even a ceremony or a feast do also consists of obligations and rules that should be followed.
Works Cited
Deloria, Ella Cara. Waterlily. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.