How we cite our quotes: (Poem.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The only cure
I know
is a good ceremony,
that's what she said. (III)
The connection between "curing" and "ceremony" is established very early on in the novel. Since the title of the novel is Ceremony, this association suggests that the novel itself is a cure. You know the saying: A novel a day keeps the doctor away.
Quote #2
"You've been doing something all along. All this time, and now you are at an important place in this story." (XIII.47)
Tayo doesn't realize it, but everything he's been doing has been a part of the ceremony. Now he's at an "important place." Is this the beginning of his transformation?
Quote #3
"She taught me this above all else: things which don't shift and grow are dead things. They are things the witchery people want. Witchery works to scare people, to make them fear growth." (XIII.62)
Change is good. No, it's not just good—it's necessary. If you don't change, you die…or just kind of waste away.
Quote #4
"It's a matter of transitions, you see; the changing, the becoming must be cared for closely. You would do as much for the seedlings as they become plants in the field." (XIV.1)
Here we see that the idea of change is linked to the natural world. Changing and becoming are a natural part of life and require some love and care along the way.
Quote #5
"One night or nine nights won't do it anymore," the medicine man said; "the ceremony isn't finished yet." [ . . . ] "Remember these stars," he said. "I've seen them and I've seen the spotted cattle; I've seen a mountain and I've seen a woman." (XX.3)
The signs Betonie mentions are like trail markers that Tayo watches out for as he progresses along his healing journey. Hey, that reminds us of something: when Tayo first makes love to Ts'eh, he's "afraid of being lost," so he repeats "trail marks to himself" (XXIII.1).
Quote #6
"The dry skin
was still stuck
to his body.
But the effects
of the witchery
of the evil thing
began to leave
his body."
(XXI)
Betonie's ceremony seems to be a turning point where the witchery starts to leave Tayo's body. But Tayo's ceremony continues until the end of the novel. And good thing it does, because the story might have gotten a little boring had it not.
Quote #7
Old Betonie might explain it this way—Tayo didn't know for sure: there were transitions that had to be made in order to become whole again, in order to be the people our Mother would remember; transitions, like the boy walking in bear country being called back softly. (XXI.80)
Tayo is starting to think like Betonie here. He recognizes that the healing process isn't just about him; it's about "the people."
Quote #8
He had been so intent on finding the cattle that he had forgotten all the events of the past days and past years. Hunting the cattle was good for that. Old Betonie was right. (XXIV.29)
As Tayo proceeds on his mission to find the cattle he has fewer flashbacks to the war. The narrative starts to become a bit more chronological and a bit easier to follow. If only some good old fashioned cow-hunting could give us the same kind of mental clarity…
Quote #9
He had proven something to himself; it wasn't as strong as it had once been. It was changing, unraveling like the yarn of a dark heavy blanket wrapped around a corpse, the dusty rotted strands of darkness unwinding, giving way to the air; its smothering pressure was lifting from the bones of his skull. (XXIV.47)
As Tayo changes and starts to become healed, the witchery changes too. As Tayo grows stronger, it becomes weaker.
Quote #10
Tayo's heart beat fast; he could see Josiah's vision emerging, he could see the story taking form in bone and muscle. (XXV.106)
Josiah's new breed of cattle is a transformation Tayo can see taking shape before his eyes. The cattle symbolize the change that's necessary to keep life going. (See our discussion of the cattle in "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory.") Those cows sure are some powerful creatures in this novel—they almost deserve their own special section in this here analysis.
Quote #11
A transition was about to be completed: the sun was crossing the zenith to a winter place in the sky, a place where prayers of long winter nights would call out the long summer days of new growth. Tonight the old priests would be praying for the force to continue the relentless motion of the stars. (XXV.224)
This transitional moment connects Tayo's ceremony to nature and the traditional rituals of the Laguna community; it's important for all three.