Yellow Woman

peoples interactions with the antelope, or as she call(a)s them, The Antelope People, and the way her people hunted them. A reader takes away not scarcely a feeling of deep watch over, which the Laguna Pueblo people had for their fellow Earth inhabitants, but also a feeling of unity like there actually was or is no difference between the hunter and the hunted, just their roles, given to them by chance and instinct. This reverence for animal life reflects a much deeper hu homos view held by Leslie Marmon Silko, an outlook of respect for the Earth itself.In her book, Silko goes on to tell her peoples tale of the Earths origin. The Laguna Pueblo people wipe out a more personal relationship with their planet than most. Perhaps it is the fantastic nature of their origin, or the way the myth was kept through record book of mouth, from certain elder to younger generations, whatever the reason, it is clear that Silko has inherited this unity with the earth and is hurt by the way it an d its inhabitants are treated twain man and animal.In the section of Silkos book titled Interior and Exterior Landscapes The Pueblo Migration Stories, the author describes the Laguna Pueblo peoples relationship with the hunted but more than that, without obviously doing so, she compares the hunting of the animals to the plight of her own people in the modern military man. The native people of the Laguna Pueblo used resources sustainably and did so by maintaing a respect for all things, living and murdered.Early in the section Leslie Marmon Silko speaks of her peoples burial traditions she writes Archaeologists hold back remarked over formal burials complete with elaborate funerary objects excavated in trash middens of toss out rooms. (Silko 26) The Laguna Pueblo people buried their dead with possessions and often laid them to rest under rooms in their own houses. The Laguna Pueblo had a respect for the dead like many other cultures, but unlike many cultures the passing of a family member did not mean a total absence from life, the person was and is still very much present and a member of the tribe.The departed become the world, as they always have been and their body becomes the soil and the plant, so in some respect, the dead are much more present than the living. This failure to differentiate between who is with us and who is not ends up doing a band for the tribes spirituality. It means that respecting the earth also means respecting ones ancestors, and to have the dead all around you, in the Earths teeming life, allows the tribe to take and give with the Earth in equal amounts. Likewise, the people of the Laguna Pueblo how animals a similar respect that they give to their dead. Silko explains that Waste of meat or in time the thoughtless handling of bones cooked bare will offend the antelope spirits. (Silko 29). This goes back to Silkos sense of earthly and heavenly unity, a true mutual respect for earth, man, and animal requires equality or on eness with eachthing. This achievement, preached in many religions, most of all Buddhism, is the product of realizing how much we as humans depend on the Earth.Forgetting that everything we have and all that we consume comes from one planet can cause the degradation of resources and disrespect for populations, be them man or animal. Being constantly reminded, through word of mouth and total interaction with nature, gave the native people an outlook on life rarely mimicked, but in constant need. Silko tells us on knave 27 that the Laguna Pueblo people called the earth the Mother Creator, these two titles mother and creator give the Earth a godlike identity. Being both the mother and the father, the Earth is to be respected as one would honor their own parents.Making the Earth your God seems logical considering it contains us and provides for us all, encompassing every need we may have. The ironic thing is the Laguna Pueblo people gave the Earth such huge properties without actually exploring all the territories and oceans the world had. Just by discover the grandeur of nature and its beauty the people knew just how big the world is. By giving the world so much esteem the Laguna Pueblo elders perplex the road ahead towards peaceful and respectful livelihoods that could last lifetimes if not corrupted.When one reviews all these ideas and traditions separately they may seem unique but not rightfully an outlook on life. Upon combining these we see a people with a deep reverence for everything natural. The respect for dead lets an outsider know that the people reckon in more than they can see and therefore have the philosophical thought to apply meaning to otherwise common objects like animals and plants. It signifies an understanding that the world is more than just what we can see.The respect for animals allows the foreigner to understand the lack of hierarchy that exists for these people. Silko makes it clear that the Laguna Pueblo people do not consider th emselves break out than the antelope they hunt, only that they have needs that can be met by nature and those that reside in it, and it is only natural for being to take from another in target to survive. In taking though, they remember to always give back to the Mother Creator, with prayer, and to always be grateful, with a constant observation of natural order and the way things ought to be.