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The poem Prayer to the Pacific
by Leslie Marmon Silko on the
surface level describes the
poets visit to the Pacific Ocean.
But if viewed from the background
of Native-American culture,
the poem is of cultural importance.
It tells us about a ritualistic
visit, ritual performance as
a myth of origin of Laguna Indians.
The poet narrates her visit
to the ocean from her south-west
home. She engages in the performance
of ritual kneeling down before
the Pacific Ocean. The image
that she creates is that of
a person who is involved in
religious worshipping and religious
offerings. This image gives
us a clue to the importance
of Pacific Ocean in Native American
culture. It is reinforced when
the poet associates the myth
of origin with the ocean. While,
telling the myth of origin Silko
evokes the oral tradition of
storytelling of Native American
culture. This myth is handed
over to her by ancestors. According
to the myth some “thirty
thousand years ago” the
Laguna Indians had arrived America
from China on the back of “sea
turtles”. When the poet
alludes that mythical version,
she establishes a kinship between
her and turtle (“Grandfather
Turtle”).
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This myth of origin
is important, because
it is related to the
existence, culture and
survival of Native Americans.
Pacific Ocean as a Source
of Origin connects Laguna
Indians with the nature.
Moreover, it gives dynamism
to Laguna culture. This
dynamism of culture
is imported by the language
and the form of the
poem too. The language
is easy flowing like
the water of the sea.
The typographic of the
poem suggest wave and
currents of the water.
The undercurrent of
the water is dynamism
of the ocean which can
be transferred to the
dynamism of Laguna culture.
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The poem in course of telling
the myth evokes a belief inherent
in the culture of Laguna Indians.
It is believed that because
of swimming of the turtle to
the west the rain clouds drift
form the wests. The poet takes
the rain as a gift of the ocean.
Rain here is a symbol of fertility
which makes livelihood and survival
possible. The survival of Laguna
Indians related to the ocean
can be found when the poet says
“I carry back the ocean’
to suck…. Here the word
“suck” is related
to survival. It implies the
survival of a child sucking
the breast of his/her mother.
In this sense the poet creates
an image of mother in the Pacific
Ocean. Furthermore, the line
of demarcation between past
and present is blurred by the
use of world “blue”
“pale” and “gray”.
These words imply the passing
of time of which, the poet is
aware of looking at the water
of color change.
Prayer to the Pacific - Poem
by Leslie Marmon Silko
I
traveled to the ocean
distant
from my southwest land
of sandrock
to the moving blue water
Big
as the myth of origin.
Pale
pale water in the yellow-white
light of
sun floating west
to China
where ocean herself was
born.
Clouds that blow across the
sand are wet.
Squat
in the wet sand and speak to
the Ocean:
I return
to you turquoise the red coral
you sent us,
sister spirit of Earth.
Four round stones in my pocket
I carry back the ocean
Thirty thousand years ago to
suck and to taste.
Indians came riding across
the ocean
carried by giant sea
turtles.
Waves were high that day
great sea turtles
waded slowly out
from the gray sundown
sea.
Grandfather Turtle rolled in
the sand
four times
and
disappeared
swimming into the
sun.
And so from that
time
immemorial,
as the old people say,
rain clouds drift from
the west
gift from the ocean.
Green leaves in
the wind
Wet earth on my
feet
swallowing raindrops
clear from China. |
