Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony is a multidimensional novel full of Laguna symbols and themes that are easily overlooked in a casual reading. Like many of the elements in this work, Josiah's spotted cattle can be interpreted in multiple ways: as cultural metaphors, spiritual representation, and racial mixing. Silko's depiction of the spotted cattle creates a strong metaphor that links them closely to the Lagunas, illustrating the animosity the Laguna tribe has with the white Americans. While at the same time drawing a close connection between Tayo and the spotted cattle.
In the novel Josiah buys the spotted cattle because they resemble wild animals more than the slow-witted Herefords who are favored by the white American ranchers. Whereas the Herefords die of thirst if someone doesn't bring them water, much like how the white Americans are with the land. However the spotted cattle are able to find water on their own as a result of their native ties to the desert, "descendants of generations of desert cattle" (74). This illustrates how the spotted cattle is self-sufficient and connected to the land similar to the Native Americans. Dissimilar to the white man's cows (and the white man himself), these animals are able to live in the desert. The spotted cattle (the Laguna tribe) have lived in the desert for many years learning to live and thrive in the area, whereas the white Americans try to enforce their ways onto this land. In turn causing unnatural and monstrous patterns as depicted by Silko
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Like many of the elements in this work, Josiah's spotted cattle can be interpreted in multiple ways. Silko's illustration of the spotted cattle creates a strong metaphor that links them closely to the Lagunas, illuminating the animosity the Laguna tribe has with the white Americans. While at the same time drawing a close connection between Tayo and the spotted