The Way to Rainy Mountain

The Kiowa tribe embraces a connection with nature, a concept explored by Scott
Momaday in The Way to Rainy Mountain. He reisits his culture and history, amidst the
beauty o! Rainy Mountain, north and west o! the Wichita Ran"e. The tribe#s spirituality
depends on nature !or sustenance, the reli"ion o! the $lains. The southern $lains were lost to
%.S soldiers when Momaday#s late "randmother &ho was born, which he calls the last "reat
moment o! the Kiowa tribe. &s Momaday narrates &ho#s li!e weain" throu"h the history o!
tribe, surrounded by the beauti!ul settin" o! Rainy Mountain, the Kiowa culture and identity
un!old in his essay.
When the Kiowas mi"rated into the southern $lains !rom Montana in the '(
th
century,
they not only crossed physical but cultural landscapes. The reli"ion o! the $lains "ien to them
by the )rows birthed a new tenor to their existence, sheddin" li"ht on the Kiowa the ori"in myth
in which they entered the world throu"h a hollow lo". Momaday says there is per!ect !reedom
in the mountains, the per!ect mystery that ino*es the curiosity, clusters o! trees, and animals
"ra+in" !ar in the distance, cause the ision to reach away and wonder to build upon the mind.
,rom the mysterious, spiritually uncharted enironment surroundin" the Kiowas, their le"ends
blossomed, interpretin" the natural phenomena they iewed with wonder. &ho told Momaday o!
the cultural si"ni!icance o! -eil#s Tower in the .lac* Hills Ran"e. &n impression o! !orebodin"
emanates !rom Momaday#s description o! the laccolith. What he sees is a dar* mist lay oer the
.lac* Hills/-eil#s Tower upthrust a"ainst the "ray s*y. The le"end !ollows0 at the base o!
-eil#s Tower, a boy trans!orms into a bear, chasin" to *ill a!ter his seen sisters. He nearly
does, but they climb the roc* and ascend into s*y, becomin" the stars o! .i" -ipper. The le"end
depicts the "irl tribespeople !usin" into nature, turnin" into *insmen in the ni"ht s*y, who
sere as an escape !or the Kiowas !rom the harsh wilderness that they now encompass.
The sun holds si"ni!icance !or the Kiowas. 1n the plains is the home o! the sun !or the
Kiowas. They see the pro!usion o! li"ht in their new world and !eel the sun#s presence unli*e
be!ore. &ho was a )hristian who had a reerence !or the sun/and she neer !or"ot her
birthri"ht. 1n the 2ourney to the southern $lains, the tribe directed their worship to Tai3me, the
sacred Sun -ance doll, perhaps an icon !or the sun that they belieed was diine. The le"end o!
passa"e into new territory says they emer"ed !rom a sunless world, su""estin" they !elt bere!t
o! a sense o! destiny, there!ore coura"e and pride. 1t would be predictable i! the Kiowas
distressed oer the lac* o! ease to practice their Sun -ances to the !ullest, an annual rite
symboli+in" the restoration o! her people in the presence o! Tai3me. The last !ull3!led"ed Sun
-ance was in '44(, and the last attempt was '456 when soldiers disrupted the tribe. &ho was
ten. When Momaday listened to her prayers, he notices an element o! hopeless sadness oer this
loss o! tradition, the syllables o! sorrow and ur"ency in the human oice, despite that he
does not spea* Kiowa.
Momaday returned to Rainy Mountain in 7uly that summer to be at his "randmother#s
"rae. The summer has cultural si"ni!icance to the Kiowas that also contrasts with his own
obserations. Momaday says the Kiowas are a summer people. What he witnesses durin" the
season is bustlin" excitement o! reunions and !easts at &ho#s house. This is contrary to what he
says about Rainy Mountain0 loneliness is an aspect o! the land. His sentiments accompany an
unmista*able portrayal o! summer, in 7uly or &u"ust the steamin" !olia"e seems almost to
writhe in !ire/"rasshoppers/stin" the !lesh. $erhaps the Kiowas hae inte"rated themseles
oer the centuries into the mystery, sadness, astness, and loneliness o! land8 there!ore it is not
stran"e or unusual. .ut !or Momaday, to loo* upon that landscape in the early mornin", with
the sun at your bac*, is to lose the sense o! proportion. &!ter !uneral serices, Momaday sees a
cric*et on a handrail and wonders its purpose. To lie and die, !or there, o! all places, was its
small de!inition made whole and eternal. To me, this is a metaphor that Scott Momaday
reco"ni+es a sense o! belon"in" the Kiowas hae at Rainy Mountain, a sense that adds a
dimension o! warmth and harmony in the open ran"e8 the Kiowa hae !ound a way out o! the
wilderness.