“the Man to Send Rain Clouds” and “the Way to Rainy Mountain”

Chris Campos
American Literature
May 19, 2013
There are many different cultures in the world we live in. In the stories “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” and “The Way to Rainy Mountain” we learn about two different cultures. The story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” is about a Laguna elder who has passed away and his grandsons perform a traditional funeral. While the story, “The Way to Rainy Mountain” about a man named Momaday who is tracing his Kiowa roots and visits his grandmother’s grave. Although these are both distinct cultures, they contain many similarities. The similarities are that both these stories are that both these people are from Native American tribes, the Laguna and Kiowa. These cultures have beliefs that they practice and value. Both these stories consist of death and grandchildren honoring their grandparents. They both make you sad and show how different cultures feel about death. The cultures differences are stronger than their similarities.
Despite the similarities, both stories also share differences. In the story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” Ken and Leon live on an Indian reservation. They discover their elder’s deceased body under a cottonwood tree. In the story “The way to rainy mountain" Momaday's grandmother has been dead for quite some time. Both stories have their different beliefs and cultures. The first story; there are Laguna people and the second story there are Kiowa people. There is a ritual being performed in the story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds" and in the story "The Way to Rainy Mountain" Momaday takes a journey back to his home where he was raised to see his grandmother in her grave.
Ultimately both stories expressed how we should cherish our cultures. I learned a lot from both cultures. The Laguna people perform traditional ceremonies when a person dies; they believe that dead persons' spirit will become Shiwanna, the cloud people. The Kiowa have a tradition to tell stories about their ancestors and the events that happened so they won't ever forget who they are and where they come from. We should never forget our roots and pass traditions from generation to generation.