The Color of Nature and Serenity: Blue in Ceremony

Colors are commonly used by authors to represent feelings, people, countries, and cultures, as they hold great significance for people around the world. Not only do colors influence emotion, but they also hold meaning in religion and various cultures. Being one of these cultures, Native Americans give great value to colors. They are used in religious ceremonies to represent aspects of religion. Native Americans include colors in religious ceremonies. Being an indigenous author, Leslie Marmon Silko doesn’t forget to include the significance of color in her novel which mainly takes place in Laguna, a Native American reservation. In her novel Ceremony, Silko uses symbolism through color to a considerable extent, specifically the color blue.

Silko uses the colors of the sky in order to create the tone and context in certain points of Tayo’s story. Blue is connected to life and the natural world, which means a lot to Native Americans. As the main color of the sky, blue is the color of serenity and it’s linked to characters that reflect a sense of healing and re-establishment. In other words, the association of blue with nature, life, and spiritual healing is conveyed through imagery and characters. 

To begin with, the significance of blue is given via imagery. It is the color of dark rainclouds that promise an end to the drought, and it’s the color of mountains seen from a distance, described as "smoky blue ridges of the mountain haze at Zuni". When Tayo is climbing the mountain, nearly every aspect of the landscape is described as blue. Silko mentions that to the east, in the Rio Puerco Valley, the ground was such that “only the bluish saltbush could grow” there. She describes the mountains east of the Rio Grande as blue and the southern peaks as “thin blue” and further describes the clouds above Mount Taylor, which Tayo is climbing, as “blue-gray” (171). Moreover, in an afternoon of prayer, Tayo observes dragonflies "all colors of blue—powdery sky blue, dark night blue, shimmering with almost black iridescent light, and mountain blue" It’s quite easy to see the dots between blue and nature, and since nature is an important part of the Native American culture and Tayo’s healing process, the significance of blue is also undeniable. Blue is used in almost all scenes of the novel where Tayo is out, reestablishing his connections with nature. Characters are another part of the plot that the blue color is frequently used. To elaborate, the characters that are associated with healing are often portrayed wearing blue. Such characters are all portrayed as positive, good characters in the story. Hence, in contrast to white which carries negativity in the book with references to white men and white smoke, the color blue actually has a positive connotation. One example of this is the Night Swan. When Tayo is introduced to her for the first time, the references to blue are conspicuous. Night Swan, who is portrayed as an exotic dancer with an ability to encapture men with her dance is depicted in a blue kimono and blue satin slippers and has a bright blue door.  “But still they watched every evening to make sure his truck was there as if they knew the sensation in the groin of their husbands each time the men passed Lalo's and saw the bright blue door" (81) The bright blue door in Night Swan’s house acts as an introduction to, in some sense, the second phase of the novel - the beginning of Tayo’s healing process. Thus, when he enters through, he enters a new stage of healing. Silko continues to strategically place the color blue in the house of Night Swan. The blue armchair, blue satin sheets, and blue flowers painted on the walls, all contribute to the feeling of comfort that Tayo has when he is in the presence of the Night Swan. Moreover, some other examples of positive characters that are depicted in blue are the medicine man and Ts’eh. A blue shirt is worn by Betonie, the medicine man who has a great influence on Tayo’s healing. Further, Ts'eh, the lady who cures Tayo's fatigue, is depicted in a blue shawl when Tayo meets her and is said to have morning glories "the color of the sky after a summer rainstorm." 

I personally found the regular use of the color blue very interesting and believe that it was intentional, rather, an authorial choice. Silko got through to me as a reader and made subtle points by using blue - I could feel the connection between the blue objects and nature and even further, the feeling that the characters felt when they were in environments where those blue objects were mentioned at.  Once I conducted a bit of research about the color blue’s connection to Native American culture, I also came across information that claimed that the use of the color blue in Native American culture represents intuition and the ability to teach and learn, among the common meanings of serenity. In consideration of this, I find Silko’s edition of the color blue quite supportive of the Native American theme and plot of the novel and the emotional appeal the novel has - as the color definitely helped me comprehend the mood & tone in certain scenes a lot better.