Origins and Encounters The Man to Send Rain

Origins and Encounters The Man to Send Rain Clouds

Build Background • Pueblo groups • Settled in SW thousands of years before Spanish conquistadors in 1540. • Spanish attempted to establish a colony and convert the Pueblos to Catholicism. • Laguna people of western New Mexico are a Pueblo group. • Founded in 1699 • Maintain many values and beliefs even with the influence of the outside culture

Words to Know • Arroyo—deep gully cut by an intermittent stream; a dry gulch. • Mesa—a broad, flat-topped hill with cliff-like sides. • Cloister—a place devoted to religious seclusion; a monastery or convent. • Cassock—ankle-length garment worn by clergymen (close-fitting waist and sleeves). • Perverse—stubbornly opposed to what is right or reasonable; wrong-headed.

Cultural Information • http: //www 2005. lang. osakau. ac. jp/~krkvls/laguna. html • http: //www. nativeamericans. com/Pueblo. htm • http: //www. lagunapueblo. org • http: //www. nmmagazine. com/NMGUIDE/lagu na. html

“The Man to Send Rain Clouds” • Setting—Contemporary NM • Themes—Traditions/harmony

Literature Terms • Plot--Sequence of actions and events in a literary work. • Conflict—struggle between opposing forces that forms the basis of the plot • Inferences—a logical guess based on evidence. • Symbolism—person, place, or thing that stands for something beyond itself (idea/feeling)

A classic literary plot diagram

Conflict • Internal Conflict—between opposing forces within a character • External Conflict—pits a character against nature, society, or another character.

Inferences • What inference does Father Paul make about Teofilo from Leon’s comments when they meet the first time? • Why do you think Leon and Ken do not tell Father Paul about Teofilo’s death right away? • What can you infer about Louise from the fact that she wants Father Paul to sprinkle holy water for Teofilo?

Symbolism • What is the symbolic meaning of the corn meal and pollen that are scattered to mark Teofilo’s death?