Waterlily (novel) facts for kids
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| Author | Ella Cara Deloria |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | University of Nebraska Press |
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Publication date
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1988 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 244 |
| ISBN | 0-8032-4739-7 |
Waterlily is a special novel written by Ella Cara Deloria. It tells the story of the Dakota people, focusing on their traditions and family life long ago.
Contents
Discovering Waterlily
Ella Cara Deloria wrote Waterlily in the early 1940s. However, it wasn't published until 1988, many years after she passed away. The book was originally much longer, but a friend named Ruth Benedict suggested making it shorter. This helped the story focus more on the main characters and what happens to them.
The novel is based on Deloria's deep knowledge of the Dakota people. She wanted to record their traditions and values. Waterlily shows what Dakota life was like before American settlers moved west and changed things.
The story follows two generations of Sioux women: Blue Bird and her daughter, Waterlily. Both learn how important family connections, called "kinship," are throughout their lives.
Life on the Great Plains
Waterlily takes place on the Great Plains in the Midwest. It describes how the Sioux people lived a nomadic life, moving their camp circles often. The Sioux word for camp circle is tiyospaye. This word is very important in the novel. It shows how families and groups bonded, faced problems, built relationships, and changed together.
What makes Waterlily unique is that it mainly focuses on the roles and experiences of women in Dakota society. Even though the story is told by someone who knows everything (third-person omniscient), it gives a special look into women's lives.
How the Book Was Created
Ella Deloria started working on Waterlily in 1942. Her friend Ruth Benedict encouraged her to focus on the structure of Sioux culture. Deloria worked closely with Benedict and another scholar, Franz Boas. They suggested she use her knowledge of Native culture to write a story.
It took Deloria twenty years to study the Sioux's history before she wrote the novel. She was able to translate important ceremonies and rituals. As someone who studied cultures (an ethnographer), her ability to explain these events made her book very important. It helped preserve Sioux traditions for future generations and for people who didn't know much about their culture.
Deloria also interviewed other Sioux people to make her novel as real and accurate as possible. Her main goal was to help readers understand the Sioux way of life, especially from a woman's point of view. She wanted to show their cultural practices through a historical story. The novel highlights the importance of kinship and shows the unique traditions of both men and women in Sioux society.
The Story of Waterlily
The story begins with Bluebird giving birth to a baby girl, Waterlily, while her husband's camp is moving. Bluebird names her baby after seeing a beautiful waterlily nearby. She returns to the camp and is cared for by her cousin.
Bluebird's Past and Present
Bluebird remembers her childhood when she was 14. She lost her family after their camp was attacked. She and her grandmother found a new camp circle where they were adopted. A young man named Star Elk proposed to Bluebird, and she agreed to marry him. They married in a less traditional way, but since he treated her well, their marriage was accepted.
Bluebird became known as an honorable woman in the tribe. Star Elk's family accepted her. However, Star Elk turned out to be a lazy and difficult husband. He even tried to shame Bluebird publicly, but instead, he lost his own good name because Bluebird was so respected.
New Beginnings and Challenges
Soon after, visitors arrived from another camp. They recognized Bluebird's grandmother as one of their own. Black Eagle, a grandson of Bluebird's grandmother, brought them back to their original camp. Life resumed, but tragedy struck when Bluebird's grandmother passed away.
Rainbow, the father of a boy Bluebird had helped, proposed to Bluebird, and she accepted. Rainbow's mother, Gloku, was happy to welcome Bluebird. Gloku had also faced difficulties in her childhood, surviving an attack on her own tiyospaye.
The storyteller, Woyaka, shared the legend of the buffalo dreamer. This dreamer had an important role in bringing buffalo to the tribe. Bluebird continued to learn about proper kinship with Rainbow's family.
One morning, Bluebird found a snake coiled around Ohiya, Little Chief's brother. A snake dreamer was called. He gently lured the snake away, saying its visit was a good sign. Waterlily also worried her family when she got sick from eating too much pemmican cake. Bluebird promised Waterlily a special "hunka ceremony" (making her a "child beloved," a very honorable status) if she recovered.
Little Chief showed he was growing up by killing his first buffalo, facing his first enemy, and joining a war party. Waterlily's standing in the tribe grew when Rainbow sponsored a Buffalo Ceremony for her. This was a rare and expensive event. Rainbow also showed his importance by joining the Kit Fox Society, a group of respected men.
The Sun Dance and New Encounters
Rainbow planned a trip to visit his kola, a term for men who had a very strong friendship pact. During this journey, they talked about "Long Knives" (white settlers) for the first time. The Dakota people were puzzled by their wagons. The women were interested in the cloths and other goods available at the traders' stores.
During the visit, the Dakota invited the Omaha people to the Sun Dance. This was the most important religious event for the Dakota. Men who had made promises would fast, cry, sing, or perform ritual scarring. At this ceremony, Waterlily noticed Lowanla, a boy with a beautiful singing voice who was part of the Sun Dance.
Lowanla had promised the Great Spirit that if his father got well, he would offer one hundred pieces of his flesh. His father recovered, and at the Sun Dance, Lowanla bravely took twenty cuts. Surprisingly, his aunts then demanded to take the remaining cuts. Lowanla's sisters followed, and all hundred cuts were taken. Waterlily boldly went to his tent with water, sliding it under the tipi. She then ran away, feeling shy, and promised herself never to tell anyone what she did.
Marriage and Loss
Rainbow and the family returned home. Bluebird taught Waterlily about how to accept marriage proposals. Waterlily saw the Virgin's fire ceremony, where a woman named Leaping Fawn proved her honor after a man tried to falsely accuse her.
Gloku, Waterlily's grandmother, passed away, and Waterlily mourned her properly. Months later, Waterlily was "bought" by Sacred Horse. She felt conflicted because she didn't know him, but she also felt marrying him would fulfill her family duties. Two horses meant to honor Gloku had been killed. Bear Soldier, Sacred Horse's father, offered to buy Waterlily for two fine horses to replace the lost ones. After thinking it over, Waterlily accepted.
Sacred Horse was a kind husband, though quiet. Waterlily found adjusting to married life difficult. She had to get used to a husband and a completely new tiyospaye. However, life became easier when she was "adopted" by a woman who remembered her as Ohiya's sister. To show proper kinship, Waterlily made moccasins for her social parents' newborn baby. She was highly praised for her family responsibility.
Tragedy and Hope
At Sacred Horse's camp, there was talk of a sickness (smallpox) brought by the "Long Knives." Sickness broke out, and Sacred Horse tried to move his family away. Sadly, Sacred Horse himself got smallpox and died alone, as he wished. Soon after, the small tiyospaye was attacked by non-Dakota groups, and many lives were lost.
Feeling alone, Waterlily, who was now expecting a child, was called back by her social parents. They helped her cope with her recent losses. While with them, it was arranged for Waterlily to return to her own tiyospaye.
Lowanla came for her, and they agreed to marry based on mutual agreement, which was also an honorable way to marry. Waterlily gave birth to a boy she named Mithra. Waterlily was surprised when Lowanla remembered her from the Sun Dance. He told her he had received a small bucket of water at the ceremony and hoped it was her who delivered it. However, Waterlily had promised herself she would never tell him it was her, even though he said it would make him happy forever. The novel ends with Waterlily keeping her promise.
The Big Idea: Kinship
One of the main ideas in Waterlily is that kinship, or family connections, was the most important part of Sioux society. These family ties came with strict social rules. These rules decided how people should interact with each other.
Kinship duties were necessary to keep camp life working smoothly. They also defined each person's role and status in the group. Waterlily faced a conflict between her own wishes and her kinship duties when Sacred Horse offered to marry her. Even though saying no was possible, it was clear that to honor her family and keep her word, she had to accept. In the end, Waterlily's decision was based on following her kinship ties.
Beyond Blood Relatives
Kinship wasn't just about blood relatives. It also included social relationships. Social kinship was just as important as being related by blood. It required the same amount of care and respect. It was her social relatives, especially her social parents, who helped Waterlily feel more comfortable in her husband's camp. These adopted parents acted like Waterlily's birth parents and looked after her. She, in turn, acted like a proper daughter.
However, kinship didn't always bring people closer. Some kinship rules required people to avoid each other or keep a distance. When Waterlily joined Sacred Horse's camp, she could only interact with certain people in specific ways. She had to keep a certain distance from her husband's relatives and couldn't share secrets with his female relatives. Breaking these kinship rules would bring dishonor not only to herself but also to her husband, his family, and her own family.
Even though kinship ties were sometimes hard to follow because they might go against what a person wanted, they had to be followed no matter what. Kinship ties were essential for the survival of the camp circle. Ideally, they were seen as a pleasant and necessary responsibility.
