Momaday’s The Way to Rainy Mountain traces the history of the author’s Kiowa ancestors. The tone of the story is melancholic and nostalgic as Momaday shares personal memories and the stories his grandmother told him growing up.
The Way to Rainy Mountain is a blend of first- and third-person narratives. When Momaday talks about his own memories, he uses first-person narrative. When the story describes historical facts and oral traditions of the tribe, he uses third-person narrative. He then shifts to first-person narrative when he writes about his grandmother’s passing, which prompted him to take the journey to Rainy Mountain: “I returned to Rainy Mountain in July. My grandmother had died in the spring, and I wanted to be at her grave.”
Throughout the story, Momaday relates his interpretation of Kiowa history, culture, and beliefs. He recites Kiowa stories and discusses the stark changes the Kiowa endured. The reader can see that Momaday struggles with understanding and blending his Kiowa heritage with his American upbringing and society.
The Cherokee Indian creation story, “How the World Was Made” is also about an American Indian tribe. This story, however, is written entirely in the third person. The archeologist James Mooney translated and transcribed this story from the American Indian oral tradition.
Both works discuss creation stories. For example, Momaday writes about the Kiowa origin story:
According to their origin stories, they [the Kiowas] entered the world through a hollow log. From one point of view, their migration was the fruit of an old prophecy, for indeed they emerged from a sunless world.
Momaday also includes American Indian stories he heard his grandmother tell, such as the legend of the rock formation called Devil’s Tower.
The Cherokee creation story describes an earth that was once covered with water. A brave water beetle creates solid land for all of the other animals:
Then it dived to the bottom and came up with some soft mud, which began to grow and spread on every side until it became the island which we call the earth. It was afterward fastened to the sky with four cords, but no one remembers who did this.
The stories are about creation, but they use different narratives, styles, and structures. While the Cherokee creation story strictly relates the beliefs of the Cherokee people, Momaday filters the Kiowa stories and traditions through his modern views. In one sense, Momaday represents the modern American Indian who can only share a connection with his people and traditions through history. The passing of his grandmother represents the continual fading of his people and their beliefs.
