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Song of The Sky Loom

The poem "Song of the Sky Loom" expresses the deep respect that Native Americans of the Tewa tribe have for nature. It presents nature as a loving parent, with the earth as mother and sky as father. The poem uses the sky as a loom weaving a "garment of brightness" for the tribe from the light of morning and evening, with rain as fringe and rainbows as borders. Through its extended metaphor and repetition, the poem conveys Native American traditions of seeing nature as a nurturing force and source of life.

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Froilan Tindugan
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684 views9 pages

Song of The Sky Loom

The poem "Song of the Sky Loom" expresses the deep respect that Native Americans of the Tewa tribe have for nature. It presents nature as a loving parent, with the earth as mother and sky as father. The poem uses the sky as a loom weaving a "garment of brightness" for the tribe from the light of morning and evening, with rain as fringe and rainbows as borders. Through its extended metaphor and repetition, the poem conveys Native American traditions of seeing nature as a nurturing force and source of life.

Uploaded by

Froilan Tindugan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SONG OF THE SKY LOOM

O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky,


Your children are we, and with tired backs
We bring you the gifts you love.
Then weave for us a garment of brightness;
May the warp be the white light of morning,
May the weft be the red light of evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness
That we may walk fittingly where birds sing,
That we may walk fittingly where grass is green,
O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky!
IMPORTANT DETAILS
“Song of the Sky Loom” is a poem, not a
work of prose, and it explains how
members of the Tewa tribe are receiving
gifts from nature. 

The Tewa (or Tano) are a linguistic group of Pueblo


Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and
share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or
near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe.
They comprise the following communities: Nambé
Pueblo.
These lines show their respect for nature.
Showing their respect for nature is a
characteristic of Native American literature:

“O our Mother the Earth,


O our Father the Sky…”. 
The speakers are Native Americans
They respect nature as much or more
than their own loved members of their
family.
The poet uses an extended Metaphor to get
across his meaning.

The sky is a loom, but instead of holding thread, it holds the


sun which makes light.  The light makes a “garment of
brightness.
The metaphor is an extended one because the light makes
up the cloth, the rain makes the fringe, and the border is
the rainbow. 

This shows that nature gives light and water for growing
food.  It gives the rainbow for beauty and hope.  This
shows that nature is like parents who love and care
for their children.
The term “extended metaphor” refers to a
comparison between two unlike things that
continues throughout a series of sentences in
a paragraph, or lines in a poem. It is often
comprised of more than one sentence, and
sometimes consists of a full paragraph.
The syntax is not ordinary because the word
order is reversed

Instead of saying, “We are your children.”  The


poet says, “Your children are we.”

This gives the poem a more formal


feeling, a feeling of prayer.

A syntax is the arrangement of words and


phrases to create well-formed sentences in a
language.
The poem has the characteristic of oral
literature

It has memorable repetition.  The word “May” is


repeated many times. (incremental repetition)
Also, the poem begins and ends with the
same words: “Oh our Mother Earth, oh
our Father the Sky” (repetition)

Oral literature, the standard forms (or genres) of literature found in societies without
writing. The term oral literature is also used to describe the tradition in written
civilizations in which certain genres are transmitted by word of mouth or are
confined to the so-called folk (i.e., those who are “unlettered,” or do not use
writing).
“Song of the Sky Loom” is a
beautiful poem that is important
because it shows the Native
American respect for nature and
uses many poetic techniques to let
readers see a “garment of
brightness.”

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