Study Guide for Part III (key events and themes chart)
"Soo-Wanee-Quay": What does this phrase mean?
A big theme in Part III of Keeper 'N Me is the concept of finding balance in your life. Keeper begins the chapter with a description of the drum and says "the drum's about motherhood. It's about the woman power all around us. Woman's only one got power to give life. That's why we call this land our Mother. Land gives life to Indyuns. Get all we need to survive from our Mother. The drum reminds us to treat her with respect. But drum's also about the spirit power of the female"
Later he says " When we get sent into the world we come here carryin' two sets of gifts. The gifts of the father an' gifts of the mother. The two human bein's that made our life. We came here carryin' those two sets of gifts, each one equal to the other. But sometimes the world gets hold of us and makes us see diff'rent way. We get told as men that we gotta be strong, gotta be fearless. Lotta us kinda start ignorin' the gifts of our mother. Go through life just usin' gifts of the father. Bein' tough, makin' our own plans, livin' in the head. But if you do that you can't be whole on account you gotta use both of them equal setsa gifts to live right, to fill out the circle of your own life.. Be complete. Gotta use the mother's gifts too. Like gentleness and nurturin', livin' in the heart. them that's tryin' to chase the female outta themselves an' their world are chasing out half of who they are. Busy bein' incomplete. That's not our way. That's not what the drum's about. Drum's a tool to help us remember the power of the female, in the world and in us all. the balance we gotta have inside. Both sets of gifts. Using them in everything we do. And that female power, the female side's always gonna be there. Never goes away.
At the end of the chapter, the mysterious person that Garnet hears singing "Soo-Wanee-Quay" is using the song to try and connect with the earth and the female side that focuses on gentleness and the heart. The singer is trying to find balance in his life and his song connects deeply with Garnet is who also searching for that balance.
A big theme in Part III of Keeper 'N Me is the concept of finding balance in your life. Keeper begins the chapter with a description of the drum and says "the drum's about motherhood. It's about the woman power all around us. Woman's only one got power to give life. That's why we call this land our Mother. Land gives life to Indyuns. Get all we need to survive from our Mother. The drum reminds us to treat her with respect. But drum's also about the spirit power of the female"
Later he says " When we get sent into the world we come here carryin' two sets of gifts. The gifts of the father an' gifts of the mother. The two human bein's that made our life. We came here carryin' those two sets of gifts, each one equal to the other. But sometimes the world gets hold of us and makes us see diff'rent way. We get told as men that we gotta be strong, gotta be fearless. Lotta us kinda start ignorin' the gifts of our mother. Go through life just usin' gifts of the father. Bein' tough, makin' our own plans, livin' in the head. But if you do that you can't be whole on account you gotta use both of them equal setsa gifts to live right, to fill out the circle of your own life.. Be complete. Gotta use the mother's gifts too. Like gentleness and nurturin', livin' in the heart. them that's tryin' to chase the female outta themselves an' their world are chasing out half of who they are. Busy bein' incomplete. That's not our way. That's not what the drum's about. Drum's a tool to help us remember the power of the female, in the world and in us all. the balance we gotta have inside. Both sets of gifts. Using them in everything we do. And that female power, the female side's always gonna be there. Never goes away.
At the end of the chapter, the mysterious person that Garnet hears singing "Soo-Wanee-Quay" is using the song to try and connect with the earth and the female side that focuses on gentleness and the heart. The singer is trying to find balance in his life and his song connects deeply with Garnet is who also searching for that balance.