Ingenuity and Myth-Building in *Rainy Mountain*

After reading “The Going On” in Scott Momaday’s The Way to Rainy
Mountains one cannot help but notice the tremendous amount of talents,
skills, and personal intuitions that the Kiowas possessed. In this segment,
Momaday draws from folk tales, historical commentary, and personal
recollections in order to demonstrate to the reader how the Kiowas were
able to rise to be the dominant tribe of the land.
   The author begins by describing a tale in which a Kiowa man refuses
to trust his enemies based on a personal intuition that they were out to
deceive him. He killed them for the sole purpose of guaranteeing the
survival of him and his family; it did not matter to him whether or not
the enemies would in fact deceive them. In another instance, a group of
young Kiowas turned back from their journey following the summer sun
because they saw a group of monkeys following them overheard. The
mere unfamiliarity with the creatures was enough to turn them away.
Once again, the guarantee of survival was the overlying factor in their
decision to retreat after spending months riding in pursuit of eternal
summer.
   Similar stories are presented which demonstrate the incredible skills
that helped keep the Kiowas alive. I mean, who could forget the tale of
the arrow maker who tricks his enemy that he is unnoticed right before
shooting him in the heart or the man who had one chance to kill the iron
bull and save his life and succeeded? Through examples Momaday was
able to portray the Kiowa as men of skill, men of instinct, and men of nature
and it was through their incredible abilities that they were able to “go
on” with the difficult lives that they lived and prevail.

~A.A.