Reed woman, and Corn woman. It is argued that this matriarchal representation is due to the Laguna people attributing the existence of life itself, as well as the agency of its inhabitants, to knowledge and the spoken word, which are in turn attributed to divine female beings in creation stories, such as the Spider Woman mentioned in Silko's novel. Even the first word of the entire novel is “Ts’its’tsi’nako” which is the name for Thought-Woman who is attributed in Laguna culture for the creation of the universe. Later on in the novel, Tayo also has a lover called Ts'eh, who like the Night Swan, is meant to encapsulate the divinity of nature and female creationism in some aspect, while also assisting Tayo along his journey. Traditionally, in the Laguna culture, the men are the agriculturists and feed their family and communities, and the women own the land and houses and pass them down to their daughters. Silko shows more examples of the matriarchal hierarchy when she is describing the character Robert, Auntie's husband. Robert lives in Old Grandma's house with Auntie and is always describes as being quiet while the women of the house discuss the important issues. Silko even gives insight into Robert's mindset during arguments in one passage, “... he was patient with them because he had nothing to say. The sheep, the house, and the fields- everything belonged to them, including the good family name.” It is described that although the Laguna peoples are matriarchal, they have a very collaborative community effort to keep their culture and peoples alive. Agency of animals The intelligence of animals, and the character's beliefs around that topic, is an ongoing theme during the course of Ceremony. To give some background, most Indigenous peoples have mythical figures that take the form of humanoid animals, including characters like Coyote . Native Americans believe that current animals are descendants of these figures, and are capable of thought and rational choice. All animals are examined through the compassionate lens of Tayo, juxtaposed by his counterparts such as Harley and Emo. Tayo continually ponders the intent and actions of the animals around him, while other characters view them as being stupid or unfeeling objects. Below are some examples from Ceremony in which Tayo tangles with the concept of non-human agency. On Tayo and Harley's 25 mile long burro ride “going up the line” to the nearest