In 1519, when the Spanish conquistadors landed in North America, they were surprised to discover that natives already inhabited the land. These indigenous people had different beliefs than the Spanish, so the Spanish began to teach these people how to be "civilized." As indigenous peoples began to learn the Spanish way of life, they mixed their beliefs with those of the Spanish to create a syncretism that has continued through the ages. In Bless Me Ultima (1972), Anaya shows how the two worlds collide and settle on common ground in Antonio. Different people in the novel come to represent the different facets of the Spanish colonization of Mexico: Antonio's father, the Spaniards; Antonio's mother, the natives; and Ultima, the embodiment of all beliefs. These people, along with others, help Antonio learn to be a man and teach him to accept all aspects of his life as one. In Bless Me Ultima, Antonio learns syncretism by mixing various forms of education: familial, spiritual and Ultima. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Antonio's family upbringing is full of two opposing symbols of Spanish colonization, his mother's family, the Lunas , and his father's family, the Marezes. . The Lunas represent the indigenous people, linked to the land through their agriculture; while the Marez represent the conquistadors, freely roaming the llano. Throughout the novel, Antonio, or Tony, is torn between his Luna blood and his Marez blood, always trying to choose between the two. From the first pages of the novel, this conflict becomes apparent in Tony's dream concerning his birth: She will be a Luna. . . he will be a farmer and will keep our customs and traditions. Maybe God will bless our family and make the baby a priest. . . Then the silence was broken by the thunder of beating hooves; vaqueros surrounded the little house. . . It's a Marez. . . His ancestors were conquistadors, men as restless as the seas they sailed and as free as the lands they conquered. (5-6) Tony's early family education from his parents is that there can be no compromise; he must choose. Throughout the novel, Tony's mother, Maria, and his father, Gabriel, constantly bicker over Tony's fate. Tony knows that one day, when he becomes a man, he will have to choose whether to be "his mother's priest" or his "father's son" (41). Both parents always ridicule each other's family. His mother calls vaqueros "worthless drunkards" and "thieves" (9), and his father doubts that Tony will become a priest and a farmer. Yet as the novel progresses, his father comes closer to compromise as he sees the effects of Marez's blood on his older sons, Andrew, Leon, and Gene. Gabriel is disconcerted by his sons' abandonment and his dreams of California, reflecting, "I was proud that they showed the true Marez blood, but I didn't think the same pride would make them abandon me." (122). Tony realizes through these words that being too Luna or Marez is not a good thing because it threatens the balance of the family. Although Maria and Gabriel represent the two forces clashing in one house, Tony's brothers and his uncles Luna teach him how this conflict works in the world. When his brothers return from the war, they have changed dramatically. The changes in their personalities teach Tony that the world is bigger than his house. His brothers exhibit Marez tendencies, wanting to leave and strike out on their own.When Tony can't understand his brothers' actions, Andrew tries to explain his childhood to him by saying: Listen, Tony, I know what you're thinking. You think about mom and dad, you think about their wishes, but it's too late for us, Tony. Léon, Gene, me, we can't become farmers or priests, we can't even go to California with dad. . . maybe it's because the war made us men too quickly, maybe it's because their dreams were never real to begin with. (74) Andrew teaches Tony that a man must find his own destiny instead of relying on dreams of the past. Just as Tony's brothers represent the instability of the Marezes, his uncles represent the stability and steadfastness of the Lunas. During his summer stay with his uncles, Tony realizes the stability and solitude of the Lunas. They teach him to become one with the earth and to respect it. Their life is governed by the moon, which they consider sacred. Because of his uncles' stability, Tony accepts all the death and heartbreak he has seen. He begins to flourish thanks to an inner strength that prepares him for the “final tragedy” (249), the death of Ultima. His uncles, through their silence and respect for the land, teach him to see beyond himself, into the land and its peace, seeing the bigger picture. At the end of the novel, Tony embraces syncretism within his family upbringing, telling his father, "maybe I don't have to be just Marez, or Luna, maybe I can be the two” (247). Even as Tony tries to deal with the conflicts within his own family upbringing, he is also trying to sort out his spiritual upbringing. Tony's spiritual upbringing also has two opposing sides, Catholicism and cultural spiritual beliefs. Tony's mother plays an important role in his spiritual upbringing, believing in both God and the Virgin of Guadalupe, a cultural saint. Tony reflects his beliefs in both God and the Virgin, but he sees big differences between the two: My mother said that the Virgin was the saint of our country, and although there are many other good saints , I loved none as much as the Virgin. . . the mother of God, the last relief of all sinners. God has not always forgiven. He made laws to follow and if you broke them you were punished. The Virgin has always forgiven. God had the power. He spoke and thunder echoed in the sky. The Virgin was full of calm and peaceful love. (43-4) His mother has a deep respect for structured religion, demonstrated throughout the text by her constant kneeling and prayer to the Virgin. Tony learns respect for the Virgin and fear of God, but he rigorously questions Catholicism, seeking answers to his questions. The Catholic priest teaches Tony and the other children to fear God by describing him as a punishing and terrifying God. Tony doesn't ask the priest his questions for fear of driving him crazy, believing the answers will all come from God during his first communion. Although doubt looms in his mind about God, the first significant event where Tony realizes he can never be a priest is the false confession in front of the church. When Tony, their so-called priest, doesn't act the way the kids want, they become violent and adopt a mob mentality. The other children teach him that he can't be their priest because he won't do something if he doesn't believe in it. The second important event that leads Tony to no longer believe in God is his first communion. When the answers do not come from God, he becomes extremely disillusioned, wondering why “there was only silence” (221). At this point, Tony becomes very dissatisfied with the Catholic religion, wanting something more substantialand tangible like the golden carp. The golden carp represents a wonderful god to Tony because he is loving and tangible. Although Samuel teaches him the legend of the golden carp, Tony is initially hesitant to believe it due to his former Catholic upbringing. When he is first presented with the idea of ​​a "new god" (81), uncertainty arises in Tony's mind: I could not believe this strange story, and yet I could not not not believe Samuel. . . His voice was strong with faith. It made me shiver, not because it was cold but because the roots of everything I had ever believed in seemed to be shaken. If the golden carp was a god, who was the man on the cross? The Virgin? Was my mother praying to the wrong God? (81)Samuel opens another door in Tony's spiritual education, an opposition to Catholicism. In the summer, Cico takes him to see the golden carp. When Tony sees the golden carp for the first time, his reaction is one of awe: "I couldn't have been more fascinated if I had seen the Virgin or God himself" (114). The following summer, after his first communion, Tony really began to doubt God: “I wondered if God was still alive, or if he ever was. He couldn't cure my uncle Lucas. . . He hadn't managed to save Lupito or Narciso. And yet he had the right to send you to heaven or hell when you died” (236). Cico tries to help Tony believe only in golden carp, but Tony still can't let go of God. His syncretism between the two different religions begins when he asks Cico: “Should we choose? . . Is it possible to have both? (238). Even though Tony doubts the Catholic Church, he cannot bring himself to believe only in golden carp or in God. In his spiritual education as in his family education, Ultima, the wise curandera, helps to teach him that he can believe in both sides, leading him towards syncretism. In this text, the most influential person in Antonio's upbringing is Ultima, who embodies all beliefs. In the first page of the novel, he begins to tell his story at the beginning: "I do not speak of the beginning which was in my dreams and the stories that were whispered to me about my birth, and about the people of my father and my mother, and my three brothers, but the beginning that came with Ultima” (1). Ultima herself represents the embodiment of all beliefs. She doesn't push Tony to choose a particular path in life; she just wants him to be able to decide for himself. She helps him decipher the conflicts both in his family upbringing and in his spiritual education, ultimately giving him an education in syncretism. From the first day of Tony's life, Ultima steps forward to protect his right to choose his own destiny by taking the placenta and burying him, so that only she will know his fate. In all disputes over whether he should be a Luna or a Marez, she remains neutral, not taking sides but providing Antonio with words of wisdom to make considered decisions. Ultima gives him the freedom to make his own decisions, pushing him to go off and figure things out for himself without the protection of his mother, who kept him close and prevented him from making his own decisions. The first day Tony leaves for school, Ultima tells Maria about her son's fate: "He will be a man of learning" (56). Although this seems to make Maria happy, she fails to realize that being a learned man requires Tony to analyze and question seemingly concrete beliefs, such as religion and family heritage. Ultima helps Tony find his inner strength, which finally comes to him when he leaves to spend the summer with his uncles in El Puerto. She knows that when he returns, he will be a different person, and she prepares him for the changes: “.