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Apache sunrise dance, USA

14 images Created 5 Jan 2016

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  • The San Carlos Lake on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, USA. June 2004. The lake was about to dry out at the time the photograph was taken, threatening the tribal economy, since much of the tribal income derives from the sale of fishing permits.
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  • An Apache girl and her helper, both dressed in buckskin clothes, dance at the girl's Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. The girl holds a cane that symbolises longevity. The Sunrise Dance is supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.The ceremony is also an enactment of the Apache creation myth and during the rites the girl ’becomes‘ Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers.
    4533.jpg
  • Apache Indians dance at a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation ceremony of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. Behind the girl, who is dressed in buckskin clothes, the medicine man and his helpers sing and beat their drums. The long row of cartons filled with snacks and drinks, in front of the girl, symbolises a life without material want. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life. During the rites the girl also becomes Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers.
    4602.jpg
  • An Apache girl dressed in buckskin clothes dances in a kneeling positon at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. During the ceremony the girl ‘becomes’ Changing Woman, the mythical founder of the Apache Tribe, and this part of the ceremony is an enactment of when Changing Woman was impregnated by the sun and gave birth to a son.  Behind the girl stands her godmother and behind her the medicine man (third from right) and his assistants sing and beat their drums.
    4624.jpg
  • An Apache girl, dressed in buckskin dress, runs during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. She runs four times, each time a little bit longer. This symbolises the four stages of life. Close behind her godmother and relatives  follow, the women dressed in camp dresses. The food, snacks and drinks on the ground symbolise a life without material want. The Sunrise Dance is supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life. The ceremony is also an enactment of the Apache creation myth and during the rites the girl ’becomes‘ Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers.
    4538.jpg
  • An Apache girl dances with her godmother and godfather at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. The three are covered with sacred yellow pollen from the cattail plant, which has been applied as a blessing by the medicine man and the relatives. The Sunrise Dance is an enactment of the Apache creation myth and during the rites the girl ’becomes‘ Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are also supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4539.jpg
  • An Apache girl at her Sunrise Dance on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. The girl is covered with sacred yellow pollen from the cattail plant that has been applied as a blessing by the medicine man and her relatives. On her forehead  she wears an abalone shell, symbolising Changing Woman, a mythical female figure. The Sunrise Dance is an enactment of the Apache creation myth and during the rites the girl ’becomes‘ Changing Woman and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are also supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4540.jpg
  • An Apache girl dressed in traditional buckskin clothes dances beside a bonfire at a Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. The figures in the background are mountain spirits (gaan) or crown dancers. The girl is not the young girl for whom the puberty rite is held, but one of four girls chosen to dance with her and the mountain spirits by the evening bonfire. The Sunrise Dance is held during the summer, within one year after the girl has had her first menstruation, and lasts for four days. The ceremony is an enactment of the Apache creation myth and during the rites the girl ’becomes‘ Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are also supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4607.jpg
  • Traditional Apache female moccasins, worn by a young Apache woman at a Sunrise Dance held at the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, USA.
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  • An Apache girl is painted white with sacred clay and corn meal during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. She is painted by a Mountain Spirit (Gaan) or Crown Dancer, and the staff in her hand symbolises longevity. Other Crown Dancers dance around her, and beside her dances her godfather. The painting of the girl is both a blessing and an enactment of certain parts of the Apache creation myth. During the rites the girl becomes Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4609.jpg
  • An Apache girl is painted white with sacred clay and corn meal during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. She is painted by a Mountain Spirit (Gaan) or Crown Dancer, and the staff in her hand symbolises longevity. Other Crown Dancers dance around her, and beside her dances her godfather. The painting of the girl is both a blessing and an enactment of certain parts of the Apache creation myth. During the rites the girl becomes Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4537.jpg
  • An Apache girl is painted white with sacred clay and corn meal during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. She is painted by a Mountain Spirit or Crown Dancer, and the staff in her hand symbolises longevity. The painting of the girl is both a blessing and an enactment of certain parts of the Apache creation myth. During the rites the girl becomes Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are also supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4536.jpg
  • An Apache girl together with her godmother and helper at her Sunrise Dance on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA. As a blessing, and an enactment of part of the Apache creation myth, the girl has been painted with white clay mixed with sacred corn meal. The Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation rite of an Apache girl, is held during the summer, within one year after the girl has had her first menstruation, and lasts for four days. During the rites the girl ’becomes‘ Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
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  • At the end of a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruaton rite of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, USA, a caravan of pickups loaded with gifts travel from the camp of the family of the girl to the camp of her godparents. Girls dressed in camp dress and moccasins sit on the platform of the last pickup. The Sunrise Dance is the most important ceremony of the Apache Indians. It is held during the summer, within one year after the girl has had her first menstruation, and lasts for four days. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
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Anders Ryman

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