Apache girl dancing at her Sunrise Dance

An Apache girl dances in a kneeling position during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation ceremony, on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA. The rites are an enactment of the Apache creation myth and are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood, giving her a long and healthy life. During the rites the girl becomes Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. This particular part of the ceremony symbolises the moment when Changing Woman was impregnated by the sun and gave birth to a son.

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Copyright: Copyright © 2004 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5545x3690 / 10.1MB; American Indian American Indians American Southwest Apache Headband Horizontal Native North Americans Necklace North America Religion Rite of Passage San Carlos Indian Reservation Sunrise Dance United States of America adornment adulthood animal hide buckskin ceremony cultural and ethnic dress dawn daybreak decorated decorations ethnic clothing ethnic minority fringed indigenous people life cycle ceremony maturity morning mother-of-pearl music music instrument musician native-americans ornament puberty rite religious small group of people sun up sunrise sunrises sunshine teenage girl trousers
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An Apache girl dances in a kneeling position during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation ceremony, on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA. The rites are an enactment of the Apache creation myth and are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood, giving her a long and healthy life. During the rites the girl becomes Changing Woman, a mythical female figure, and comes into possession of her healing powers. This particular part of the ceremony symbolises the moment when Changing Woman was impregnated by the sun and gave birth to a son.