An Apache girl's Sunrise Dance

The participants in a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation rite of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA, grab as much as they can of the snacks and sweets and drinks that have been placed in along row on the ground. This symbolises good luck and material wealth. 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 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.

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Copyright: Copyright © 2004 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5310x3501 / 11.5MB; America American Indian American Indians American Southwest Apache Arizona Girls Horizontal Joy Native Americans Native North Americans North America Outdoors Religion Rite of Passage Running San Carlos Indian Reservation Smiling Sunrise Dance US USA United States of America adulthood ceremony cheerful crowd ethnic ethnic group ethnic minority festive mood food and drink gang group grouping happiness happy indigenous people jeans life cycle ceremony longevity maturity minority mob native-americans outside puberty rite religious
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The participants in a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation rite of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA, grab as much as they can of the snacks and sweets and drinks that have been placed in along row on the ground. This symbolises good luck and material wealth. 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 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.