Show Navigation

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
{ 79 images found }

Loading ()...

  • An Apache girl dressed in buckskin dress dances at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in 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.
    4532.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
  • A 10-year old Newar girl, dressed in school uniform, sits outside her family's house in Kathamndu, Nepal. She has just come home from school, and is waiting to begin her bahra ceremony, a mock first-menstruation rite, during which she will be secluded in a room for twelve days. Her mother and female relatives and friends may enter the room, but no male can go inside and its windows will be covered so that the sun cannot shine in.
    4421.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 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
  • A girl and her family in Oruro, Bolivia, buy bread with which to decorate the shrine that they will build at Todos Santo for her dead father who died two years before. In the Altiplano of Bolivia, it is customary that a family, in which there has been a death within the last three years, build a shrine at home at Todos Santos, decorating it with religious symbols as well as a picture of the deceased and food and drink that he or she liked, and then call down the spirit for a three day visit. The bread is a particularly important type of decoration. There are pieces of bread shaped like human beings, representing the dead, and there are also pieces in the shape of various old Inca symbols such as the sun and the moon.
    4845.jpg
  • A Jewish girl performs her bat mitzvah, her coming of age ceremony, at Temple Avoda, a Reform synagogue, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA. The girl carries the holy Torah scrolls through the synagogue  after reading extracts to the congregation. Jewish tradition dictates that a girl comes of age at twelve, though in Reform and Conservative Jewish congregations they usually become bat mitzvahs at thirteen, the same age as boys.
    5479.jpg
  • Young Ait Haddidou woman at the Imilchil Brides' Fair, the High Atlas, Morocco. The fair, or moussem, which is held by the local Berber tribe, is an annual event consisting of trading goods, praying at a marabout, the grave of a local saint, and searching for a suitable marriage partner. The way in which the woman wears her headdress tells that she is or has been married before.  Divorce is common in the area. Her clothing, e g the striped, woollen cloak, is typical of the Hait Haddidou women.
    3534.jpg
  • A girl has her hair fixed in traditional style for her shichi-go-san in Tokyo, Japan. During shichi-go-san, literally seven-five-three, parents dress their daughters aged three and seven and sons aged five in traditional costume and take them to a Shinto shrine to be blessed.
    5154.jpg
  • After giving her a prayer shawl and blessing, the rabbi talks to a Jewish girl before she goes through her bat mitzvah, her coming-of-age ritual, at her Reform Jewish synagogue in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA. After this she will enter the synagogue hall to read extracts from the Torah, the holy scriptures, to the congregation. Jewish tradition dictates that a girl comes of age at twelve, though in Reform and Conservative Jewish congregations they usually become bat mitzvahs at thirteen, the same age as boys.
    5481.jpg
  • Guided by her rabbi a Jewish girl practices reading from the Torah, the five books of Moses, in preparation for her bat mitzvah, her coming of age ceremony, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, USA. Jewish tradition dictates that a girl comes of age at twelve, though in Reform and Conservative Jewish congregations they usually become bat mitzvahs at thirteen, the same age as boys.
    5480.jpg
  • Newar woman with her daughter at the daughter's Ihi ceremony, a mock marriage to the Hindu god Vishnu, Patan, the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Among the Newars, who are the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, every girl goes through this ceremony sometime between the age of five and ten. The Ihi makes the girl a full member of her father's family and caste and is also said to make sure that she will never become a widow, even if later on her future human husband would die, since she will forever be married to the god Vishnu. The Ihi is therefore for the Newar women a protection against the stigmatization of widows otherwise common in Hindu culture.
    4360.jpg
  • A Hamar woman participating in a bull jump, a ritual at which a man runs across the backs of a row of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage, gets help from a female friend to soothe her scars with butter, in South Omo, Ethiopia. The woman, who is a close relative of the initiate, has been ritually whipped by maz, men who have performed the bull jump but have yet to marry. The Hamar view a scarified back as proof of a woman's love and devotion to her brothers. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5409.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
  • Apache Indians dance during a Sun Rise Dance, an Apache girl’s first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The women are dressed in camp dresses. Behind the long row of cartons filled with snacks and drinks, symbolising a life without material want, the girl herself dances dressed in buckskin clothes. 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.
    4565.jpg
  • An Apache girl, dressed in buckskin dress, runs during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in 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.
    4603.jpg
  • A female member of her fiancé's family applies red ochre and butter to a bride-to-be's hair, shoulders and chest at a Hamar couple's betrothal ceremony, in South Omo, Ethiopia. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse South Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5425.jpg
  • The medicine man holds a speech during an Apache girl's Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA. The Apache girl and her godmother stands in front of the wickiup in which the girl sleeps during the ceremony. The girl is equiped with various ritual objects, e g a straw for drinking, a peg with which to scratch herself, a cane symbolising lonevity and an abalone shell attached to her forehead symbolising Changing Woman, a mythical female figure. The ceremony 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.
    4555.jpg
  • 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
  • Traditional Apache female moccasins, worn by a young Apache woman at a Sunrise Dance held at the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, USA.
    4550.jpg
  • A Hamar female dancer at a bull jump, a ritual at which a young man runs across the backs of a number of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage, in South Omo, Ethiopia. The antelope skin and metal necklace indicate that she is married, while her belt studded with cowry shells shows she is a mother. Her hair and neck are coated in butter and red ochre and she has scarifications on her arms and shoulders. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5403.jpg
  • Four Kombai women chop and pound the pith of a sago palm with a tool made of of a piece of bamboo in Papua, Indonesia, in order to extract the edible, starchy sago flour. September 2000. The Kombai are a so-called treehouse people who build their homes high up in the trees, and sago is one of their staple foods.
    3021.jpg
  • A Kombai man with a dog´s tooth necklace watches three other men empty a dammed part of a creek in Papua, Indonesia, a fishing method allowing them to catch the fish living in the creek. September 2000.  The men use woody shafts of sago leafs as bailers. One such bailer is leaning against the tree to the left. A stone axe is lying on the ground beside it. On the other side of the creek three women are waiting. The Kombai are a so-called treehouse people who build their homes high up in the trees.
    3012.jpg
  • A young Amerindian woman, taking part in the wayunka ceremony in the Cochabamba Area, Bolivia, catches a decorated basket with her feet while sitting on a swing. The ceremony, which is a fertility rite and sexual flirt with the men watching it, is held at the end of Todos Santos and symbolises the return of life after several days of death rites.
    4085.jpg
  • A Hamar bride who following local traditions lives alone in the loft of her parents-in-law's home for three months before consummating the marriage, in South Omo, Ethiopia. She is covered from top to toe in red ochre and butter to ward off evil.  The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse South Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5426.jpg
  • A Kombai woman picks lice from the hair of a pregnant friend during a break in a hunting and gathering trip in the rainforest in Papua, Indonesia. September 2000. The Kombai are a so-called treehouse people who build their homes high up in the trees. The woman wears a dog's tooth necklace and a rat tail headband.
    3003.jpg
  • Hamar women serve millet porridge at a feast held after a bull jump, in South Omo, Ethiopia. The bull jump is a ritual at which a man runs over a row of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse South Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5420.jpg
  • A Hamar bride-to-be visits her fiancé's village for the betrothal ceremony, in South Omo, Ethiopia. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse South Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5422.jpg
  • Two cousins dressed up as princes and an older female relative greet each other during Poy Sang Long, the yearly ordination of novice monks, Mae Hong Son, Thailand.
    4005.jpg
  • An Apache girl learns how to make corn bread as part of the preparation for her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. June 2004. Her mother looks out through the kitchen door. 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.
    4579.jpg
  • A mountain spirit (gaan) or crown dancer dances during a Sunrise Dance on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The Sunrise Dance, a 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. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4616.jpg
  • An Apache girl and her godfather, who sprinkles sacred white clay around him as a blessing, dance with mountain spirits (gaan) or crown dancers during a Sunrise Dance on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4610.jpg
  • An Apache girl is massaged by her godmother during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. Behind the girl and the godmother the medicine man and his assistants sing and beat their drums. The Sunrise Dance is supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants, and the purpose of the massage is to shape the girl into a grown woman with a strong body. The rite 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.
    4564.jpg
  • An Apache girl and her helper, both dressed in buckskin dresses, dance at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girl holds a cane that symbolises longevity. Behind her the medicine man and drummers sing and beat their drums. 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.
    4535.jpg
  • An Apache girl and her helper, both dressed in buckskin dresses, dance at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girl holds a cane that symbolises longevity. Behind her the medicine man and drummers sing and beat their drums. 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.
    4534.jpg
  • Sisters and female cousins of a young Hamar man who will to perform the bull jump, a ritual making him eligible for marriage, show their devotion to him by dancing and singing about their excitement about his forth-coming jump in South Omo, Ethiopia. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5402.jpg
  • A Mountain Spirit (Gaan) or Crown Dancer dances inside a ceremonial tepee and in front of an Apache girl during her Sunrise Dance, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4619.jpg
  • A basket filled with candy, maize and money is poured over an Apache girl at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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.
    4567.jpg
  • A man holds a basket that contains cigarettes and chewing-gums at a Sunrise Dance on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The Sunrise Dance, a 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. 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.
    4558.jpg
  • Apache Indians dance at a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation ceremony of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in 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.
    4556.jpg
  • In the early morning of the first day of her Sunrise Dance an Apache girl and her assistant (a friend who has already gone through the ceremony herself) bake four different kinds of corn bread on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girls are dressed in camp dresses. 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. 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.
    4554.jpg
  • On the second day of her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, an Apache girl and her two cousins wait for the evening dance to start, the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA. The girls are dressed in buckskin dresses. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4613.jpg
  • After six hours of continuous dancing at a Sunrise Dance, an Apache girl's first menstruation rite, the girl rests in camp together with her helper and a cousin on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girl is 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.
    4570.jpg
  • 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.
    4566.jpg
  • An Apache girl drinks water through a straw at her Sunrise Dance, a frist menstruation rite,  on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA.  Behind the girl, who is dressed in buckskin clothes, the medicine man and his helpers, who sing and beat their drums during the dance, are having a rest. 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.
    4563.jpg
  • A Brahman filing the teeth of a young man at a traditional tooth-filing ceremony in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, while female relatives hold the boy's arms and shoulder. The ceremony is a puberty rite, done after the girl has had her first menstruation or the boy's voice has broken, but can be saved until later in life, sometimes until the time of ones wedding. The six front teeth in the upper jaw are filed down to an even row, the purpose of which is to lessen six human vices, e g anger and sexual desire. Another reason is to make one look less like a fanged demon, thereby securing ones entry into the land of the dead after cremation. The boy wears ceremonial brocade clothing.
    2963.jpg
  • An Apache girl learns how to make corn bread as part of the preparation for her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. June 2004. 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.
    4580.jpg
  • As part of the preparation for her Sunrise Dance, an Apache girl learns how to make bread from her mother, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. June 2004. The Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, 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.
    4544.jpg
  • An Apache girl dances with her godmother and godfather at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in 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.
    4568.jpg
  • Members of an Apache girl's family  (two sisters, father, mother, brother and her grandmother) dance during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The women are dressed in camp dresses. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4622.jpg
  • An Apache medicine man, surrounded by his assistans, sings and beats his drum at a Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4640.jpg
  • 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.
    4625.jpg
  • An Apache girl wears a buckskin dress at her Sunrise Dance with the symbol of her favourite basketball player Michael Jordan attached, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The Sunrise Dance, a 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. 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.
    4559.jpg
  • A Group of Apache Indians dance at a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation ceremony of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. Behind the girl, who is dressed in buckskin clothes, the medicine man and his helpers sing and beat their drums. 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.
    4557.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 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.
    4621.jpg
  • A group of Apache males drum and sing at a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation rite of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girl and her helper, both dressed in buckskin clothes, dance to the left. She holds a cane that symbolises longevity. 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.
    4541.jpg
  • An Apache girl uses a straw to drink water from a dipper during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girl is covered in sacred white clay and corn meal that has been applied both as a blessing and as 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.
    4612.jpg
  • An Apache girl covered in sacred white clay and corn meal at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The painting of the girl with the white clay 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.
    4611.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 Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. She is painted by a Mountain Spirit (Gaan) 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    5040.jpg
  • After six hours of continuous dancing at a Sunrise Dance, an Apache girl's first menstruation rite, the girl rests in camp on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girl is 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.
    4571.jpg
  • An Apache girl dances with her godmother and godfather at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in 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.
    4569.jpg
  • An Apache girl dances in a kneeling position during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation ceremony, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in 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. Behind the girl, who is dressed in buckskin clothes, stands her godmother, and behind her the medicine man and his helpers sing and beat their drums.
    4623.jpg
  • An Apache girl and her helper, both dressed in buckskin dresses, dance at the girl's Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA. The girl holds a cane that symbolises longevity. Behind her the medicine man and drummers sing and beat their drums. 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.
    4531.jpg
  • An Apache girls family have built a temporary camp during her Sunrise Dance at the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Arizona, USA. In the camp the family live and eat together with the girl. The Sunrise Dance, a 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. 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.
    4553.jpg
  • In preparation for a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation rite of an Apache girl, the family of the girl's godparents butcher a cow on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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.
    4552.jpg
  • An Apache woman makes the buckskin dress that her niece  will wear during her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. On the wall hangs a painting of an Apache Crown Dancer or Mountain Spirit. The Sunrise Dance is the most important ceremony of the Apache. 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.
    4549.jpg
  • A boy is dressed up in princely clothes in remembrance of the Buddha at Poy Sang Long, the yearly ordination of novice monks, Mae Hong Son, Thailand. April 2003. His traditional headress contains female hair and fresh flowers.
    3984.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
  • 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
  • A Hamar man ritually whips a young woman at a bull jump, a ritual at which a man runs across the backs of a row of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage, in South Omo, Ethiopia. The initiate's sisters and female cousins ask the maz, men who have performed the bull jump but have yet to marry, to whip them, an act which shows the young women’s love and devotion to their brothers. To protect their breasts from stray strokes, the women nowadays wear cotton singlet’s during the ritual. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.
    5408.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 Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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.
    4620.jpg
  • A Mountain Spirit (Gaan) or Crown Dancer dances inside a ceremonial tepee and in front of an Apache girl during her Sunrise Dance, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. Behind the girl the medicine man and his helpers sing and beat their drums. 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. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4618.jpg
  • An Apache girl and her godfather dance inside a ceremonial tepee, while mountain spirits (gaan) or crown dancers dance around it, during a Sunrise Dance held on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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. 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4608.jpg
  • Mountain spirits dance together with Apache girls, all dressed in buckskin clothes, beside a big bonfire at night during a Sunrise Dance on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The clown, in white hood, swings a bull-roarer in the air. The Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, 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 supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants.
    4614.jpg
  • At the henna party of a newly circumcised boy who lives in a suburb of Istanbul, Turkey, the boy dances with a red cloth bearing the emblem of the Turkish flag draped over his shoulders. Female family members and friends clap their hands while he dances.
    5250.jpg
  • A Roma feamle beggar from Romania sit with three of her children in the family minibus in a parking lot in Uppsala, Sweden. The children are looked after by the father while the mother begs in the streets of the town during the day.
    ARyman_20141128_105529.jpg
  • Close female realtives of a decased Roma man grieve beside his open coffin during a wake in the village of Valea Seaca in Bacau County, Romania.
    ARyman_20150912_113529.jpg
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Anders Ryman

  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Books
  • Exhibitions
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Contact