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  • 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
  • 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 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 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 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 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.
    4534.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
  • 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
  • An Apache girl dressed in buckskin clothes dances in a kneeling positon at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite, the San Carlos Indian 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 and his assistants sing and beat their drums.
    4560.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
  • 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 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • Apache Indians dance at a Sunrise Dance, the first menstruation ceremony of an Apache girl, ton the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girls herself dances in a kneeling position. 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  and his assistants 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 wants. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life.
    4561.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
  • 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
  • An Apache woman on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA, makes the traditional buckskin dress for her niece's Sunrise Dance and attaches to it a symbol representing Michael Jordan. The girl plays basketball and Michael Jordan is her favourite player. The Sunrise Dance is the first menstruation rite of an Apache girl. The rites are supposed to prepare the girl for adulthood and to give her a long and healthy life without material wants
    4600.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
  • An Apache girl dances together with four other girls at her Sunrise Dance, a first menstruation rite,  on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. The girls are all dressed in traditional buckskin clothes. 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.
    4604.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
  • Dances in the godparent's camp on the last day of a Sunrise Dance,  the first menstruaton rite of an Apache girl, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, USA. 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.
    4586.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
  • 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 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 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
  • 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 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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, 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 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
  • A medicine woman gives a young mother a hot medicinal bath during her ngasech, her first childbirth ceremony, in Palau, Micronesia. The mother has been anointed with coconut oil and yellow turmeric and the water is thrown at her with a cup made of a coconut shell. The purpose of the bath is to heal her skin, remove stretch marks and blemishes, and also to clean the inside of her private parts. Practically every Palauan woman goes through the ngasech ceremony, begun one to three months after she has given birth to her first child. The ceremony consists of hot baths, taken twice daily for five to ten days, depending on the clan of the new mother, and then a sweat bath on the day of her coming out ceremony when she is dressed up and shown to the family of the father of her child.
    4902f.jpg
  • On the final day of her ngasech, the traditional first childbirth ceremony, a young mother in Palau, Micronesia, is dressed up and anointed with cocnut oil and turmeric by a medicine woman. Practically every Palauan woman goes through the ngasech ceremony, begun one to three months after she has given birth to her first child. The ceremony consists of hot baths, taken twice daily for five to ten days, depending on the clan of the new mother, and then a sweat bath on the day of her coming out ceremony when she is dressed up and shown to the family of the father of her child. The purpose of the baths is to heal her skin, remove stretch marks and blemishes, and also to clean the inside of her private parts.
    4907f.jpg
  • Xhosa male initiates at a homecoming ritual celebrating their return after one month in seclusion. December 2006 in Ciskei, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. They have received turbans to cover their shaven heads and have had red ochre mixed with butter – a symbol of masculinity – applied to their skin. The traditional Xhosa male initiation, which transforms the teenager into an adult man, starts with circumcision. The initiate then spends about a month in an initiation camp, away from settled areas.
    5446.jpg
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Anders Ryman

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