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Fort Apache Indian Reservation Sunrise Ceremony
by Rico Leffanta
APACHE PUBERTY RITE
("SUNRISE CEREMONY")
© 1999 Rico Leffanta
Although most Southwestern Indian groups believe they emerged from the center of the earth, Apaches believe N'dee ("The People") began when "Changing Woman" (Is dzán naadleeshe') was washed ashore and emerged from a sea shell.
"NA-IH-ES", the Apache puberty rite popularly called the "Sunrise Ceremony", dramatizes this creation story and, in the process, the girl becomes Is
dzán naadleeshe' with Changing Woman's
power to heal the sick and restore goodness among N'dee.
Like thespians around the world, Apaches
know "To be Is dzán naadleeshe'
act like Is dzán
naadleeshe'!" so selection of the abalone
shell is just as important as selection of eagle feathers and
the diiyin who will
direct every aspect of the ceremony (Diiyin
is popularly translated as 'medicine man'
by Christians who don't believe women can receive power from God (it seems Christian women can only receive power from the Devil, or dark side, so Christian women can become witches, but not Catholic priestesses, nor Mormon bishopesses, etc.); the correct translation is "one who has power").
(Someday, probably
after American women become equal, someone will produce a riveting movie about Lozen. Her famous brother, Victorio, almost created the Boy Scout tenets by describing the always-prepared Lozen, as "honest, loyal, brave" etc., the "shield to her people".
Despite Lozen's fame as mother,
diiyin, "ferocious"
warrior and staunch defender (whether he was right or wrong) of her brother, Lozen's contributions to history are conspicuously absent from history books, perhaps because then, as now, no American writer wanted to admit on record that no American male was physically nor mentally the equal of one "wild and wily Apache woman". )
These choices are not acts of reason, but inspiration, i.e., the diiyin will determine the most propitious time and place to hold the ceremony. If the skies open up and dump seven inches of rain onto the dance ground, churning the land into a river of mud, the Sunrise Ceremony isn't "rained out"; it becomes a sacred test of the girl's belief, her ability to withstand hardship, and to maintain control of her own destiny.
The only "set" for this ceremony is the Gowa'a, four poles lashed together, each aligned to one of the four sacred directions and decorated with appropriate symbols and/or artifacts. Their sacred purpose is indicated with eagle feathers strung above the entrance to the East. This recreates the time and place where Is dzán naadleeshe' became a woman.
It is said that one morning Is dzán naadleeshe' sat cross-legged in front of her gowa'a, praying with arms outstretched to the sun, bending low to touch Mother Earth on the North side, then on the South side, a challenging movement not taught in aerobics classes!
Because she was naked (At that time, there were no critics to censure our Creator's work, nor envious people demanding she must conceal her charms with fashions of their choosing, or be confined) eventually a red beam of light from the sun shot between her legs, penetrating her and causing menses (her first period).
Thus primed, 4-shortly thereafter she became pregnant and gave birth to Naye' nazgháné;
("Slayer -of -Monsters") and, 4-shortly thereafter, became pregnant and gave birth to Túbasdeschine ("Born-of-Water-Old-Man"), who made the world habitable for N'dee.
There is no question
Is dzán naadleeshe' was one tough
lady!
Women today just don't have the hide to rock back and forth on bare earth, so today, a tarp is usually spread on the ground with soft blankets piled on top and covered with a deer hide to which an eagle feather tied to a turquoise stone has been affixed.
In front of the blankets will be one large basketful of blessings (táts'aa' - the Apache "burden basket" favoured by museums around the world) in the form of goodies the diiyin
will eventually pour over the girl's head, a small basket of cigarettes for blowing smoke to the spirit world, and a basket of a good-medicine pollen mixture N'dee will use to bless the Ga'an ("Crowndancers")
and the girl during the ceremony.
Stretching East in a neat line from the
baskets will be boxes of food, soda pop, and snacks. People who attend the ceremony without an invitation should have the courtesy to contribute a watermelon, case of soda pop, etc. to this line of goodies.
The girl will always face East, so her family will always be on her right (South) and her sponsor(s) will
always be on her left (North).
The diiyin
and singers will be standing directly behind her, covering their mouths as they sing so malevolent spirits
can't sneak in to create mischief whilst the singers mouths are open.
As a sacred ceremony, it is improper for anyone to get between the girl and the sun or to block the stream
of sunbeams, so traditional Apaches and guests never go on the east side, where white people invariably go with their 50-yard-line attitude that it is best to be in the dead center to see all the action.
Until recently, photography was forbidden - and it is likely to be banned again because so many white people stick a tripod and camera/video camera on the east side.
They would, I'm sure, be upset if some tourist stuck a video camera on a tripod in the middle of the altar inside their church during a ceremony, but because the Ceremony isn't being held in their church, they think it is OK to desecrate someone else's sacred ceremony.
Apache Ga-an (called "Devil Dancers" by Christians, otherwise known as "Crowndancers") invariably arrive to purify the site.
Ga-an are impersonators of Mountain Spirits who, like disciples of Christ, are charged with using instruction
and guidance to banish evil.
It is easy to identify children of traditional Apaches because, like Christ and Santa Claus, the
Ga-an "know when
you've been bad or good", so the Ga-an
need only stop or stare at anyone with a guilty conscience and that kid will take off running like a jack rabbit with a coyote at its heels!
As everyone will witness, when the clown targets evil, its a 4-Ga-an conclusion evil will retreat, just as missionaries do when they see the Ga-an
in action!
Although "Everything must be done
exactly as it has always been done", Ga-an
dancing with evergreen boughs is rarely seen anymore because 20th century Apache skin does not deflect pine needle punctures like 19th century Apache skin!
Also, to the horror of Christians and government agents everywhere who insist the required "camp dress" is now
"traditional", the girl dancing in this photo is just wearing buckskin, exposing bare arms and who-knows-what-else to view!
As a sacred ceremony, I don't think its proper to reveal all to non-traditional Apaches. There are several
books and papers purporting to reveal all the secrets of
NA-IH-ES and Apache
medicine, none of which I would recommend. Some of them quote sources of information who are not Apache, and others quote Apaches who have no real knowledge, or tell people just what they want to hear.
Why do Catholics cross themselves?
Non-Catholics around the world have been to the movies and "know"
Catholics cross themselves to ward off vampires and other malevolent spirits.
Catholics were outraged to find "their" cross was a sacred symbol to Native Americans, but found it better
to kill them as heretics than to discover what the cross meant to a Native American. So, it seems to me, if you really want to know the secret rites and rituals, go to the source and apprentice yourself to an expert. A mushroom in one hand brings delight, in another hand, it kills, and always bear in mind that diiyin are people, and as such, they have good days when everything goes exactly as planned, and they have bad days when nothing seems to work and the limits of their power are truly tested.
 The purpose of these pages is simply to reveal that, in Apache eyes, having a period doesn't make a girl
into a woman. She must satisfy herself, tribal elders, the community, and the spirit world that she has earned the right to be recognized as a woman!
To a modern Apache girl, earning that
right is not a bed of roses! She will be busy throughout the four holy days (and nights!), unable to wash herself, scratch herself (except with the anointed stick) or drink (except through the anointed tube).
She won't be able to stop when
she wants a break, sit when she is tired nor enjoy many other "freedoms" today's youngsters take for granted.
The girl can count on the support of a friend who previously completed her own Sunrise Ceremony.
Resolve is evident in this girl's eyes
when she is painted; the same eyes reflect empathy with her friend's resolve.
She can also count on her sponsor and all the tribal women- especially the elderly! - keeping a keen eye on her,
looking for the slightest flaw in her "performance", and each one will take delight in being the first to notice it! If her hands are not held exactly right,
if her posture slumps one little bit, or her head is tilted, or her cane doesn't strike the ground exactly right, or the bells don't tinkle loud enough, or for almost every conceivable
reason the girl may be criticized - or remembered forever after - for not doing something exactly right!
So this ceremony is not only a reminder of history, clan, traditions, etc., nor just a test of physical
stamina and discipline, it is also a critical test of the girl's social skills.
In the days of Geronimo, Apaches were in control of their lives and at home in their environment, so it was relatively easy to hold NA-IH-ES as required. Today, legislation controlling eagle feathers and other endangered species (plants and animals) makes planning a ceremony an expensive, time-consuming bureaucratic nightmare!
Congress has made it abundantly clear that "Freedom of religion" does not extend to Native Americans!
In fact, many ceremonies - including the Apache puberty rite for boys, are prohibited by law. Diiyin are prohibited from designating the place for a ceremony because now there are laws governing public assembly, EPA, etc., laws which - in some abstruse way - do not apply to Evangelists who want to hold a revival on the Reservation!
For this reason, many NA-IH-ES ceremonies are held at the "Old Fairgrounds" where Christians and the BIA can observe and list the names of "sinners" and "miscreants" clearly unsuitable for employment, and complain about the noise of drums and singing wafting up and down the river, and echoing off the cliffs.
Nothing irritates a Christian more than seeing other people enjoying life, especially when those people are spending money the churches need in tithes!
After Caesar has been paid and everything settled to government satisfaction, the four-day ceremony begins with a
sweat bath in the morning, after which the girl's accoutrements are fashioned and the sponsor(s) sends a gift of prepared food to the girl's camp.
As the sun sets, bikee'ilzéé
("Dressing Her") begins; the diiyin sets out the girl's accoutrements (feathers, shell, pick stick, drinking tube, scarf, buckskin, and cane) and gives her instructions and guidance whilst her sponsor affixes the accoutrements.
Prayers are proffered, the sun
sets, and the girl begins her dance into history.
©1999 Rico Leffanta
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