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(narrator)
Beneath White Mountain in New Mexico,

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the Mescalero Apache Reservation

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prepares for a coming of age ritual.

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[chanting in Apache language]

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Over the span of four days,

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13-year old Dashina Cochise

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will pass through ancient tests
of strength,

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endurance,
and character,

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that will make her a woman.

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The Mescalero Apache hold the ritual

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every fourth of July.

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It's a grueling ordeal,
intending to prepare girls

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for the trials of womanhood.

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-When she was a little girl,
I knew this

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is what I wanted to have for her.

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(narrator)
Dashina's mother, Olette, has spent

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more than a year
preparing for this week of ceremony.

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Family members and friends
will help her

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feed and care
for more than 50 guests.

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The family's most important task

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is selecting Dashina's medicine woman.

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Zelda Yazza will instruct Dashina

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in the ways of traditional Apache
womanhood.

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-Four ways.
Into the back open.

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(narrator)
The four day ceremony

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encapsulates
the Apache creation story.

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Dashina will move
through the stages of life:

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infant,
child,

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adolescent,
woman,

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culminating in an all night dance

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that will test her endurance.

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The ritual begins with
the rising of the morning star.

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The ceremony requires Dashina

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to live by strict rules.

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These four days mean little sleep,

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scant food,
and the need to set aside emotion.

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Throughout the ordeal,
she must wear

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a face of stoic resolve.

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-I feel very excited and happy,

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even though I can't smile,
but...

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I'll try to show it in some way.

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(narrator)
Before Dashina joins the other girls,

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she is blessed: dusted with pollen,
the symbol of fertility.

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[chanting in Apache language]

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(narrator) The girls start their journey
in a sacred tepee,

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built by their male relatives.

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[high-pitched voices howling]

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-Let's go right now;
they're putting the tepee up.

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(narrator)
The basket is filled with pollen

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and other ceremonial objects.

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As their ancestors did,

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the girls run toward the rising sun,

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circling the basket four times

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to mark the four stages of life.

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The fourth, and final, day
brings Dashina

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to the cusp of womanhood.

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She ascends the hill to pray
to the mountain spirits

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for a long and successful life.

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[musical chanting]

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With darkness near,
it's time to dance

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beside the ceremonial fire.

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[chanting and singing]

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Dashina and the other girls
will dance all night long,

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much of the time,
hidden in the big teepee.

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[howling, singing and chanting]

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More than 10 hours later,
Dashina is still dancing.

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The medicine men greet the sun,

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a signal that the final test is near.

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[rhythmic chanting]

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The girls' faces are painted
with white clay,

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symbolizing the Goddess.

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On their last circuit
around the sacred basket,

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the girls wipe away the symbolic clay.

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With the falling of the tepee,

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their rite of passage is complete.

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Dashina receives
her Apache woman's name;

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Morning Star Feather.

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-Morning Star Feather?
-Morning Star Feather.

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Everything went well;
she's just gonna be a strong woman.

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(narrator)
Her community gathers,

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acknowledging that this girl
has earned the right

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to live as a woman of the tribe.

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As an Apache woman,

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Dashina serves as a symbol
of her culture,

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renewing and protecting
a way of life

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that's in danger of vanishing.

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[cheering]