Girl's Rite of Passage

Apache girls take part in ancient tests of strength, endurance and character that will make them women and prepare them for the trials of womanhood.
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(narrator)
Beneath White Mountain in New Mexico,

the Mescalero Apache Reservation

prepares for a coming of age ritual.

[chanting in Apache language]

Over the span of four days,

13-year old Dashina Cochise

will pass through ancient tests
of strength,

endurance,
and character,

that will make her a woman.

The Mescalero Apache hold the ritual

every fourth of July.

It's a grueling ordeal,
intending to prepare girls

for the trials of womanhood.

-When she was a little girl,
I knew this

is what I wanted to have for her.

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

more than a year
preparing for this week of ceremony.

Family members and friends
will help her

feed and care
for more than 50 guests.

The family's most important task

is selecting Dashina's medicine woman.

Zelda Yazza will instruct Dashina

in the ways of traditional Apache
womanhood.

-Four ways.
Into the back open.

(narrator)
The four day ceremony

encapsulates
the Apache creation story.

Dashina will move
through the stages of life:

infant,
child,

adolescent,
woman,

culminating in an all night dance

that will test her endurance.

The ritual begins with
the rising of the morning star.

The ceremony requires Dashina

to live by strict rules.

These four days mean little sleep,

scant food,
and the need to set aside emotion.

Throughout the ordeal,
she must wear

a face of stoic resolve.

-I feel very excited and happy,

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

I'll try to show it in some way.

(narrator)
Before Dashina joins the other girls,

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

[chanting in Apache language]

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

built by their male relatives.

[high-pitched voices howling]

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

(narrator)
The basket is filled with pollen

and other ceremonial objects.

As their ancestors did,

the girls run toward the rising sun,

circling the basket four times

to mark the four stages of life.

The fourth, and final, day
brings Dashina

to the cusp of womanhood.

She ascends the hill to pray
to the mountain spirits

for a long and successful life.

[musical chanting]

With darkness near,
it's time to dance

beside the ceremonial fire.

[chanting and singing]

Dashina and the other girls
will dance all night long,

much of the time,
hidden in the big teepee.

[howling, singing and chanting]

More than 10 hours later,
Dashina is still dancing.

The medicine men greet the sun,

a signal that the final test is near.

[rhythmic chanting]

The girls' faces are painted
with white clay,

symbolizing the Goddess.

On their last circuit
around the sacred basket,

the girls wipe away the symbolic clay.

With the falling of the tepee,

their rite of passage is complete.

Dashina receives
her Apache woman's name;

Morning Star Feather.

-Morning Star Feather?
-Morning Star Feather.

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

(narrator)
Her community gathers,

acknowledging that this girl
has earned the right

to live as a woman of the tribe.

As an Apache woman,

Dashina serves as a symbol
of her culture,

renewing and protecting
a way of life

that's in danger of vanishing.

[cheering]