Coming of Age (na'ii'ees)

Every culture has its own beliefs and rituals for when a child becomes an adult. For the Mescalero Apaches, at the age of 16 a girl becomes a woman and the coming-of-age ceremony takes place. The ceremony takes at least 6 months of preparation from the girl and her family and friends and it can be very expensive, but it is an important part of the Apache heritage. During this time she must find a medicine man and godparents to perform the ceremony, assemble the necessary gifts, and the ceremonial clothes must be made. 
This is a brief overview of this ceremony:
            Apache Girl's Rite of Passage -- National Geographic

The day before the ceremony the girl is dressed by her godmother. This is called the bikee'ilzèè, which means "she is dressed." The girl is not allowed to do anything for herself during the na'ii'ee. She is also not allowed to show emotion by smiling or laughing.   
           http://youtu.be/25q9H712Cls

Four girls in their ceremonial dress

During the ceremony the girl will wear the ceremonial dress which is made out of tanned buckskin and decorated with fringes, beads, jingles, and abalone shells. It is made of two parts, the blouse and the skirt. The entire ensemble can be very heavy and highly decorated. "The ceremonial dress is worn for the four days of the celebration and four additional days after." (Apache Scout) 

On the morning of the ceremony the big teepee in which the ceremony is held is erected by the male relatives of the girl. The teepee is erected facing east towards the east mountain. 


When all the preparations are finished the girl is led to the front of the teepee and stands facing east and the Sunrise dance or yellow pollen ceremony takes place.. At first she dances by herself standing up. Then she kneels down on buckskins and blankets and dances while kneeling.
http://youtu.be/CIr5HAFG9no
http://youtu.be/GRWEMFf6YYw

After she dances the medicine man dusts pollen on her head to symbolize fertility. She is then laid down on the blankets and massaged from foot to head and right to left by her godmother. Then she will get up and run around a basket placed at a short distance away, and she must do this four times. 
For three nights she will dance on and off until midnight inside the ceremonial teepee and on the fourth night she must dance until morning when the teepee is dismantled.

At night during this time there is another dance that takes place, called the "Dance of the Mountain Gods." It has become almost inseparably intertwined with the coming of age ceremony, although it was originally it was a completely different ceremony. 

The star on their chests are the sign for the Mescalero Apache dancers.

There are several different groups of crown dancers (Gahn) and they are differentiated by the symbols on their chests as well as their crowns. Each group has four crown dancers who represent the four directions and at least one "clown."  

• Mescalero Apache Tribal Government. The Apache Scout. Ceremonial Issue, July 1962. Mescalero, New Mexico.
• Piacente, Maria. "The Sunrise Dance," The Children of Changing Woman. http://peabody2.ad.fas.harvard.edu/maria/intro2.html