Hundreds of years ago, long before white men came to this land, these mountains, plains and deserts belonged to the Mescalero Apaches. No other Native Americans in the Southwest caused the terror and constant fear in the settlers as the Apaches did throughout their fierce existence. They raided Spanish, Mexican and American settlers and were known to be expert guerrilla fighters who defended their homelands. The Mescalero were essentially nomadic hunters and warriors, dwelling at one place for a temporary time in brush shelter known as a “Wicki up”; short rounded dwellings made of twigs or teepees made of elk hides and buffalo hides. The Mescalero roamed freely throughout the Southwest including Texas, Arizona, Chihuahua Mexico and Sonora Mexico.
Today, three sub-tribes, Mescalero, Lipan and Chiricahua, make up the Mescalero Apache Tribe. We live on this reservation of 463,000 acres of what once was the heartland of our people’s aboriginal homelands. Within our homeland lie the four sacred mountains: Sierra Blanca, Guadalupe Mountains, Three Sisters Mountain and Oscura Mountain Peak. These four mountains represent the directions of everyday life for our Apache people.
Our grandparents would often speak of the place called White Mountain. It was here that the creator gave us life and it is a special place. It was on White Mountain, according to legend, the White Painted Woman gave birth to two sons, Child of Water and Killer of Enemies. They were born during a turbulent rainstorm when thunder and lightning came from the sky.
Giant Monsters who wanted to kill them feared White Painted Woman and her sons, whom she raised to be brave and skilled. When they grew up to be men, they rose up and killed the monsters of the earth. There was peace and all human beings were saved. Apache warriors hunted buffalo on the grassy plains. They hunted antelope on the prairies and deer in the mountains. They killed only what they needed for their immediate use. Their weapons were simple, but the men were swift and cunning hunters.
The Apache women were skillful providers. They could find water where others would die of thirst. They prepared meat and skins brought home by the men. While the men hunted, the women gathered wild plants, foods, nuts, and seeds. They picked fruit and berries, dug roots and harvested the plants. Apache people gathered the sweet fruit of the broad-leafed Yucca and pounded its roots in water to make suds for shampoo. The Apache women prepared a staple food from the heart of the Mescal plant. That is why the Spanish called the people “Mescalero,” the people who eat Mescal.
Apache people were kind to their children. They taught good manners, kindness, fortitude and obedience. The children would play games that improved their dexterity. Traditional Apache religion was based on the belief in the supernatural and the power of nature. Nature explained everything in life for the Apache people. White Painted Woman gave our people their virtues of pleasant life and longevity. Apache religion, expressed in poetic terms, has passed from generation to generation. This is the background and the heritage of our people, the Mescalero Apaches.
Mescalero Apache Puberty Rite Ceremony
One of the most traditional and sacred ceremonies practiced by the Mescalero Apache is the puberty rite ceremony. It is a four-day “Rite of Passage,” a ceremony that marks the transition of an individual from one stage of life to another, from girlhood to womanhood. A young girl celebrates her rite of passage with family-prepared feasts, dancing, blessings and rituals established hundreds of years ago. It emphasizes her upbringing which includes learning her tribal language and the instilling from infancy a sense of discipline and good manners.
The ceremony binds the Mescalero Apache as a people functioning as a cohesive unit. In the evenings, visitors can catch a glimpse of these important events, observing the masked dancers while they perform to singing and drums.
The ceremony is a major commitment for the family of the girl. Preparation often begins as much as a year in advance with the gathering of sacred items such as roasted mescal heart and pollen from water plants. A medicine man and medicine woman must participate. Dancers and singers must be arranged. Finding a ceremonial dress, either from a relative who previously went through the ceremony, or one that has been made for the occasion, is important, as it is a symbolic part of the rite. A significant part of the family’s obligation is to prepare a feast for each day of the ceremony and to share the bounty with all who attend.
Gifts are also given.
It is said that this ceremony was given to the Apache people by White Painted Woman. When her people, the Apache, were hard pressed by evil monsters, White Painted Woman reared a son to destroy those creatures and to make the earth inhabitable for mankind. She is the model of heroic and virtuous womanhood. For the duration of the rite, the young girl dresses and acts like White Painted Woman. The girl is never referred to by her name, but is known as White Painted Woman.
Beginning at dawn on the first day, the young girl is guided and advised by a medicine woman through four days of formal observances and events. A teepee-shaped ceremonial structure is created by a medicine man and his male helpers. The structure is symbolically disassembled on the last day of the ceremony.
The girl is dressed in the buckskin costume that she will wear for the following eight days. Her attendant supplies her with a length of reed that she must drink from for eight days, not allowing water to touch her lips. It is also forbidden for her to scratch herself with her fingernails. A wooden scratcher is provided that must be used for the same length of time. The girl is urged to talk little, to heed what is said to her, and to maintain a dignified manner. By the end of the fourth day, every possible experience, even sleep and the old age stick, has been mentioned in songs and prayers for the long life and good fortune for the young maiden and for the Apache people.
For four more days after the completion of the ceremony the young maiden must continue to wear her ceremonial buckskins and must not wash or come in contact with water. The young maiden must continue to use her drinking tube and scratcher. At the end of this period the medicine woman washes her hair and body with suds of the yucca root. Then she changes into her ordinary clothing, equipped for her new stage in life and her role in the community.
This Mescalero Apache cultural and historical information was compiled by Kate Geronimo Hernandez, Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino. E-mail Kate at kghernandez@imgresort for permission to
reproduce in whole or in part the information contained herein.
