CHILDHOOD

"The Apache culture concerned about the children very much. As soon as a baby was born, the parents put it in a cradleboard, which was made of an oak frame covered with buckskins. The cradleboard was made especially for that baby, and the parents would hang an amulet on the cradleboard in order to protect the baby from evil. On the other hand, the mother would punch a hole on the baby’s earlobes so that the child would hear to the right things and be obedient.¹ Maybe it was because of that reason, the Apache children were usually obedient and well behaved. If the children were naughty, which was rare, the parents would punish them by threats. Although the Apache parents were proud and fond of their children, they seldom spoiled their children. For instance, the parents would ignored their children if they cried, unless they were actually hurt.²

In the Apache culture, two ceremonies took place during the childhood. The first one was the first haircutting rite. In the spring after the child outgrew the cradleboard, a di-yin, a medicine man, cut the child’s hair very short, leaving only a few strand of hair. The purpose of this ceremony was to ensure that the children had a good health as they grew up. After childhood, haircuts were thought to bring bad luck, so adults rarely cut their hair. The second ceremony that would be held during the childhood was the moccasin ceremony. It took place when the child was two years old. In this ceremony, the children were dressed in new clothes and moccasins. Then the children walked in the direction of east on a trail of pollen. The di-yin prayed that the child would have a long and successful journey through life.³

One of the most important celebrations for the Apaches is their coming of age festival for the young women of the tribe. The Mescalero Apaches celebrate this when the young Apache female has her first period. The festival is a four day event which will bring the young girl into womanhood. The entire tribe gathers to celebrate and a special teepee is constructed and cattail fronds (which are symbolic of renewal) are placed in a carpet for the entrance of her teepee. Once inside the teepee, she kneels down on clothed pollen - colored buckskin. A “god mother” puts pollen across the cheeks and the nose of the girl and then pushes her towards a tray. On this ray are various sacred ritual objects and the girl walks around the tray four times. Every night, the young girl dances in her teepee until midnight, and outside of her tent the rest of her tribe feasts and celebrates. On the last day the Shaman, with a sun symbol in his palm, blesses her. If the girl submits to the rite, she will, for the rest of her days, be considered a “good woman,” and a good wife".⁷ [1]

---

[1] http://members.tripod.com/Archaeology_Man/religion.html