For Mescalero Apache girls, the transition to womanhood in the tribe is a demanding, and even grueling process. Over the course of four days, the girls cannot show emotion or touch their bodies all while undergoing trials which represent the stages of life. This event, the Apache Puberty Ceremony, is not just a recreation and remembrance of Apache history, but, in fact, is an active part of their culture today. For the tribe, the puberty ceremony connects lore with virtues, spirituality, and ancestry; however, observing from the outside, the ritual demonstrates something else entirely. In a rapidly advancing modern world, rituals are things often only read about in history books, religion rarely plays a role in bringing communities together,
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Because religions involve a wide variation in rules, symbols, and practices, it is difficult to give the term a simple definition. In fact, the author of Religions in Practice, John Bowen, splits the definition into two parts: shared beliefs between people and personal sentiment. For many living in the western world, these aspects are often private and serve little purpose in daily life, but this is not true for the tribe. Religion, both shared beliefs and spirituality, bring the tribe together and shape the society. In Thunder Rides a Black Horse, Farrier notes that the ceremony is a part of Mescalero Apache tradition, and requires the help of many tribal members to complete the ritual. Through this public practice of shared beliefs, the tribal values, ancestry, and sense of spirituality with the tribal deity, the white painted woman, are not only reinforced for the girls, but also the tribe as a …show more content…
However, as shown by Farrier in Thunder Rides a Black Horse, the Mescalero Apache Puberty Ceremony brings the community together to help the girls complete their ritual which in turn provides solidarity in the tribe through shared lore, beliefs, and spirituality. Furthermore, the base metaphor provides the foundation for the stories, the trials in the rituals, and unites the past to the twenty-first century creating a mythic present. Finally, all these aspects put together to construct the identity of the Mescalero Apache
Because religions involve a wide variation in rules, symbols, and practices, it is difficult to give the term a simple definition. In fact, the author of Religions in Practice, John Bowen, splits the definition into two parts: shared beliefs between people and personal sentiment. For many living in the western world, these aspects are often private and serve little purpose in daily life, but this is not true for the tribe. Religion, both shared beliefs and spirituality, bring the tribe together and shape the society. In Thunder Rides a Black Horse, Farrier notes that the ceremony is a part of Mescalero Apache tradition, and requires the help of many tribal members to complete the ritual. Through this public practice of shared beliefs, the tribal values, ancestry, and sense of spirituality with the tribal deity, the white painted woman, are not only reinforced for the girls, but also the tribe as a …show more content…
However, as shown by Farrier in Thunder Rides a Black Horse, the Mescalero Apache Puberty Ceremony brings the community together to help the girls complete their ritual which in turn provides solidarity in the tribe through shared lore, beliefs, and spirituality. Furthermore, the base metaphor provides the foundation for the stories, the trials in the rituals, and unites the past to the twenty-first century creating a mythic present. Finally, all these aspects put together to construct the identity of the Mescalero Apache