There are a number of activities that take place during the ceremony and each part has its own purpose and significance. As a whole, the procession takes place over a course of four days and within a decent amount of time of the first menstruation. However, in the event of the child being away at boarding school they will go home immediately or if this is not an option then the ceremony must be postponed. The ordering of events take place over the course of the four days directly relate to the myth of the origins of Kinaalda. For instance, in Marie Shirley’s Kinaalda the order and the events that take place resemble closely the events that took place during the mythical origin story. For Shirley’s own ceremony the events that take place include: hair-combing, dressing, molding, race one and race two, nighttime activities, and several others. To prepare for the events that will take place, the people involved do things such as shelling corn and cleaning the hogan. On the first day of the ceremony the girls involved have their hair combed to make the girl resemble Changing Woman and are dressed in their ceremonial clothing, which include adornments of silver and turquoise. When wearing the jewelry some feel that this is a testament of her future. If she wears large amounts of jewels then this will mean she will have a rich life full of success. Usually after the dressing is the lifting of the people. This is something that Changing Woman did during her own ceremony, as a way to thank the people for their gifts (Wheelwright, 1942). They are then to lay on their stomach to begin the process of the molding; this relates to the first girl’s kinaalda myth in which “she was molded and pressed so she would have a good figure” (T... ... middle of paper ... ...sity Press. Markstrom, C. A., & Iborra, A. (2003). Adolescent Identity Formation and Rites Of Passage: The Navajo Kinaalda Ceremony for Girls. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(4), 399-425. Mitchell, R. (2001). Late Girlhood and End of Childhood. Tall Woman (pp. 63-65). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Reichard, Gladys. (1950). Navaho Religion. 2 Vols. Bollingen Series XVIII. New York: Pantheon Books. Smith, Rick. "The Kinaaldá Ceremony in the Navajo Nation." ATH 175 Peoples of the World. 2004. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Underhill, R., Chona, M. (1936). The Autobiography of a Papago Woman, Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association, No. 46, Menasha, Wisconsin: Krause Reprint Co. Wheelwright, M. (1942). Navajo Creation Myth. Navajo Religion Series, Vol. 1. Santa Fe: Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art.
The Navajo creation story explains that medicine was brought to the people by an ancient owl. This owl sent down a magic bundle containing the powers of healing to the new world. For thousands of years Navajo people have used this knowledge to heal and live in harmony with each other. As a product of two worlds, Dr. Lori Alvord was one of the first people to combine modern medicine with Navajo beliefs by overcoming cultural differences.
John Farella. The Main Stalk: A synthesis of Navajo Philosophy. Navajo Religion. (Tuschon: University of Arizona Press, 1984)
What is the specific teaching of the four day ceremony for puberty also known as the kinaalda in Navajo? When I was a little girl I did not have my own kinaalda, but I took part in it when I was young for my older sister had hers done. I never understood the full meaning of what the ceremony meant for a girl to transition into a lady. A kinaalda is when a girl takes part of the Navajo blessing way ceremony (Amrani. 1988. Web). The kinaalda translated into the “Puberty Ceremony” is considered interchangeable with both the girl and the ceremony (Amrani. 1988. Web). At this time, the young lady is not a child anymore. In the Navajo myth, changing women, who is identified as all living things on the earth’s surface, is the face for many women. She is used as a figure during the rite of passage when a girl turn into a lady (Amrani. 1988. Web). Even though it is a good way to bring everyone together and relive our tradition, there is more to a puberty ceremony than just changing into an adult, because there is a lot that goes on in the four day ceremony. It is in our tradition, and there is a meaning to why we change from adolescence to adulthood.
Robbins Burling, David F. Armstrong, Ben G. Blount, Catherine A. Callaghan, Mary Lecron Foster, Barbara J. King, Sue Taylor Parker, Osamu Sakura, William C. Stokoe, Ron Wallace, Joel Wallman, A. Whiten, Sherman Wilcox and Thomas Wynn. Current Anthropology, Vol. 34, No. 1 (Feb., 1993), pp. 25-53
Margaret Mead is one of the most influential anthropologists to modern society due to her anthropological research and her outspoken demeanor on any topic. Mead’s research was groundbreaking in an era where places like Samoa were still seen as the paradise away from the civilized world. Her efforts to transform the unknown societies of the Samoans into visual imagery for the Western world were successful and resulted in the book, Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization, originally published in 1928. This book made the exotic and misunderstood cultures of the Samoans tangible for the general population. Mead’s special effort to debunk the myth of unavoidable childish adolescence was paramount in her work in Samoa, specifically adolescent females. Margaret Mead established in her work, Coming of Age in Samoa, that adolescence does not need to be the unwieldy and uncomfortable period in life that Western culture portrayed as “stormily” (Mead 5).
This is the story of the K’aa’ Dine’é in English it means the arrow people, but to Navajos it is identification of the clans. The story takes place near the Grey mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona. The K’aa’ Dine’é resided at a place called the Great Cliffs; the Great Cliffs is surrounded by walls of canyon that reach to the sky, it was known impossible for any mortal men to climb to the top. On the top of Great Cliffs were simple humble Navajos these humans were known as the K’aa’ Dine’é, but something unique about these Navajos that resided on the Great Cliffs, they did not have any legs. Even though they had no legs, they had the body of steel that was firm and muscular. There arms were like diamonds that were unbreakable and full veins around
... Michael Anhorn. "The Way of the Two Spirited People: Native American Concepts of Gender and Sexual Orientation” Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society. N.p., 2008. Web. 03 May 2014.
The beginning of time. In the First World, there lived various spiritual beings. They were given Navajo ...
Sioux as told through John G. Neihardt, an Indian boy then a warrior, and Holy Man
Comparing The Earth on Turtle's Back, When Grizzlies Walked Upright, And the Navajo Origin Legend
2. “Cherokee Culture and History.” Native Americans: Cherokee History and Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. .
Kathryn book Life in the Pueblo is based on excavations that she did at Lizard Man Village (Kamp, 1997). This was a small pueblo located in Arizona which is believed to be inhabited between 11th and 13th century. These ancient excavations were first carried out by United States Forest Service and were parts of Grinnell College field school (Kamp, 1997). The aim of the book was to describe Lizard Man Village and present excavation processes and analysis. Kamp 1997 offers archaeological interpretation of the site in relation to the past understandings. She bring out successfully three narratives. These narratives include ethnographic data in relationship to traditional accounts from Hopi (a place which is believed to be the first resident of Lizard Man) (Kamp, 1997). He also bring out clearly the issue of archaeology as well as fictional account basing it on both ethnography and archaeology.
Edmonds, Margot. and Clark, Ella. "Voices of the Winds:Native American Legends". New York: Facts on File, 1989.
Gender has been around throughout history; however, within recent years, gender has separated itself from the traditional view of sex, e.i., male or female, and has become centered on ones masculinity or femininity. Of course gender is more than just ones masculinity or femininity, gender has become a way for one to describe, he or she, in a way in which they are different from everyone else. Gender has turned into a sense of identity, a way for one to feel different and fulfilled among all of those around them. Of course gender’s sense of freedom would seem outside of structure and only affected by one’s own agency, however, structure is a key component in establishing gender. We can look into both ethnic Mexican’s culture practices regarding sexuality, children songs and games, and see that cultural traditions still heavily influence gender, creating what is masculine and what is feminine and what is the role of each gender, as well as challenging the notions that gender is solely based on agency.
In the story "The Trials of Girlhood" it talks about a 15 year old girl that had a sad time in life of being a slave girl. Being the age that she was she really couldn't be ignorant of their import. The master of her was being very corrupt and was filling her head up with unclean images that she's never really known about. Women had it worse back then but men as slaves did as well.