My youngest son and I have just returned from 7 days in New Mexico. It is a long drive for me, about 13 hours without too much stopping. I just made this drive a month ago but this is a special year. Last month we drove out for a double graduation and this time it was my cousin Addie's Coming Of Age ceremony. We are Apache and this is the ceremony that is performed when a young girl becomes a woman. It is pretty elaborate and occurs over several days. The actual ceremony takes 4 days but the girl starts about 4 days prior and she stays 4 days after for a total of about 12 days for her. She looked beautiful and did a really good job and we were all so proud of her. I won't go into alot of detail here, but if you look up Mescalero Apache Coming of Age ceremony in google you will get a pretty good explanation. The family all camped out with her during the four days. We cooked and ate outside and it is customary to feed everyone in attendance 3 meals a day and always have frybread and coffee on hand for anyone who asks. The public is welcome so there is a lot of people!
Everybody helps even the youngsters. My son and a cousin peeling potatoes.
Mother and daughter hard at work too.
Food cooked outside sure tastes good!
New Mexico, land of summer rain storms and thunder. But they haven't gotten much rain this year, just teasers like these clouds. Fire danger is extreme right now and the forest is closed.
Suprising to some considering our history in this country, we are a very patriotic people.
There was a firework show scheduled for the 4th that had to be cancelled due to the extreme dry conditions. A laser light show was the replacement, didn't go over too well.
People put up teepees everywhere and camp out for the week, so pretty.
Sitting in the arbor eating and watching dancers outside.
Taking down the Big Teepee on the last day.
Lots and lots of these on the drive home : ) Miles and miles of desert and cactus. I find it very calming and stress relieving, just watching the cactus go by........105 to 110 degree temps though, thank God for air conditioning. We brought a couple of cousins with us for awhile for Youngest Son to play with, so will be going back again before school starts to take them back home.
6 comments:
Beautiful photos! I especially like the stormy sky over the teepee. Looks like you had a wonderful trip to begin your summer!
just found you through Cup of Jo...nice blog!
So fascinating. Looked looking over your shoulder into a new world.
I know far less than I should about Native American culture
though I know quite a lot of the poetry.
I love the photos and what an amazing road trip to share with your son. A few years ago I was involved with a local sweat lodge. I loved being part of the drum circles, healing bowls and long dances. I miss that. I also LOVE the new look of the blog!!
What an incredible experience to share--thank you. I think it's so important to value traditions in this day and age, especially regarding family. I've driven through that area many times--it's very beautiful and peaceful.
Thank you for allowing us to be passengers on this wonderful trip. I really enjoyed it very much.
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