"We will have a feast for the young girls when they have their first flow. Many songs will be sung for them, so that they will grow strong and live a long life."
This eight day ceremony, called Isanaklesh Gotal, is celebrated in recognition of the significance of a young Apache girl's first menses. According to Apache myth, the ceremony was founded by Isanaklesh as a means through which the girl might temporarily experience herself as Isanaklesh and be honored as such by the people. The first four days of the ceremony are marked with elaborate ritual detail and festive social activities. The ceremony's songs, sacred narratives, and images combine to leave a powerful imprint of Isanaklesh, both on the girl herself and on attending relatives, friends, and family members. Throughout the final four days the girl secludes herself to reflect on her ritual experiences.
The name given to this ceremony, Isanaklesh Gotal, literally means "Ceremonial Sing for Isanaklesh." The Apache term gotal, "ceremonial sing," suggests not only a festive celebration, but also a raising of supernatural power to accomplish the many moments of transformation that the young girl experiences. Not only is the girl temporarily transformed during this rite of passage; she is also permanently transformed into a mature Apache woman by the end of the ritual.
This transformation into womanhood is accomplished by ceremonially awakening the initiate to the world around her. For some girls, the ceremony is said to calm their adolescent imbalances. The Mescalero conceive of "fixing" the young initiate, ridding her of her baby ways and helping her through the door of adolescence, for at this young age the girls are said to be soft and moldable, capable of being conditioned and influenced by their female kin and others around them.
A wonderfully detailed explanation of this rite can be found in Reading Native American Women
The centuries old young women's initiation ceremony of the Mescalero Apache is still being performed today.Although it has changed some over the years, because of how differently people now live, the myths, symbolism, and meanings are still very much alive.
The Mescaleros "view the initiate's changing body in the same way they view the changes that occur in the springtime in the natural world".A ceremony, the Isanaklesh Gotal, is performed to honor this change and to guide the young girl into womanhood.A myth accompanies the ceremony so that the participants understand the symbolism present, understand the Apache culture, and keep the culture and religion alive by continuing the practice through the ages.
The myth which accompanies the ceremony is centered around Isanaklesh, one of the five divine deities present at creation in the Apache religion.Isanaklesh is found submerged in water and it is decided she be removed.The process takes several days as the waters subside and she is assisted with eagle feathers in her removal.Isanaklesh is in a continual cycle to never grow old. She was transformed into womanhood when she came out of the water and is continually made young each time an initiate completes the ceremony."Isanaklesh gives her womanhood and knowledge to the initiate and in exchange the girl gives her youth to Isanaklesh."
As the myth is retold over the years, many things familiar to nature are explained.The myth relates why the buffalo has a section of hide missing, why the antelope has split toes, and why eagles have a little hole under their chin.All of these stories become part of the ceremony as items are used to symbolize their connection.Buffalo and antelope hide are parts of the ceremony as are eagle feathers.The young initiates face is even painted half way down with white earth clay so that she resembles the water line found on Isanaklesh's face as she came out of the water as relayed in the myth.
Another part of the ceremony is that each girl has a nadekleshen, or sponsor.The sponsor's role is to guide the young girl through the process and to provide her with Apache traditional healing knowledge.The use of plants and herbs for healing is still used today and the ceremony insures that the knowledge is handed down generation after generation.
The Isanaklesh ceremony is viewed by many Apache, especially women, as being a key factor in the survival of the Apache culture.It also serves an important role in the identity of an Apache woman.Although the world is changing, the ceremony assists in being a "symbolic representation of transformation and behavioral model for how to handle change, whether it be personal, familial, or social." The young woman, by the end of the Isanaklesh Gotal, if successful, is transformed from her childhood ways to a responsible young Apache woman who is expected to keep the traditions alive.
