N^^er* ^^^" ^^^^ ^^ CHANGING WOMAN — BASSO 123 



about kinship terminology and clan organization were answered in a 

 matter-of-fact manner, but inquiries about religion were generally 

 brushed aside with "I don't know" or "it has always been that way." 

 As the summer progressed, I began to herd cattle with Cibecue 

 cowboys and, in this way, made several close friends who later turned 

 into first-rate informants. 



In Cibecue, I lived in the home of Dick Cooley, who is part Apache 

 himself, and a stockman for the Cibecue cattle district. Mr. Cooley 

 speaks fluent Apache and is known and trusted by Indians aU over 

 the reservation. I benefited greatly from my association with him. 



When I returned to Cibecue in 1961 the people seemed glad to see 

 me. They answered my questions willingly and were no longer 

 reluctant to talk about religion. I continued to live with Mr. Cooley, 

 offer transportation, and, though less frequently than during the 

 previous year, work with the cowboys. To my surprise, I was able 

 to pick up the language more rapidly than before and, obviously, this 

 faciUtated communication with Apaches who spoke no EngHsh. In 

 addition, I was able to enhst the aid of a close friend as interpreter. 

 My notebooks began to swell with detailed information on a wide 

 variety of subjects. Although I never paid my informants with 

 money, I frequently gave them "presents" of cigarettes and beer. 



The data on which this paper is based were collected at Cibecue 

 during the summer months of 1960 and 1961. During this time, I 

 observed the preparations and performance of four girl's puberty 

 rites. In addition, I had 57 long interviews (ranging from half an 

 hour to 2 hours) about the ceremony with 16 different informants. 

 All but two of these were over 40 years of age. Three were women. 

 Following the method outlined by Kluckhohn (1944, p. 10), I used 

 my most trusted informants as a check group against which to gage 

 the testimonies of others. Five individuals (four men and a woman) 

 comprised this test group. Of my 57 interviews, 29 were held with 

 them. 



Of approximately 170 pages of field notes bearing on the girl's 

 puberty rite, I estimate that a little over one-third were written in 

 the presence of informants, the rest being written immediately after 

 interviews had concluded. Forty-seven conversations were carried 

 on through an interpreter. 



I was able to obtain what information I did because of a number 



of factors. Two of these, however, were of particular significance 



and deserve special mention here. 



1. Apaches are more apt to speak candidly and truthfully about the girl's 

 puberty rite than any other ceremony. The reason for this is that it is not 

 concerned with sickness, a subject which the people fear greatly and are always 

 reticent to mention. 



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