No.^Tir' ^^^' ^^'^ ^^ CHANGING WOMAN — BASSO 145 



tation of the four cardinal points would be as irregular as a Catholic 

 service without a cross. 



After the ribbons have been fastened to the cane, two bells are 

 attached. These resemble the small bells used on sleighs. As far 

 as I could determine, they have no symbolic significance. This is 

 supported by numerous testimonies from older people, who claim 

 that bells are a recent addition and were never used in the old times. 

 Bells are put on the cane, I was told, because they jingle when the 

 girl dances. 



Two other items of singular importance, which are made directly after 

 the cane, are the drinking tube and the scratching stick (fig. 6, right). 

 Unlike the cane, these items do not function significantly in na ih es. 

 They become important during the 4 days after the ceremony when 

 the girl has power and is holy. At this time she must drink only 

 through the tube (no container may touch her lips) and scratch 

 herself only with the stick (never with her fingernails). The drinking 

 tube and scratching stick have symbolic value as well. For 4 days 

 after na ih es, the girl wears them wherever she goes. They symbolize 

 her sacred state. 



The drinking tube is fashioned from a species of reed that grows in 

 Cibecue Creek. It is about 2 inches long, painted yellow like the 

 cane, and may have an oriole feather (serving the same purpose as 

 those on the eagle feathers) tied to it. The scratching stick, some- 

 what longer than the drinking tube, is also covered with ocher and is 

 made from sycamore, oak, or cottonwood. It is pointed at one end 

 and may be carved on the other. Both items are attached to a strip 

 of rawhide which the pubescent girl wears around her neck. 



The other pieces of paraphernalia prepared at gish ih zha ha aldeh 

 include : 



1. A small pendant of abalone shell which is tied to the girl's hair 

 in such a way that it dangles over her forehead. The shell identifies 

 her as ih sta nedl^heh (sometimes called White-Shell- Woman or 

 White-Bead-Woman but commonly referred to as Changing Woman), 

 a mythological figure, whom the girl personifies during the opening 

 phases of na ih es. 



2. A feather taken from the breast of an eagle and four ribbons 

 (the same colors as those on the cane) which are fastened to the girl's 

 hair and hang down behind her. The eagle feather is nearly white, 

 and Apaches say it will cause the girl to live until her hair matches 

 its color. 



3. A fringed and beaded buckskin serape, made by the girl's 

 mother or grandmother. At gish ih zha ha aldeh, the medicine man 

 covers the outside of the serape with yellow paint and attaches a 



