No.^76]^' ^^^'^ ^^ CHANGING WOMAN — ^BASSO 147 



to help each other. Thus, a large feast at nil sla ih ka may reflect 

 clan unity. As one man said: 



When they have a big feed it's because all their relatives have given food or 

 money. All their relatives wanted to help out. Most clan relatives give food 

 because they don't help out on the dance ground. When there is a real big 

 feed they gave a lot of food. Everybody is happy. That happens when they 

 feel lilie helping each other and are friendly. 



Nil sla ih ka ritually and symbolically joins na ihl esn, her family, 

 her clan, and her clan set to those of the pubescent girl in a supposedly 

 everlasting reciprocal relationship. In exchanging food, the funda- 

 mental premise of shi ti ke — "all that I have belongs to you" — 

 is vividly portrayed. Nil sla ih ka is a solemnization of future 

 obligations. After na ih es, the extended families of na ihl esn and 

 the pubescent girl are required to help each other in whatever way 

 they can. Even if no crisis arises in which they can be of assistance, 

 small gifts are exchanged from time to time. In the words of one 

 old man, this custom "keeps shi ti ke alive." 



In a society where so much importance is attached to persons whose 

 aid can be enlisted in times of hardship, nil sla ih ka serves a unique 

 purpose. In afhrmmg the shi ti ke relationship it creates the only 

 artificial bond of reciprocal obligation in Apache culture. All others 

 depend on actual or imputed blood ties or bonds of marriage. Nil 

 sla ih ka makes "kinsmen" of totally unrelated families and clans. 



BI KEH IHL ZE' 

 ('she is dressed up') 



At dusk, some 5 or 6 hours after the nil sla ih ka exchange, bi 

 keh ihl ze' takes place. This is a brief ceremony, consisting of four 

 songs. ^^ Here, the pubescent gul appears for the fii'st tune dressed 

 in the costume she will wear for na ih es, and is given the ritual para- 

 phernalia and instructed how to use it. 



To begin with, and before the girl appears, a large blanket or 

 tarpaulin is spread on the ground outside the girl's wickiup and four 

 drums (two from na ihl esn's camp; two from the girl's) are laid 

 nearby. A small bowl of holy powder and five ritual items are then 

 placed on the blanket; the abalone shell, the eagle feather, four 

 ribbons, the drinking tube, and the scratching stick. When these 

 preparations have been made, the girl, clad in a new camp dress and 

 the buckskin serape, comes out of her wickiup and goes to the blanket. 

 She is followed by the medicine man who carries the decorated cane, 

 and by one or two of his assistants — the men who helped him make 

 the paraphernalia at gish ih zha ha aldeh earlier in the day. 



^ The number four and multiples thereof are the Apache holy numbers. 



