ANTHROP. Pap, 



No "ej C!IFT OF CHANGING WOMAN — BASSO 169 



Na ih es relieves anxieties. — Anthropologists have observed that one 

 of the prunary functions of rituals everywhere is to give systematic 

 protection against the unpredictable, the unforeseen, and the perilous. 

 Malinowski (1931, p. 624) wrote that ritual was "nothing else but an 

 institution which fixes, organizes, and imposes upon the members of 

 a society the positive solution in those inevitable conflicts which 

 arise out of human impotence in deaUng with all hazardous issues 

 by mere knowledge and technical ability." Kluckhohn has com- 

 mented that rituals help mask the vast role of "luck" in human 

 life. In general, ritual may be thought of as a response to the anxie- 

 ties of existence, a response which satisfies the individual's demands 

 for a stable, coercible, and comprehensible world and which thereby 

 enables him to maintain inner security against the threat of disaster. 



By investing the pubescent girl with Changing Woman's power, 

 na ih es protects the members of the community against sickness, 

 drought, famine, and poverty. The people feel that, if used effec- 

 tively, this power can cause good health, rain, an abundance of food, 

 and material wealth. In a sense, a girl's puberty is merely an excuse 

 to invoke Changing Woman's prophylactic benevolence and bring 

 good fortune to Cibecue. Apaches say over and over again that 

 everyone "gets sometliiug" from na ih es. The ceremony does much 

 more than prepare the pubescent girl for adult life. It brings "good 

 luck" to the entire populace. 



Four 4 days after na ih es, the giii is "like a medicine man." With 

 a simple gesture, she can cure the sick. In addition, she can bring 

 abundance. For anyone fortunate enough to pick them up, the corn 

 kernels and coins which are poured over her head in phase VI guar- 

 antee good crops and wealth. The fruit and candy which is distrib- 

 uted to all the spectators protects them against hunger. By dancing 

 on the buckskin, the girl assures a plentiful supply of deer. And 

 finally, by pouring water over her cane, she can cause rain.^^ 



Changing Woman's power, acting through the pubescent girl, 

 brings the "good things in life" within the reach of everyone. As 

 mentioned before, the good things pertain directly to those areas of 

 life where Apaches can least tolerate insecmity and about which 

 they are the most anxious. Na ih es relieves much of this anxiety by 

 promising "better times." It provides the community with a strong 

 weapon — Changing Woman's power — with which to combat natural 

 catastrophe. Thus, for the individual, na ih es has an important 

 adjust! ve function; it reduces the fear of disaster. With regard to the 

 community, however, the ceremony functions adaptively. By forcing 

 community concerns into bold relief, it makes the people acutely 



35 Besides relieving the anxieties common to everyone in the community, na ih es functions adaptively to 

 ease strictly personal worries. It will be recalled that in phase VII, the girl makes private wishes come true. 



