Kinaalda: A Girl's Puberty Ceremony

There are many activities during the ceremony, and each part has its own purpose and meaning. Overall, the parade took four days and took place at the appropriate time of the first menstrual period. However, if the child leaves the boarding school, they will soon return home, or if this is not an option, then the formula needs to be postponed. The classification of events is directly related to the myth of the origins of Kinalal in four days.

An example of a puberty positive ritual ethnographic magazine can be seen in the Navajo culture. When the Navajo girl enters puberty, she will hold a four-day ceremony. The ceremony will center on the myths of women who change in the Navajo tribe and women who lay babies for the first time on the earth. In myths, a change woman did the first Kinalda and the ceremony gave her the ability to make a child. Therefore, all Navajo girls need to be ceremonious to be able to grow into a strong woman who can have children.

Many other tribes such as Wintu and Papago celebrate the girl becoming an adult woman and open a ceremony commemorating this life change. The rituals of other South-West tribes, especially Navajo's Quinalda are also very similar to women who also change. According to Navajo myths, a changing woman is the daughter of the first male and the first female, and she made adolescent rituals for her. A changing woman crushed the sun afterwards and gave birth to two boys.

At West Apache there is a girls' adolescent ceremony that makes young girls of important quality to adults. This is a well-prepared ritual that affects the entire community. At the ceremony, the power of a changing woman came into the girl 's body and lived there for four days during the ceremony. The gift of changing women is longevity and health. In Kwakwaka 'wakw on the northwestern coast, a girl' s adolescent ritual called Ixanttsila is an important moment in a girl 's life and shows a transformation to a woman. As preparation for the ceremony, the girl will be isolated for 16 days. Meanwhile, she is taught how to do herself.

Practice on adolescent ceremonies of girls in Navajo. According to Frisbie, "Adolescent ritual terms are" kinaalda "or" kinaaldah ". ) Most Navajo uses this term to refer to the first menstrual period. It means a ceremony rather than a physiological event - (1967, p. 8). But Mitchell insisted that "the word quinalda refers to the girl and house she was previously isolated at that time" (Frisbie, 1967, p. 8). The Alaskan Athabasca term means that people live in Igloo; "Fern" means sitting alone.

Looking at Kinaalda: Navajo Magic, Mystery and myth Wendy Dickinson, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida