When a girl beings her first menses in the Athabascan
culture of Alaska, she is put into seclusion for a year. Caroline Williams goes
into great detail describing this coming of age ritual in her article “From One
Young Woman to Two Old Women: How Cultural Continuity Is Illustrated Through
Athabascan Values” (2012). In the past, before the natives encountered white
intervention, the girls were put into small huts or tents about a mile from the
homes of their families (Williams 2012:1-2). They were watched over by their
mothers, who took this time to train the young teenagers in the etiquettes and
standards of being a good Athabascan woman through stories.
The girls are
taught to go without food for the sake of children (Williams 2012:7), beading,
and how to sew. They sew and sew and sew, from dawn until dusk most of the
time. They sew decorative pieces and pieces of clothing for their
families-to-be. They are kept busy because if a girl is idle during her time in
seclusion, she will only be lazy when she becomes a wife and mother. To keep
her focused, the girl would be made to wear a special hood, reaching to their
waists, which prevent them from seeing around themselves, much like the
blinders used on horses (Williams 2012:8). After their period of time
relatively alone, the girls would return to the homes of their parents, though
now as a woman ritually eligible for marriage.
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