Navajo Kinaalda ceremony

A kinaalda ceremony is a Navajo ceremony that celebrates the girl going into womanhood because they believe that it is important to celebrate and it brings good luck to the girl.
A kinaalda is a ceremony to celebrate the puberty of women. All her family gathers’s for this day. The girl is on a strict diet and must refrain combing and washing her own hair, and dressing or undressing herself. Her language and actions will be closely watched as it determines her future. Anything negative must be avoided.
Special jewelry is placed on and off the girl precisely. Turquoise is one of the rocks they wear because it is a very sacred rock. Turquoise means good luck and it is also is beautiful. The jewelry also helps them stand out from the crowd.
These four days the girl must run from the Hogan (octagon house that is made out of mud and big blocks of wood) and to the crossing line, which is a mile long. As the girl is running she must think positive. She must start running when she is done being cleaned and dressed. She will stop when she gets to the crossing line and comes back to the hogan. The circle is always emphasized in this ceremony. It symbolizes the sun, the cycles of the year and of life. During these four days the family of the girl makes a cake called Alkaan. They make it twenty-four inches under ground. It is made from ground corn, which is corn meal. The cake is baked in a circular pit and it is dug out doors, especially for this ceremony. The cake will be protected from dirt and dust with wood blocks that cover the cake. It must be baked according to the passage of the sun. On top of the cake the corn pollen is sprinkled. The bottom and top of the cake has a circular pattern of cornhusks. The cake has to be cut in a sun wise direction. The girl is not allowed to eat the cake because they believe her teeth will fall out.
When people sit in the hogan they must sit in a circle next to a lot of people, usually its crowded. The corn pollen is passed around in a circle and used with special motions, to signify its powers of fertility, nourishment, and beauty, and harmony. It increases the girl’s energy flow and transmits energy from the aide to the girl.
On the last day of the ceremony the girl gets a massage. The girl lies on her stomach and the aides press on different sections of her body. She must keep her hand open, if she doesn’t she will not be able to open her fingers all the way. The massage gives her energy and helps make her grow. After she is done with the massage lifts the children and elders (gently) from their shoulders up to their head to show that they will grow big and strong.
Kinaalda’s are very fun ceremonies, and are also very sacred to the Navajo culture. If you have a chance to experience a Kinaalda go ahead and go to one. If you don’t you are missing out on a wonderful ceremony and cake. Also you are missing out on something new.