Apache Religion

 The Apache people believed that they existed because their god, Ussen, placed them on the earth. Their religion did not entirely answer their curiosity about why they exist; anthropologists believed that the Apache people spent most of their time on survival and battle preparations, and a minimum amount of it on religion and   customs(are.as.wvu.edu/ruvolo.htm). However, Apache people alive today say that it has always been an important ritual to celebrate the rites of passage in another person’s life: birth, entering womanhood/manhood, marriage and death. All rites of passage were celebrated through powwows and dances and lasted for four days(wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_the_Apache_believe_in). The most common rite of passage celebrated by Apache people was the Sunrise Dance, and it was meant for when girls entered womanhood at around the age of 13 or 14. During the Sunrise Dance, the Apache woman was dancing almost constantly to very precise choreography and almost 100 different songs throughout the four days. She was expected not to falter or stop as the Sunrise Dance was a test of her strength and endurance (greatdreams.com/apache/apache-tribe.htm). Since the Apaches weren’t quite sure about the meaning of their life, they expressed and celebrated themselves as much as possible.

 Apache people grew up knowing the creation story for their religion very well. There were at least two different versions of the story, and both are equally common and very similar. One version of the Apache people’s creation story was that in the beginning of the universe when nothing existed, a man came flying on a yellow and white disc. This man was Ussen (or sometimes spelled Ysen). He rubbed his eyes and looked into the eternal darkness, and he created light. Ussen wiped his sweaty forehead with his hands. The sweat that fell off of his hands became a girl. This girl was the first mother on earth and known as the girl with no parents. Ussen sang a song four times and was able to create more things. Four was a magic number.
Ussen created a boy and a sun god in addition to the girl with no parents. The four of them shook hands and Ussen rubbed his together, and their sweat became the earth. Earth was a round ball and as small as a bean. The gods took turns kicking it until it was as massive as it is now. Then the tarantula Ussen created it pulled on the earth from the four directions with white, black, blue and yellow cords, which is why those are the four sacred colours in Apache religion today. The gods found people on the earth with no faces, toes or fingers, and so they gave them faces, toes and fingers. The earth developed and was added to from then on by the gods. Today Apache people believe in Ussen, ga’ans, the mountain spirits, and Di-yin spirits who are the moon, sun and earth. All of the lesser spirits are believed to protect and provide for the people. When the earth was finished, Ussen left. Before he left, he gave the people fire (manataka.org/page87.html).

 The Apache religion did not include an afterlife. Again, anthropologists thought that Apache people were too busy surviving to have any specific beliefs. Europeans also said that Apache people had no death rituals either. In the Kiowa tribe, reaction to death was immediate. Close relatives and friends wailed loudly, tore their close and exposed themselves without shame. If some people were really sad, then they would shave their heads or even amputate a finger to show their mourning for that person. (http://www.jstor.org/pss/3628949)

 The Apaches had very strong beliefs about right and wrong. They even categorized the animals that lived in their environment under good or evil. For example, a coyote, owl or snake was considered evil because they harmed the people. A fish or buffalo was a good animal because they fed the people (ehow.com/about_456551_apache-beliefs.html). Of course, there were good and evil spirits. The ga’ans were protective spirits and were considered good because they provided for the people. Evil spirits did not have a name, although they were the supposed causes of famine, illness or death among tribes. The evil spirits were not believed to have been created by their god Ussen but said to have come from the blood of wicked, corrupted people. At powwows and formal ceremonies, Apache men were chosen to be devil-dancers. Devil-dancers danced and beat drums to scare away evil spirits, and were chosen because the people thought they were most faithful to Ussen (wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_the_Apache_believe_in).

The Apache religion did not have a name in English, and according to any Apache person, the religion has not changed one bit over the centuries.