How did Apache ceremonies address powerful animals, plants, mountains, and other beings?

The Apache viewed the universe as being inhabited by a vast array of powerful entities, including animals, plants, mountains, rocks, and superhuman beings. Because each of these entities could exert force for either good or ill, they were treated as personalized beings that required individual propitiation.1

In practice, this meant that these entities were frequently talked to, sung to, scolded, or praised. Apache ceremonies were primarily focused on the magical coercion of these powerful entities to achieve specific goals, most notably the curing of disease and the attainment of personal success in hunting and warfare.1

Additionally, the Apache developed spectacular masked dances, such as the gahan (or gahe), which feature dancers wearing yucca crowns to represent mountain spirits. While these dances are sometimes performed to obtain cures, they are primarily celebrated during a girl’s coming-of-age ceremony. The Apache also conducted rites for vision and divination, which occasionally involved the use of a vision-inducing communal drinking ceremony.23