The Gahe: Apache Mountain Spirit Dancers
The Gahe (called Gaan by Western Apache) are the Mountain Spirits, powerful supernatural beings who live inside sacred mountains. The first Mountain Spirit ceremony originated when children of the Sun taught the Apache how to call and honor these spirits. The Mountain Spirits appear as masked dancers wearing distinctive tall, wooden-slat headdresses, with black-and-white body paint and black buckskin kilts. The Gahe ceremony is part of the Girls' Puberty Ceremony (Sunrise Ceremony), the longest and richest Apache ritual. Four Mountain Spirits typically dance together — one for each cardinal di