The Blessingway
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The Blessingway is one half of the Navajo song ceremonial complexes, the other half being the Enemyway. The rites and prayers in the Blessingway are concerned with healing, creation, harmony and peace. The song cycles recount the elaborate Navajo mythology related to the rites contained within the Blessingway.
Perhaps the most important of all these rituals is the Kinaaldá ceremony, in which a young girl makes the transition to womanhood upon her menarche. During the course of the ceremony, the girl enacts the part of Changing Woman, the diety responsible for fertility entering the world.
Ceremonies regarding expectant mothers are also part of the Blessingway. However, these are not to be confused with some ceremonies held by other cultures for expectant mothers, which may also be called blessingway ceremonies regardless of their actual connection with the Blessingway.
