The Moon Time
The women are honoured and respected for the gift they have been
given as life givers. Women must keep themselves of good mind, body,
and spirit at all times. There is a natural cleansing cycle that
occurs for women each month that helps them stay healthy. Some people
call this the menstrual cycle, the period, or the menses.
Very often amongst the Aboriginal people you will hear of a time
called " the moon time" . The name is understood to be
symbolic of the grandmother moon that travels the sky at night. The
moon is honoured by the women in different ways and as she becomes
full once a month so do women. This is a time when the blood flows
from a woman and she is considered to be at her greatest strength. It
is a time for women to stay quiet, to think, and to meditate about who
they are as women. This is also a time when the women should be looked
after and cared for. Women are powerful during this time and, out of
respect for that power, they do not attend ceremonies, feasts, and
Pow-wows where sacred items such as drums, outfits, feathers, eagle
whistles, rattles, and pipes will be present. In this same manner the
women do not wear their outfits to dance in the circle of life at the
Pow-wow.
Written by Harold Flett |