Reprinted and adapted with permission from Sweet Secrets: Stories of Menstruation by Kathleen O'Grady and Paula Wansbrough (Sumach Press, 1997). <http://www.sumachpress.com/sweetsec.htm>

Celebrations

“Why Now?”

Some girls wonder why they have to menstruate when they have no plans of having babies at all, or not for many years. But being a woman is about much more than being able to have babies.

Menstruation tells you a lot of important information about your body's health and can reflect how you're feeling about life. Menstruation says to the world that you're becoming an adult and deserve the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Menstruation reminds us that we are connected to the world around us, that we have rhythms like the ocean tides and cycles like the moon. And menstruation also connects us to other women:

Since I was the first girl in my grade to have the honour of going through menstruation, I was entirely alone in my feelings. I tried desperately to keep it a secret. Then one day that summer I received a phone call from my best friend. Her first four simple yet wonderful words filled me with absolute joy: “I got my period." I rushed over to her house to compare menstrual cramps. We complained happily of the burden we had to go through each month and we pitied the poor girls who had not yet reached our level of maturity. That fall we returned to school with an air of superiority, for we were now women!
--Brandy (19)

First Period Parties

Menarche (men-ark-ie), the fancy name for first menstruation, has been celebrated in some cultures with special traditions and parties. It's understood to mean that a child has become an adult, a girl has become a woman, and that this change deserves special recognition.

Different cultures have various ways of marking a girl's menarche. In some Jewish families, a young woman gets a very light slap on the cheek when she has her first period. Some people think that this tradition happens because the young woman must take notice that she is no longer a child under her parents' control, while others say that it's a way of scaring away bad spirits.

The Asante people of Ghana celebrate a girl's first menstruation with a party in her honour. She's treated like royalty, given gifts and there's lots of singing and dancing to celebrate. The !Gwi of southern Africa celebrate menarche by decorating the body of the young woman with intricate patterns.

In the past, the Yurok people of California believed that a menstruating woman should be separated from the other members of the community since she had such incredible powers. It was thought that the bleeding time should not be used for daily living, but for prayers and worship. At menarche a girl was taken to a menstrual shelter where she performed secret rites and took a special bath. She was given special clothes and ate only certain foods. Though this practice is no longer common, some Yurok women are careful to keep their tradition alive.

The Oglala Sioux people of the North American prairies have a long history of revering the menstruating woman as a powerful being. The newly menstruating girl would traditionally undergo a purification ritual and undertake instruction from a holy woman. She would be compared to the sacred Mother Earth, yet her power was also considered to be dangerous if the proper rituals and instructions were not given. But once these conditions were met, her holiness was considered to extend to the entire tribe, not just to herself.

After these rituals, the young woman was told: “You are the tree of life. You will now be pure and holy, and may your generations to come be fruitful! Wherever your feet touch will be a sacred place, for now you will always carry with you a very great influence.”
(Serenity Young, An Anthology of Sacred Texts By and About Women. New York: Crossroad, 1993, p. 231).

Bleeding Power

Cultures all over the world have special rules and rituals for the menstruating woman.

Some cultures believe menstruation is very important and so celebrate menstruation to make it a special, sacred time. Other cultures are afraid of the power of menstruation and consider it dangerous. They try to control a menstruating woman by preventing her from doing many things, like taking part in certain religious or recreational events. This is what is called a menstrual “taboo.”

Most often cultures have both celebrations and taboos for menstruation. This shows that, no matter what their views, people all over the world believe that menstruation is very powerful. But it's confusing to try and understand how people view the power of menstruation. Sometimes this power is considered both good and bad at the same time.

Many cultures have rules that prevent women from having sex or from working or cooking during menstruation. This sounds like a menstrual taboo, but this is also a way for a woman to take a holiday every month. In some societies menstruating women must stay in a special “menstrual huts” that are separated from the rest of the community. Some women find that this restricts their freedom because they can't leave this area. Other women find it a good place to relax and talk with women friends, or a place where they enjoy some privacy, do creative projects or say special prayers.

How would you feel about this?

Lots of societies believe menstrual blood has magical properties. In some cultures, menstrual blood is used by a wife to make sure her husband is not attracted to other women, while in others, a man uses it to make sure his wife isn't attracted to other men!

Menstrual blood has also been used as a poison against enemies or as a protector from evil forces. People have believed that menstrual blood can cure a number of severe medical conditions. One of the most common beliefs about menstrual blood is that it has life-giving power. Many societies have special “fertility” rituals that use menstrual blood to help women have healthy babies and to help fields grow good crops.

It's easy to think that our society has no menstrual taboos or rituals and that we don't think menstrual blood is magical. But is that really true? How do people react when they hear someone talk about their periods or see someone else's menstrual blood? If they act in some extreme fashion this probably means they feel menstrual blood has a certain kind of power.

Menstruation Across Cultures

Here are some examples of menstrual rules and rituals from around the world and from different times in history:

*The Kaska of western Canada and the Warao of Venezuela created special “menstrual huts” for their menstruating women.

*In ancient Rome, it was commonly believed that menstrual blood could cure certain illnesses. In Morocco at the beginning of the 20th century, people believed it could cure wounds and open sores.

*Some cultures, like North American whites, call menstruation a “curse.” Other people, like the Ebrié of the Ivory Coast in Africa, think it's a curse if a young woman should lose her periods.

*Many cultures, like the Asante of Ghana, have special parties to celebrate the powers of the menstruating woman. But there are also other cultures, like the Greek Orthodox Church, which prevent menstruating women from taking part in religious ceremonies like communion.

*The Mae Enga of New Guinea used menstrual blood as a poison against enemies, while the Asante in Ghana and the Kwakiutl of the Pacific Northwest use menstrual blood as a way of protecting themselves from evil forces.

*In many hunting cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to touch the hunting equipment before a big hunt. Some agricultural communities, however, use menstrual blood to bless their crops.

*The women of the Rungus of Borneo let their blood flow freely during menstruation. They don't use a menstrual product to absorb their blood, but spend their bleeding time sitting on specially dried moss or bamboo slats. When they wish to move around or change positions, they rinse themselves and the moss or slats with water.

*The Beng women of the Ivory Coast spend their menstrual time preparing a meal that's considered a delicacy and takes many hours to prepare. This dish is eaten only by menstruating women and their close female friends.

*Some scholars believe that all religious celebrations and rituals first began with the celebration of menstruation. Menstrual blood was considered by ancient cultures to be one of the most sacred substances since it, like the blood of childbirth, is the only kind of blood that's not linked with death and dying – but with the potential for new life.

The root word for “ritual” comes from a Sanskrit word that means “menses.” This links menstruation with the very origins of religious rituals.

Celebrate Your First Menstruation

What's your tradition? How would you like to celebrate your first period?

Here are some suggestions:

*Get something special for yourself the day you have your very first period, like a new book or flowers from your neighbour's garden. Give something special to your friends and sisters when they have their first periods.

*Have a Period Party – girls only – and eat strawberries, tomatoes and red licorice.

*Wear something red on the first day of your period every month – no one but you will ever know!

*Dunk tampons in water glasses to test their absorbency.

*Explain menstruation to your baby brother and make sure he appreciates the importance of it.

*Keep a period diary and compare your menstrual cycle to the phases of the moon.

*Hang out with mom and try treating her like the adult she can be.

*Do something that makes you feel powerful and strong every time you have your period.

Meeting the Challenge

Just as views of menstruation change from culture to culture, many things about menstruation itself may vary from woman to woman: the length of bleeding time, the amount of blood and what you use to catch it, the sensations you feel and how regularly your bleeding happens. These characteristics also change over time. You can expect your menstrual story to transform slightly throughout your lifetime just as your personality grows stronger and your tastes and opinions develop. That's all part of growing up and becoming an individual, strong and separate from your family and friends, yet linked to them through love and shared experiences.

A long time ago, in my Haida culture, my people used to believe that menstruating women had powers. The women in my society were revered and respected. Women were looked to us as the backbone of our society.

Every month, menstruating women would go to menstruating huts and these women shared songs and stories with one another. And when a young woman started her periods, a big potlatch was held in her honour. The whole village would participate. There would be feasting, songs, dances; gifts were given. All of this was done just for her.
--Roberta (30s)

Most cultures now no longer celebrate menstruation as the beginning of womanhood. Without these celebrations it's sometimes hard to know what a beautiful and powerful thing it is to become a woman.

You should be proud of your body and respect it by getting to know how it works. When your period comes, mark it on the calendar and see how many days it takes for your next period to come. Try keeping a diary and note how your body feels during different times in your cycle.

But most importantly, talk with the important women in your life, listen to their stories and share your own. Tell them about all of the changes in your body and they will tell you of the changes they have experienced in their lives. You may be surprised to find that many will understand your mixed feelings of pride and fear, shame and excitement at growing up a woman.

Becoming a woman is a challenge – but your body knows you are up to it!

Copyright © 1997 by Kathleen O'Grady and Paula Wansbrough