Religion and World View
The Apache share a common worldview with one another and with the Navajo, reflecting their collective Athapaskan origins. These include a fear of ghosts and of the recently dead, the notion that power can be granted to individuals by nonhuman helpers, and the belief that disease is caused by contact with certain animals. All of these beliefs are also found among northern Athapaskan groups.
Also shared by most of the groups is an origin story in which they came into being when supernatural beings emerged on the earth from the underworld. In the early days of existence, various monsters lived on the earth who threatened the lives of humans. However, the earth was made safe when the deity Monster Slayer killed these monsters. Monster Slayer is the son of White Painted Woman, the first woman and the most important of the Apache deity.
Drawing of Apache Crown Dancer by Acee Blue Eagle.
Source - http://sirismm.si.edu/naa/74-7/08778200.jpg
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