Tossing The Ball: A Lakota Rite Of Passage (Trailer)
The “Tossing The Ball” ceremony is a Lakota coming of age ritual for girls. It instills confidence, trust, and communal purpose into young girls as they enter adulthood. In this ceremony, a girl is surrounded by four older female relatives standing to the north, south, east, and west of her. She tosses the ball to each woman, who in turn catches and throws it back to her. When they do so, each woman signifies they will always support her. Finally, the young girl tosses the ball straight up in the air before catching it herself. She is throwing the ball up to the creator who, by dropping it back down to her, signifies that he will always help her.
To see the preparation involved in this ceremony, and what it means to Lakota girls, watch the following trailer: