Hello and welcome to Arizona Rocks Tours blog. One purpose of this site is to educate residents and tourists of northern Arizona, and southern Utah, and to stimulate discussion of issues affecting the area. Another is to attract customers for my Sedona based touring business. Even if you don’t join me for a tour, please use this site to find out about geology, Native American history of the area, and other fun things to do. If you enjoy your time here, have thoughts about what you read, or are interested in a tour, please contact us or leave a comment!
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The last speaker of one of the world’s oldest dialects has died. And with her death, so dies yet another culture. Our indifference to this death of a culture is unforgivable. Hundreds of Native American cultures are only a story, their language lost, their myths but a story. This loss of a culture tens of thousands of years old is reported only on the internet, or maybe the back pages of newspapers. You won’t see it in the headlines. These peoples are our ancestors! How self-centered are we? Our culture is so “self” focused, we simply dismiss the loss of the history that brought us here. Shame on us.
I am appalled.
Read more at http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6143UW20100205
I will be posting a new series of articles derived from assignments in an anthropology of religion class I am currently taking. This includes magic, witchcraft, ritual, and “modern” religion. I hope you all enjoy this new series. It will be a bit technical because this is a collegiate anthropology course as opposed to my more “off-the-cuff” musings. Here we go!!
From the belief in souls or spirits, to modern day science, the hypothesis for the root, and development, of religion is discussed. Clifford Geertz, speaking from a perspective almost 40 years old, talks of the evolution of the anthropology of religion. Lecture notes encapsulate and emphasize points that introduce us to why we have religion, and how it may have evolved. Together, a perspective and template is introduced, into which we might analyze our future lessons.
Geertz’s article, “Religion” is basically an historical summary of the anthropology of religion since the mid-nineteenth century. I do find it interesting that there is nothing mentioned of the musings of pre-nineteenth century thinkers. But then, “publishing” was not the way of many thinkers prior. Certainly in an area as ripe for speculation as this, there have been thinkers thousands of years old.
Beginning next week, in conjunction with a college course I’m taking, I will be posting weekly articles and glossary additions on Magic, Witchcraft and Healing. I’m really excited about this class and hope I can illuminate all of you with what I learn. Magic, faith, shamanism, and traditional religions will all get attention. Look for this series of articles to continue for 12-13 weeks. Check back weekly as the posts begin. Hope you join me for a look at the supernatural!
We have added a spectacular tour of the historic Hopi villages. The homeland of the Hopi is steeped in history and culture. We will visit all three mesas and walk through some truly extraordinary villages. You will get to meet the Hopi people and learn about their culture on a personal level. Climb aboard and have the experience of a lifetime! Historic Hopi Villages
I have a job that many people remark on: “What a great job! You get to see this everyday.” “Do you ever get tired of this?” “You are so lucky.” Yet I sometimes have to wonder what they think I get from this. This wonderful job I have isn’t paying the bills, yet. I have an old, dying dog, that I love…. and I can’t take her to the vet. I have a wonderful wife who supports my fascination with this land, and the people who lived here. And she continues to encourage me.
I look at the sky full of stars here, and I realize it’s not about money. I look at the amazing scenery and I realize it’s not about my passengers. I see some of the most spectacular places on Earth. And I realize it’s not about me.
I, after 50 plus years, realize it’s about “all of this”.
All that is around me. All that is me. The people, the lack, the awesome place I live. The special “job” I have.
And I’ve grown to know that that “job” is to get to know myself. To get to the place where I can touch myself.
Some amazing Utah petroglyph rock art. While we can’t decipher this stuff, you can certainly get a sense of it. The Sedona area has several rock art sites nearby. Enjoy!
Working with the handicap of having cameras banned from ceremonial dances and rituals, director Pat Ferrero puts together a thoroughly enjoyable journey into the philosophy of life as seen by the Hopi in her film “Hopi Songs of the Fourth World”. Emphasizing the cycle of life as the way of the Hopi, she pinpoints corn as the “giver of life”.
Beginning with Spider Grandmother creating the world and Eagle flying up to the fourth world, the film traces the Hopi ways. The commitment to raise corn without irrigation shows the industriousness of the people. Corn has been the mainstay of the Hopi for 1000 years, and the film emphasizes how the corn plant represents the life cycle of the people. They are “rooted” to their fields. Continue reading Short Review of “Hopi Song of the Fourth World”
I sometimes wonder who I am. Am I my career? Am I my marriage? Am I my kids, my pets, my friends? Am I the mask I wear for all of you?
I wonder even though I know. I am that I am. I am the piece of the universe that you’re not. I am a unique soul that inhabits a body. I am a being that simply “is”. What I might be is not who I am. What I was is not who I am. What I give you is who I am. What I share with you is who I am.
I am a light unto the universe that is unique. I am a being that shines.
For three days, beginning September 8, 2009, the move to the new South Entrance road will begin. No public vehicle traffic will be allowed to access Mather Point and no non-commercial vehicles will be allowed access to the plaza at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. The rim trail will allow pedestrian access to Mather Point from Yavapai Observatory. The access closing is expected to be over no later than September 11, 2009. If you choose to drive your own vehicle into the park you will need to watch for signs and flaggers. Expect parking to be very limited during this time.
For those familiar with the Grand Canyon and the area in question, you will notice a huge improvement in the congestion around Mather Point. I have been up there on days when vehicles were parked on both sides of the road for more than a mile west of Mather. The plan, when complete in December, will provide parking for more than 600 vehicles and commercial tour buses.
For three days, beginning September 8, 2009, the move to the new South Entrance road will begin. No public vehicle traffic will be allowed to access Mather Point and no non-commercial vehicles will be allowed access to the plaza at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. The rim trail will allow pedestrian access to Mather Point from Yavapai Observatory. The access closing is expected to be over no later than September 11, 2009. If you choose to drive your own vehicle into the park you will need to watch for signs and flaggers. Expect parking to be very limited during this time.
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