Mountains Fall to the Sea
Grand Canyon is home to the Hopi, Navajo, Hualapai, and Havasupai. They all have Canyon creation myths. Three claim to have witnessed its birth. Only the Hopi admit they didn’t. But the Anasazi were here centuries before any of them. They were the original masters of the Canyon multi-verse. The Anasazi vanished mysteriously and no one knows why. All that remains are abandoned architectural wonders and lots of questions. Most scholars today blame climate change bringing drier cooler Summers and wetter warmer Winters beginning in 1190, lasting 300 hundred years. The people simply migrated-away seeking better conditions. But they left their spiritual imprint behind and there are times when you can hear them.
It was bitter cold the morning we began our descent to Phantom Ranch. The Canyon was nearly deserted. But we met a couple interesting spirits. At least I think we did.
Grand Canyon mysteries are preserved in creation stories, lyric, and music. Jimi Hendrix was part Cherokee and became inspired by the ancient tales. His song, If 6 Was 9 came from a Hopi creation myth. The lyric, “if the mountains fall to the sea,” is the translation of the Indian word “Kaibab.” It’s also the name of the treacherous trail of descent to Phantom Ranch where we spent the night.
Like the Anasazi, Hendrix left a mysterious body of work that people are still trying to figure out.