Okay so... This is really interesting my opinion.
I was talking to my father about some Sedona history stuff and he told me about a book he read where it said the Spanish had been exploring around Sedona and one individual named Marcos Farfan de los Godos apparently is reported to have "encountered people wearing small wooden crosses on their heads and labeled them Cruzados".
I looked it up and found the passage he was referring to on Google if anyone would like to read for themselves.
"In May 1593, Antonio de Espejo was the first non-Indian in the area. He entered the Verde Valley led by Hopi guides through an Indian trail that descends Wet Beaver Creek. He was ostensibly looking for two friars, but was probably more interested in prospecting for gold. All he discovered were the copper mines, however. He also found what he described as people wearing “crowns of painted sticks on their heads and jicaras [small bowls] of mescal and pinyon nuts and bread made from it.” In 1598, the Spaniard Marcos Farfan de los Godos encountered people wearing small wooden crosses on their heads and labeled them Cruzados (Yavapai)."
The reason I find this so fascinating is because... A while back I discovered that the Yavapai here where I live have legends about a few stories that are nearly identical to stories found in the bible.
There's a sort of "Noah's Flood" story, a Garden of Eden/forbidden fruit story and even a rib story! They are slightly different in wording, for example in the flood story it's a single woman who escapes on a log and a woodpecker flies by instead of a dove and there are a few differences like that, but are essentially in my opinion so similar that it's difficult to deny.
Now... I've wondered for as long as I've discovered that... Which came first?
Did the natives have those beliefs before the settlers and colonists showed up? Or was it the other way around and did the natives sort of take on the beliefs of foreigners who came onto their land in one way or another?
This to me... Implicates a connection to Christianity-esq beliefs before contact with foreigners.
They were wearing wooden crosses on their heads and were nicknamed "Cruzados"? which appears to mean "marked with the cross".
I'm not saying that's 100% proof of anything in regard to my theories, yet that is absolutely wild in my opinion that the Yavapai natives from around where I live in Sedona not only appear to believe where I live is the Garden of Eden and have numerous similar stories as Christian ones, but... They used to actually wear wooden crosses on their heads and were nicknamed cruzados as well!
Wow... Who knows what the truth is... But, wouldn't that be crazy if Sedona was actually literally the real Garden of Eden spoken about in the bibles?
I just did a lil more research and found a Yavapai-Prescott flag which has some crosses on it and this is what it says about the symbolism.
"The crosses represent the most important symbol of the Yavapai. Komwidamapokwia and Skatakaamcha used the equilateral cross for healing. Spaniards gave the Yavapai the name Cruzados because they wore crosses in their hair. The cross also represents Venus, which appears both as the Morning Star and the Evening Star, where they are now residing. Many Yavapai women are given a name with “star” (hamsi) included.
Komwidamapokwia gave the Yavapai four stones for medicine and directions. These stones were white, turquoise, red and black and are depicted near the edges of the basket in the four directions."
Dang... So, the crosses represent the most important symbol of the Yavapai? And it's related to healing and Venus? Hmmm...
Coincidentally both Jesus and Lucifer have been referred to as the Morning Star/Venus in the various bibles as well... Interesting...
My father also told me that Cathedral Rock used to be called Church Rock... And maybe I misheard him or he meant to say Courthouse because I couldn't verify that on Google, but it does look like Courthouse used to be called Church Rock.
I wonder if there was some kind of similar connection with the natives and either Courthouse or Cathedral? What if those mountains could have possibly inspired some of the first churches to be built? Those two mountains both do in my opinion look a lot like a church building or some kind of magnificent castle or structure!
Once again... I dunno... Really interesting stuff to think about though, I wonder if I was lucky enough to be born in and live my life in the historical Garden of Eden?
That would be amazing, lol... Either way it's amazing. Sedona is an amazing place and if it's not the historical Garden of Eden it still is incredible and it's so incredible I can definitely see why the Yavapai and others believed this place to be the Garden of Eden.
Here's a picture of the Yavapai/Prescott flag that I found for anyone curious, I don't own the rights to this and I'm using it in a fair use educational sense.