Aside from a couple of t-shirts and a lot of photos, I really didn't come back with any souvenirs from my trip to Utah except for a cedar bead prayer necklace courtesy of the Navajo Nation.
Cedar beads come from the purple or green berries on cedar trees. When they fall to the ground the squirrels and chipmunks gather them, take them to their homes, peel the skin off, make holes in one end, and take the food out. Then they discard the shell whereupon the Navajos gather them, punch a hole in the other side, and make strings of cedar beads.
Cedar beads come from the purple or green berries on cedar trees. When they fall to the ground the squirrels and chipmunks gather them, take them to their homes, peel the skin off, make holes in one end, and take the food out. Then they discard the shell whereupon the Navajos gather them, punch a hole in the other side, and make strings of cedar beads.
According to Navajo culture, power is given to the beads by the association with the animals. The cedar beads were used to ward off evil or as a protection from harms way. That can come in handy any time, but especially in these times!
