The Eye of God
Also known asGod's Eye · Aapahunane’t · Hatauva
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Overview
About this site
Overview
The Eye of God (Serrano: Hatauva; also recorded as God's Eye and Aapahunane't) is a quartz dome and megalith in the Baldwin Lake area near Big Bear City, California, United States. It is a sacred tribal landmark for the Yuhaaviatam ("People of the Pines"), a clan of Serrano people who have lived in the region for at least 2,000 years.
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Article
The Eye of God
It was originally a full dome, but it was dynamited during the 1940s because it was believed to be full of gold.
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): The Eye of God (Big Bear)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): The Eye of God (Big Bear)CC BY-SA 4.0
The Eye of God is a quartz dome. It was originally a full dome, but it was dynamited during the 1940s because it was believed to be full of gold.
HistorySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): The Eye of God (Big Bear)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): The Eye of God (Big Bear)CC BY-SA 4.0
The Serranos worshipped the dome, which they referred to as the eye of their creator Kruktat (Kokitach). It is where the Serrano creation narrative takes place. The Serrano Native Americans still hold the place sacred and believe God's spirit remains there.
FolkloreSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): The Eye of God (Big Bear)CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): The Eye of God (Big Bear)CC BY-SA 4.0
According to Serrano tradition, Kruktat, who created the People, fell ill and journeyed to the mountains, where he lay dying in a bear cave. Tended by the First People, he was taken to Maktsuk, today called Pan Hot Springs, where he was bathed by human caretakers. Knowing he was dying, he instructed the People to cremate him and protect his body from Coyote, who eats dead things. He died near present-day Baldwin Lake. During the cremation the eye of Kruktat flew out and became the giant snow quartz megalith known as Aapahunane't, or God's Eye. Coyote snatched Kruktat's heart in his mouth; the People hit Coyote, and as he ran into the mountains above Baldwin Lake, the dripping blood turned the rocky soil red. When the creator died the people mourned, and their tears turned into pine trees, in the area called Yuhaaviat. The nuts from the trees became food for the Yuhaaviatam.
Legend says that God was watching to make sure the people treated one another well.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Megalith (type not specified)
A megalith is a large stone used to build a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified in Europe, from Sweden in the north to the Mediterranean in the south, and megaliths are found worldwide. The word was first used in 1849 by the British antiquarian Algernon Herbert for Stonehenge, and comes from the Greek for "great stone". Most extant megaliths were erected between the Neolithic, with some earlier Mesolithic examples, and the Bronze Age. The oldest known ceremonial structures in the world, Göbekli Tepe and Nevalı Çori in Turkey, are dated to about 9000 BCE.
The most widely known megaliths are not tombs. The main kinds are single stones, such as menhirs and monoliths; multiple stones, such as stone circles (cromlechs) and alignments; dolmens; cists; and megalithic walls, also called cyclopean walls. Megalithic art, painted or carved on kerbstones, orthostats or capstones, is found in many parts of Western Europe, with the main concentrations in England, Malta, Ireland, Brittany and Iberia, and it is highly abstract.
Megaliths were used for a variety of purposes, from boundary markers of territory to reminders of past events, to being part of the religion of a society. Contemporary megalith-building cultures exist in Indonesia, among the Toraja and in the Marapu tradition. In the Atlas, a record marked only "megalith" lacks a more specific type, usually because the source did not say, and it receives a broad date range.
Dating relies on associated finds when a monument is excavated; otherwise it depends on shape and comparison.
When visiting, look first at the setting, and at whether the stone looks worked or natural.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Megalith, Wikipedia: Menhir, Wikipedia: Dolmen, Wikipedia: Megalithic art · CC BY-SA 4.0
Where it stands
United States
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 34°16′45″ N, 116°47′19″ WFor a GPS or map app: 34.27918, -116.78868
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
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Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q48784518wikidata.org
- 02Wikipedia: The Eye of Goden.wikipedia.org
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Lore, kept apart
Legends and claims
These are stories and claims reported by the sources. They are not evidence, and they never stand in for the dating above.
- Tradition
The Eye of God (Serrano: Hatauva) is a quartz dome which is a landmark in the Baldwin Lake area near Big Bear City, California.
The Eye of God (Serrano: Hatauva) is a quartz dome which is a landmark in the Baldwin Lake area near Big Bear City, California. It is a megalith which is a sacred tribal landmark for the native Yuhaaviatam "People of the Pines," a clan of Serrano people who have lived in the region for at least 2,000 years. The Serranos worshipped the dome, which they referred to as the eye of their creator Kruktat (Kokitach). It is where the Serrano's creation narrative takes place. The Serrano Native Americans still hold the place sacred and believe God's spirit remains here. Legend says God was watching to make sure the natives treated one another well. Originally a full dome, it was dynamited during 1940s as it was believed it to be full of gold. Their creation stories involves a God, Kruktat, who created the People. After falling ill, Kruktat journeyed to the mountains where he lay dying in a bear cave. Tended by the First People, he was taken to Maktsuk, today called Pan Hot Springs, where he was bathed by human caretakers. Knowing he was dying, Kruktat instructed the People to cremate him and protect his body from Coyote, who eats dead things. Kruktat died near present-day Baldwin Lake. During the cremation the eye of Kruktut flew out and became the giant snow quartz megalith known as Aapahunane’t, or God's Eye. Coyote snuck through the bowed legs of bear and snatched Kruktat's heart in his mouth. The people hit Coyote, and as he ran into the mountains above Baldwin Lake, the dripping blood turned the rocky soil red. When the creator died the people mourned and their tears turned into pine trees, the area called Yuhaaviat. The nuts from the trees became food for the Yuhaaviatam, or People of the Pines.
Source
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Eye of God (Big Bear)" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors