![Kokopelli kachina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Kokopelli_kachina.jpg)
Kokopelli () is a
fertility deity
A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops. In some cases these deities are directly associated with these experiences; in others they are more abstract symbols. Fertility rites may acc ...
, usually depicted as a
humpbacked
flute player (often with
feathers
Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...
or
antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is
venerated
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etym ...
by some
Native American cultures in the
Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births glob ...
and
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
. He is also a
trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
god and master braider and represents the spirit of
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
.
Myths
Among the
Hopi, Kokopelli carries unborn children on his back and distributes them to women; for this reason, young girls often fear him. He often takes part in
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...
s relating to
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
, and Kokopelli himself is sometimes depicted with a
consort __NOTOC__
Consort may refer to:
Music
* "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses''
* Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles
* Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
, a woman called Kokopelmimi by the
Hopi.
It is said that Kokopelli can be seen on the full and waning moon, much like the "
man
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
" or the "
rabbit" on the moon."
Kokopelli also presides over the reproduction of
game animal
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, tho ...
s, and for this reason, he is often depicted with animal companions such as
rams
In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
. Other common creatures associated with him include sun-bathing animals such as
snakes, or water-loving animals like
lizards and
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
s.
In his domain over agriculture, Kokopelli's flute-playing chases away the
winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...
and brings about
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
. Many tribes, such as the
Zuni, also associate Kokopelli with the
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
s.
He frequently appears with Paiyatamu, another flutist, in depictions of
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
-grinding ceremonies. Some tribes say he carries seeds and babies on his back.
[
]
In recent years, the
emasculated
Emasculation is the removal of both the penis and the testicles, the external male sex organs. It differs from castration, which is the removal of the testicles only, although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The potential medical ...
(i.e. non-ithyphallic) version of Kokopelli has been adopted as a broader symbol of the Southwestern United States as a whole. His image adorns countless items such as T-shirts, ball caps, key-chains, and patio decor. He is also noticeable on the wall by the swimming pool on the home of
Walter White Walter White most often refers to:
* Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad''
* Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP
Walter White may also refer to:
Fictional characters ...
(
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...
) in several episodes of
Breaking Bad. A
bicycle trail between
Grand Junction, Colorado
Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mo ...
, and
Moab, Utah
Moab () is the largest city and county seat of Grand County in eastern Utah in the western United States, known for its dramatic scenery. The population was 5,366 at the 2020 census. Moab attracts many tourists annually, mostly visitors to ...
, is now known as the
Kokopelli Trail
The Kokopelli's Trail (also known as the Kokopelli Trail) is a multi-use trail (but primarily used by mountain bikes) in Grand County, Utah and Mesa County, Colorado in the western United States. The trail was named in honor of its mythic muse ...
.
Origins and development
![Petroglyphs, Mortendad Cave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Petroglyphs%2C_Mortendad_Cave.jpg)
Kokopelli has been revered since at least the time of the
Hohokam,
Yuman
The Quechan (or Yuma) (Quechan: ''Kwatsáan'' 'those who descended') are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the Mexican border. Despite th ...
, and
Ancestral Puebloan
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, an ...
peoples. The first known images of him appear on
Hohokam pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...
dated to sometime between 750 and 850 AD.
Kokopelli may have originally been a representation of
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
traders, known as ''
pochteca
''Pochteca'' (singular ''pochtecatl'') were professional, long-distance traveling merchants in the Aztec Empire. The trade or commerce was referred to as ''pochtecayotl''. Within the empire, the ''pochteca'' performed three primary duties: market ...
s'', who may have traveled to this region from northern
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...
. These traders brought their goods in sacks slung across their backs and this sack may have evolved into Kokopelli's familiar hump; some tribes consider Kokopelli to have been a trader. These men may also have used flutes to announce themselves as friendly as they approached a settlement. This origin is still in doubt, however, since the first known images of Kokopelli predate the major era of Mesoamerican-Ancestral Pueblo peoples trade by several hundred years, as well as the
Aztec Empire and its ''
pochteca
''Pochteca'' (singular ''pochtecatl'') were professional, long-distance traveling merchants in the Aztec Empire. The trade or commerce was referred to as ''pochtecayotl''. Within the empire, the ''pochteca'' performed three primary duties: market ...
s''.
Many believe that Kokopelli was more than a trader, and more significantly, an important conveyor of information and trinkets from afar. As a storyteller par excellence, Kokopelli had the gift of languages, with a formidable repertoire of body-language storytelling skills to complement his many talents. Kokopelli's usual noisy announcement upon arrival secured both the identity, and therefore the safety, of his unique presence into a community. Often accompanied by an apprentice in his travels and trade, Kokopelli was important in linking distant and diverse communities together. In the South American Andes, the '
Ekeko' character functioned in much the same way. Upon arrival, his banging and clanging of his wares dangling all about his person signaled to all that a night of entertainment and trade of his goods and talismans was at hand.
Even today, occasional outside visitors may be called or referred to as 'Kokopelli' when they bring news, stories, and trinkets from the outside world to share with the little pueblos or villages.
Another theory is that Kokopelli is actually an
anthropomorphic insect. Many of the earliest depictions of Kokopelli make him very insect-like in appearance. The name "Kokopelli" may be a combination of "Koko", another Hopi and Zuni deity, and "pelli",
the Hopi and Zuni word for the
desert robber fly, an insect with a prominent
proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
and a rounded back, which is also noted for its zealous sexual proclivities. A more recent
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
is that Kokopelli means literally "
kachina
A kachina (; also katchina, katcina, or katsina; Hopi: ''katsina'' , plural ''katsinim'' ) is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo peoples, Native American cultures located in the south-western part of the United States. In th ...
hump". Because the Hopi were the tribe from whom the Spanish explorers first learned of the god, their name is the one most commonly used.
Kokopelli is one of the most easily recognized figures found in the
petroglyphs and
pictograph
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...
s of the Southwest.
The earliest known petroglyph of the figure dates to about 1000 AD.
The Spanish
missionaries in the area convinced the Hopi craftsmen to usually omit the phallus from their representations of the figure. As with most kachinas, the Hopi Kokopelli was often represented by a human dancer. Kokopelli is a
cottonwood sculpture often carved today.
A similar humpbacked figure is found in artifacts of the
Mississippian culture of the United States southeast.
[
] Between approximately 1200 to 1400 AD, water vessels were crafted in the shape of a humpbacked woman. These forms may represent a cultural heroine or founding ancestor, and may also reflect concepts related to the life-giving blessings of water and fertility.
Other names
*Kokopele
*Kokopilli
*Kokopilau
*Neopkwai'i (Pueblo)
*Ololowishkya (Zuni)
*La Kokopel
See also
*
Anasazi flute
The Anasazi flute is the name of a prehistoric end-blown flute replicated today from findings at a massive cave in Prayer Rock Valley in Arizona, United States by an archaeological expedition led by Earl H. Morris in 1931. The team excavated 15 c ...
*
Cañon Pintado
Cañon Pintado, meaning painted canyon, is an archaeological site of Native American rock art located in the East Four Mile Draw, south of Rangely in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Led by Ute guides, the Domínguez–Escalante expedition, Spa ...
*
Rock art
*
Blythe Intaglios
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Slifer, Dennis, and Duffield, James (1994). ''Kokopelli: Flute Player Images in Rock Art''. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Ancient City Press.
* Young, John V. (1990). ''Kokopelli: Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers: The Hunchbacked Flute Player.'' Palmer Lake, Colorado: Filter Press. .
* Schuler, Linda Lay. ''She, who remembers''.
Further reading
*
Malotki, Ekkehart. ''Kokopelli: The Making of an Icon.'' (Univ. of Nebraska Pr., 2000). (hardcover), (paper).
* Martineau, LaVan, ''The Rocks Begin to Speak'', KC Publications, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2003
* McLeod, David ''My Hand Tatoo'', American Educator, (Jan-Feb, 1992): Right Hand
* Michael Castro, ''The Kokopilau Cycle" Homage to the Hopi, poetry, The Blue Cloud Quarterly, Marvin, South Dakota, 1975''
* Patteson, Alex, ''A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest'', Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 1992
*
Schaafsma, Polly, ''Rock Art in New Mexico'', Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1992
* Slifer, Dennis, ''Kokopelli: The Magic, Mirth, and Mischief of an Ancient Symbol'', Gibbs M. Smith Inc, 2007. .
* Slifer, Dennis, ''The Serpent and the Sacred Fire; Fertility Images in Southwest Rock Art'', Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2000
* Slifer, Dennis, ''Signs of Life: Rock art in the Upper Rio Grande'', Ancient City Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1998
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America
Fertility gods
Lunar gods
Trickster gods
Agricultural gods
Arts gods
Hopi mythology
Zuni mythology
Harvest gods