Kokopelli has been portrayed on rock paintings and carvings for at least 3,000 years and is the only anthropomorphic petroglyph to have an identity, an established gender, and a name. In Zuni, "Koko" is "god" and "pelli" is the desert robber fly (which also has a humped back and a prominent proboscis); to the Hopi he is known as Kokopilau ("wood hump"). According to the Pueblo (who called him Neopkwai'i) he carried in bags on his back seeds, babies, and blankets with which to seduce women. According to the Hopi he carried deerskin clothes and moccasins which he bartered for brides or for babies which he left behind with young women. The Navajo claimed his hump was made of clouds filled with seeds and rainbows. He also carried songs in his band, which he continually traded for new ones. His flute playing caused the sun to come out, the snow to melt, the grass to grow, the birds to sing, and the animals to gather to hear his songs. When villagers heard him play his flute they would sing and dance, and the next morning every woman in the village would be pregnant.
He of the singing reed, He of the sacred seed, comes to assure the fertility and good fortune of our people.
Kokopelli has been portrayed on rock paintings and carvings for at least 3,000 years and is the only anthropomorphic petroglyph to have an identity, an established gender, and a name. In Zuni, "Koko" is "god" and "pelli" is the desert robber fly (which also has a humped back and a prominent proboscis); to the Hopi he is known as Kokopilau ("wood hump"). According to the Pueblo (who called him Neopkwai'i) he carried in bags on his back seeds, babies, and blankets with which to seduce women. According to the Hopi he carried deerskin clothes and moccasins which he bartered for brides or for babies which he left behind with young women. The Navajo claimed his hump was made of clouds filled with seeds and rainbows. He also carried songs in his band, which he continually traded for new ones. His flute playing caused the sun to come out, the snow to melt, the grass to grow, the birds to sing, and the animals to gather to hear his songs. When villagers heard him play his flute they would sing and dance, and the next morning every woman in the village would be pregnant.
ReplyDeleteHe of the singing reed,
He of the sacred seed,
comes to assure the fertility
and good fortune of our people.
--Linda Lay Shuler, "She Who Remembers"