The earliest images of the ancient fertility deity known to this day as Kokopelli appeared as early as AD 750 and AD 850. The Hopi Indians – a Native American people who originally roamed freely in the southwestern region of the country now called America and now live on a small reservation in in northeastern Arizona – attached the name “Kokopelli” to their own renditions of the image/symbol of the mystical flute player. The image of flute player himself, however, can be found earlier in ancient Anasazi glyphs. The image/symbol we know as Kokopelli is thousands of years old.
Legends surrounding Kokopelli abound and for good reason! The meaning invested into this symbol is deep and rich. Kokopelli embodies fertility, renewal, childbirth, life, music, dance, healing, story telling, trickery, and the changing seasons. All of this invested meaning has birthed more than a few myths about the little flute player.
One of the more popular legends depicts Kokopelli as the reason for the movement from the cold, dead winter to the warm, green spring. Kokopelli, the legend says, would travel from village to village melting the snow with his flute playing while dropping seeds from the pack on his back to assure a healthy and bountiful harvest. The hunched over image of Kokopelli may have been derived from the image of him wearing a sack full of seeds. Also, some say that you can hear Kokopelli’s flute in the spring winds. His music brings joy to everyone in the village and after spending the night dancing to his flute and celebrating his transition from winter to spring, the women wake the next morning to find a child given to them. It is refreshing to discover a whimsical deity who spreads joy and music rather than a frightening one who rules through fear and by the threat of destruction, right?
Kokopelli, in my opinion, is one of the better human attempts at symbolism, meaning, and myth. His whimsical nature and dedication to art, music, life, and renewal bring out the best in people. The symbol is joyful and freeing. Is it any wonder that it has endured to this day? There is much to be mined from a symbol that epitomized the transition from winter to spring, from death to life. Is this the only mythical symbol that emphasizes this transition? No. There are others and they too have endured to this day because everyone can see how important that symbolism really is and they can internalize it with little or no effort.
Those are symbols worth keeping. Kokopelli is one of those symbols.
Related posts:
