KoKopelli



	KoKopelli Dances by E. Carol Gaines.

	KoKopelli or Kokopilau (pronounced Coke-a-pellie) is the Ancient Hopi God of Powerful Communication and Fertility. This magical character has held our interest since the first petroglyphs were carved around 3,000 years ago. He predates even Oraibi, the oldest continuous settlement in North America. Kokopelli is a prehistoric deity depicted hundreds of times in rock art, some of it over a thousand years old, located in numerous sites in south-western United States deserts and mountains. Often depicted as a humpbacked flute player, this mythic being has survived in recognizable form from Anasazi times to the present. There is something appealing about Kokopelli which fascinates all kinds of people, even in our modern technological age. Hopi legend tells us that upon their entrance onto this, the fourth world, the Hopi people were met by an Eagle who shot an arrow into the two 'mahus', insects which carried the power of heat. They immediately began playing such uplifting melodies on their flutes that they healed their own pierced bodies.

	The Hopi then began their separate migrations and each ‘mahu’ would scatter seeds of fruits and vegetables onto the barren land. Over them, each played his flute to bring warmth and make the seeds grow. His name; Koko for wood and Pilau for hump (which was the bag of seeds he always carried), was given to him on this long journey. It is said that he draws that heat from the centre of the Earth. He has come down to us as the loving spirit of fertility; of the Earth and humanity. His invisible presence is felt whenever life come forth from seed, plants or animals. In ancient Indian legend, Kokopelli the flute player was the symbol of happiness and joy. He talked to the wind and the sky. His flute could be heard in the Spring breeze, bringing warmth after the winter cold. Kokopelli embodies everything pure and spiritual about music. He was also thought of as a fertility god and travelling prankster. He would visit villages playing his flute, carrying his songs on his back. Everyone would sing and dance the night away. In the morning, when he left, the crops were plentiful and all the women were pregnant.

	There are many stories of Kokopelli. One is that he is responsible for the end of winter and the coming of spring. Native American legend has it that when the Kokopelli comes playing his flute the Sun comes out, the snow melts, the green grass grows, the birds come out and begin to sing, and all the animals gather around to hear his songs. Kokopelli and his flute bring the Spring out of the Winter. The mysterious Kokopelli character is found in a number of Native American cultures, being especially prominent in the Anazasi culture of the ‘Four Corners’ area. The figure represents a mischievous trickster or the Minstrel, spirit of music. Kokopelli is distinguished by his dancing pose, a hunchback and flute. His whimsical nature, charitable deeds, and vital spirit give him a prominent position in Native American mysticism. Kokopelli is also revered by current-day descendants including the Hopi, Taos and Acoma pueblo peoples.


	A strange lonely figure stares out of the past where engraved by an artist in stone Held firm by the sand in which he is cast, these last thousand years quite alone. Could he be listening, trying to hear moccasins scuffing the butte? Bringing the people once again near to hear Kokopelli's sweet flute? His image inscribed on a thousand rock faces from east to the great western sea; From Sonora's hot sun to the north glaciers bases, proclaiming this loved tutelary. Though powers possessed and methods employed are often in open dispute; One thing is agreed, the people did love to hear Kokopelli's sweet flute. This stick figure man, with a hump on his back seemed always to cast a good feeling; His magic perhaps, taken out of his pack would comfort the sick and do healing. Whatever his talents, they surely were grand, a fact no one cares to refute, As people would come from afar in the land, to hear Kokopelli's sweet flute. Author Unknown

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