Kokopelli Story page 5

URL: http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/1302/aboutkoko.htm
Date/Time: 03/05/2001 17:36:32

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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 traveling 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.

Kokopelli's female counterpart is Kokopelli Mana.

URL: http://tii-kokopellispirit.org/Magazine/Legend.html
Date/Time: 03/05/2001 17:32:00

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He was first carved in petroglyphs over 3,000 years ago. He is older than Oraibi, the oldest continuous settlement in North America. The name Kokopelli comes from the Zuni and Hopi tribes, the name Koko means God, and the name Pelli comes from a desert robber fly called Pelli. This insect has a hump on his back and deplorable habits such as stealing larvae of other flies.

The Hopi legend tells us that upon their entrance in to this, the fourth world, the Hopi's were met by an Eagle who shot an arrow into the two "mahus", insects that carried the power of heat. They immediately began playing such uplifting melodies on their flutes, that they healed their own pierced bodies.

The Hopi's then started 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) thus extending the association with fertility -- was given to him on this long journey. It is said that he draws heat from the center 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 comes forth from seed -- plants or animals.

Migration accounts of the Hopi/Tewa indicate that the Kokopelli Kachina was introduced by the Anasazi clan, which wandered from the upper Rio Grande to Zuni, finally settling in Hopi at the end of the seventeenth century. Anasazi Indians and the four corners of the Colorado Plateau were primarily a horticultural society. Some Hopi clans believe that the flute is actually a planting stick.

Kokopelli, the hump-backed flute player, is a symbol seen all over the southwest United States. Evidenced from ancient Native American artifacts show that Kokopelli was important to many tribes.

To the Hopi village of Orabai, Kokopelli was said to have a sack of deer skin shirts and moccasins to barter for brides. Elsewhere, Hopi's said he spent his time sewing and seducing daughters while his wife Kokopelli-mana runs after men. To the Zuni culture he was an important Rain Priest. Known to some as Olowlowishkya, he is shown with a festive hairstyle and is always shown playing the flute.

Here is yet another legend.. Kokopelli, the hump-backed flute player and is associated with the Flute Clan of the Hopi Indians. Legend holds that he was able to drive back winter with his flute playing. He wandered from village to village with a bag of songs on his back, as a symbol of fertility, was welcomed during spring planting.

In pueblo myths, Kokopelli carries in his hump seeds, babies, and blankets to offer maidens that he seduces. In the upper Rio Grande Pueblos, he wandered between villages with a bag of songs on his back as a fertility symbol he was welcomed during corn planting season and was sought after by barren wives, although avoided by shy maidens.

In the Andes of South America medicine men still wander between villages with flutes and sacks of corn. The Navajo tribe own and guards one of the finest arrays of Kokopelli figures ever discovered. A long frieze of hunchback flute players adorns a large boulder sheltering a mall ruin in a remote part of Monument Valley. The ruin was named "Flute player house" by the archeologist who excavated it in 1920.

URL: http://www.pixelpublishing.com/gourdpatch/archive/vol.5/3948.html
Date/Time: 03/05/2001 17:20:03

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As with all legends handed down from generation to generation, there exists an array of tales animating many a hero and Kokopelli is no exception. The stories about Kokopelli originated centuries ago and have been found in the ruins dating back as early as the third century and as late as the sixteenth: His purpose or mission remains unclear but his reputation does not. Known to some as a magician, he is known to others as a storyteller, teacher, healer,trickster, or god of the harvest and is often credited as being the "original" journalist. Believed to bring fertility and good fortune to whomever he met wherever he chose to roam, Kokopelli, with his hunchback and flute, was always welcome. Kokopelli possessed a playful, carefree nature that seemed to be able to bring the good out in everyone. Cousin to the mythical gods of the ancient world, Kokopelli is believed to represent the fertility and the untamed spirit or nature. Because of this and his sexy, joyous, uninhibited ways, his wisdom, magic, and simple nature have often times been overlooked. This masculine Casanova is famous for his prankster ways and one is often warned to beware for he is likely to trick you. It is all in good fun, though, for especially in today's world, his humor is refreshing and delightful. The stories may differ depending on the storyteller and tales shall be told for many, many years to come. Yet through it all, Kokopelli shall remain an inspiring figure with a passion for life.

URL: http://www.users.qwest.net/~yummm/kokopelli.html
Date/Time: 03/05/2001 17:10:57

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Kokopelli is the name from the ancient American Indian God of Abundance who is said to have roamed the hills of the southwest.

He is depicted in ancient rock carvings as a humpbacked flute player. Images of Kokopelli have been found in ruins dating back as early as the third century and as late as the sixteenth.

In the legends of the southwest Kokopelli is known variously as a magician, a storyteller, a teacher, a healer, a trickster, or God of the Harvest.

Sacred Native American teachings hold the that the Kokopelli's hump is full of the seeds of all plants of the Earth, and denotes his power to cause birth and growth.

Some legends say that long ago, when women could not bear children, they would seek out Kokopelli and he had the ability to restore their child bearing powers.

Believed to bring fertility and good fortune to whomever he met wherever he chose to roam, Kokopelli, with his hunchback and flute, was always welcome. His arrival in a Native American village was often marked by celebration, dancing and singing. Kokopelli possessed a playful, carefree nature that seemed to be able to bring the good out in everyone.

Regardless of the details of any specific legend, Kokopelli is always portrayed as an inspiring figure with a passion for life.

URL: http://www.totalaccess.net/~kokopele/legend.html
Date/Time: 03/05/2001 17:08:32

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It had been a very dry year and the trust that rain was coming had worn thin. Kokopelli, the master magician, had come to trade. His humpback was actually his bundle of sacred objects, Medicine and seed he had brought for trading, and his flute seemed to glow in the firelight. He used the reflected light, as well as sound, to mesmerize his observers.

The feathers in Kokopelli's headdress were bright red Macaw feathers, which gave the illusion of his being bathed in the Eternal Flame of passion and creativity. The Fire of fertility that crowned his head also radiated from his body as he swayed in front of the communal fire. When he finished with his flute, he wrapped it like a child in brightly woven material and offered it to the Great Star Nation. His words carried to the farthest reaches of the pueblo. "This flute carries the music of the stars to the Great Earth Mother and calls for the Thunder-beings to unite with her," he cried. "This union will bring a child to the People who will one day lead them back to the stars, through the inner-Earth from which they came."

A cool rush of high mountain air blew up the canyon to stir the embers of the communal fire into a whirlwind that exploded, filling the night sky with starlike sparks. The gasps of wonder from the mouths of the People echoed through the moonless night. Suddenly the light that the Fire-beings cast, gave enough light for everyone to see the masses of Cloud People who had gathered in the heavens to answer Kokopelli's call. Once again, the People cried out in awe at the magic of this half-god, half-man, Kokopelli. Even the sleeping babies awakened to the spectacle of Kokopelli's magic. Surely the long-awaited rain would feed the Three Sisters and the People would live. Kokopelli called out for everyone to gather up their clay pots so that the moisture could be collected for future use. The Thunderers called out that Rain was about to begin.

The Fire Sticks gave quite a light show before Rolling Thunder broke the silent night. The only other sound was the scurrying of feet in yucca-fiber sandals running up and down ladders to grab the pots. One maiden stood entranced near the main plaza marveling at the lightening in the night sky while others around her became frenzied, running to and fro. Kokopelli looked at her beautiful, innocent face filled with wonder and approached her, still holding his flute like a child. She was filled with a sereneness that had piqued his curiosity.

"Why have you not gathered your pots?" he asked. "They are in place high on the mesa," she answered. When he asked the maiden her name, she replied, "I am called Ice Flower of the Winter Clan of White Corn." "Why are your pots already in place, Ice Flower?" he asked. "Because your flute called to me when you came up the canyon and told me you would bring the rain," she answered. Kokopelli was intrigued. He smiled in a knowing way as the maiden returned his smile. "So you are the one," he said.

The People assembled for the Medicine Chief of the Eagle Clan's prayer of gratitude just as the first Rain People began to touch the Earth Mother. Kokopelli took Ice Flower by the hand and led her to the Fire. All eyes were watching the couple as they made their way to the head of the plaza. When the prayer was over, Kokopelli placed the flute, wrapped like a child in Ice Flower's arms as a symbol that this woman would share his music and his seed.

Magic was in the air and the child of this union would use the magic of this Medicine to assist the People in finding their way back to the stars. The legend of the Pueblo People tells that they crawled up from the underworld after creation. Meanwhile the spirits of their Ancestors went back into the underworld until it was time to walk the Earth again. Kokopelli spoke to them of a time before the Creation when each person was a spark of Fire from Great Mystery's Eternal Flame and had fallen to Earth to seed the Mother with fertile thoughts, ideas, and actions. He told them that they would all become like Fireflies in the Great Sky Nation on the day when the Toltec and Pueblo bloodlines came together as one.

The Aztecs say that Ice Flower brought a man-child, who became a great spiritual leader of the Eagle clan, into the world. His Medicine was the gentleness of his mother and the Fire of his father. Since Mesa Verde was abandoned hundreds of years ago, we are left with this question: did they leave the Earth and go to live in the Great Star Nation? If so, the fertility and abundance of Kokopelli shines on our world each night.

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