Kokopelli
Southwest fertility deity
Kokopelli is a fertility deity depicted in the rock art and mythology of various Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest, particularly the Ancestral Puebloans and modern Hopi.
He appears as a hunchbacked flute player, often with an exaggerated phallus, and is associated with agriculture, music, and mischief.
The figure has been widely commercialized in Southwestern décor, appearing on everything from jewelry to welcome mats, often stripped of its sacred and sexual elements.
Cunning deceiver in myth
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- HopiPueblo people of Arizona
- ZuniNative southwestern pueblo-dwellers
- AnasaziAncient Southwestern cliff-dwelling people
kachina · flute player · humpbacked · rain · harvest · agriculture · mischief · storyteller
Tube blown sideways
- humpbackBaleen whale species
- feathersBird's lightweight covering
- headdressOrnamental head covering
- dancingRhythmic bodily motion
silhouette · figure · profile · stylized · curved · bent · antennae · seeds
Images on natural stone
- petroglyphCarved image on stone
- pictographSymbol drawn as image
- canyonDeep river-cut gorge
- cliffVertical rock wall
sandstone · carving · ancient · prehistoric · archaeological · desert · Southwest · Utah
trickster
Cunning deceiver in myth
- fertilityCapacity for reproduction
- HopiPueblo people of Arizona
- ZuniNative southwestern pueblo-dwellers
Anasazi · kachina · flute player · humpbacked · rain · harvest · agriculture · mischief · storyteller · wanderer
flute
Tube blown sideways
dancing · silhouette · figure · profile · stylized · curved · bent · antennae · seeds · sack
rock art
Images on natural stone
- petroglyphCarved image on stone
- pictographSymbol drawn as image
- canyonDeep river-cut gorge
cliff · sandstone · carving · ancient · prehistoric · archaeological · desert · Southwest · Utah · Arizona
souvenir
Token from a trip
pottery · jewelry · t-shirt · magnet · keychain · Santa Fe · Sedona · Taos · gift shop · tourist