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His sexual prowess was widely known and surface in many myths surrounding his escapades including the myth that after a night of frivolity and dancing to Kokopelli's magickal flute, upon awakening, every maiden in the village would be "with child!" Regardless, it is more sensibly told that he would take several women known as the Kokopelli-Mana, upon entering a village, and would entertain them all night for the duration of his stay. He thereby left his "seed" from the Central Americas far into North America to the southern reach of the Colorado Rockies.
His magickal flute was an actual instrument, not just an extension of his phallus, which he played to herald his arrival, much as the traders still do in many parts of Central and South America. His flute called the heat from the Earth's center to come and thereby caused the snows to melt, the crops to grow, cause the sun to come out, the grass to grow, the birds to sing, and [again] all the animals to gather around to hear his songs. It was said that his flute music soothed the Earth and made it ready to receive his seed, stimulated creativity, and caused good dreams to come to fruition. He was not only a Bard, but THE Bard of the Americas. No other American Bardic figure bears the level of documentation as does Kokopelli.
While his image varies as much as the legends about him, he is said to have had two antenae which protruded from his head, and he was likened unto a robber fly [Zuni "pelli"] or a cicada [or katydid]. But he was a God [Hopi "koko"]. He is commonly depicted as a hunchback flute player in a dancing pose with a festive crest [like a rooster] on his head. Sometimes his depictions exhibit male genitalia of exaggerated size to indicate his sexual prowess. The antenae is often seen to indicate a life form one might associate more with a Star Trek episode or Chariots of the Gods, than with Native American traditions. However, one has but to dig a bit deeper to see there IS a substantial connection between Kokopelli and the many diverse societies he influenced.
Kokopelli's figure has been found in ruins of pithouse people dating as early as 200 ACE and is the only anthropomorphic petroglyph to have a name, an identity, and an established gender. His legends predate the Oraibi settlement; the oldest known continually inhabitated Native American village. He is ancient, and was seen walking his path through the Americas for hundreds of years! He is said to have planted corn, carried the seed, and taught others how to plant it for themselves, indicating he would stay through harvest, or would return to villages prior shown to plant, to teach them how to get seed for the next year.
Many diverse legends exist concerning what Kokopelli actually carried in his sack In Pueblo stories, he carried seeds, babies, and blankets to offer the maidens he seduced or was awarded as tribute for the duration of his stay in exchange for blessings he would bestow upon the village. The Navajo say his hump was made of clouds filled with seeds and rainbows to help the seeds grow. In the Hopi village of Oraibi, they claim he carried deer skin shirts and moccasins, which he used for barter in his wife selection. They also believe he sometimes brought babies to leave with the young women. Other tribes believed that Kokopelli's sack held the seeds of all the plants and flowers of the world, which he scattered every Spring.
His image and legends are so old and so well known that he is undoubtedly one of Carl Jung's archetypal figures.
Among other popular legends surrounding Kokopelli are the following:
While Kokopelli and Johnny Appleseed are both known to have been real, physical
Beings, one must genuinely consider the reincarnative factor when studying Kokopelli and
the connection to Johnny Appleseed.
Johnny Appleseed spent 49 years of his life wandering the American Wilderness, planting
apple seeds. His real name was John Chapman, and he was born on September 26, 1774
in Massachusetts. He is credited with apple orchards in Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and
Ohio, and evan after 200 years, many of those trees still bear apples!
He stated many times when meeting passers by that his dream was for a land where
blossoming apple trees were everywhere and no one was hungry. To this end, he taught
others to plant, harvest, and preserve apples.
He slept outdoors and walked barefoot around the country planting apple seeds everywhere
he went. He played a hand carved wooden flute to pass the time and was said to have
made his drinking water from snow by melting it with the heat of his feet.
He was friend to everyone including Native Americans, settlers, and animals and was known
to wear a tin pot as a hat. He also cooked with his hat. He died in 1845. It was the only
time in his life he had ever been sick in his 71 years.
The similarities are striking.
