Kokopelli

Look West

by Lawrence W. Cheek

From the Look West Series -- According to legend, Kokopelli, a magical figure with a hump on his back, used to wander from pueblo to pueblo across the American West, playing sweet music to everyone---and also playing Don Juan among the women. Possibly this legend began with a real man, perhaps a trader carrying a pack. Sometimes, when his image appears in pre-Columbian rock art and pottery, Kokopelli is clearly a fertility symbol. He also represents the coming of spring, the spirit of celebration, and the joy of music. On another level, he is a traveling salesman with a roving eye, the hero, or villain of many stories, some not suitable for prime time. His musical instrument may actually have been a nose flute, and the purported contents of his bulging pack include seeds, rain, clouds, rainbows, songs. . .and babies.

Genres: Native American

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2005

About the author

Lawrence W. Cheek worked for the Tucson Citizen for 14 years as a reporter, music, and architecture critic, essayist, and Saturday editor. He then edited Tucson's City Magazine, a free-ranging monthly that comprised investigative reporting, politics, popular culture, and the arts. His work frequently appears in Arizona Highways magazine, which also has published three of his books: Scenic Sedona, Photographing Arizona, and A.D. 1250: Ancient People of the Southwest. In addition, Mr. Cheek is also the author of Compass American Guide: Santa Fe.

Reviews

[Monty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. A well written glimpse into the enigmatic and omnipresent symbol of the American Southwest, it sums up some of the scholarly thought about Kokopelli along with clear color photographs of rock art and modern paintings of the musical humpback. It also has a list of recommended books at the end of you want to dive deeper.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, to the point, nothing too scientific, but very intriguing bits of information... Great images!