Kokopelli - Pueblo Native American Indian Archetype of The Trickster Of course... the ancient Greeks were not the only peoples to understand and give tribute to the spirit of the "trickster." In the United States each of the many Native American Indian tribes have their own unique versions of this trickster spirit. One of these tricksters has become quite popularized in recent years. His name is Kokopelli, the hunchbacked flute player. Another of his nicknames is the "Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers." The reasoning behind his Casanova reputation among Pueblo Native American Indians is not immediately recognizable from the modern depictions of Kokopelli (such as the one here)... The Cliff Dwelling Casanova Revealed So, roll your mouse over this next picture of Kokopelli in order to reveal an ancient petroglyph of Kokopelli located in a cave on the Pajarito Plateau (west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA). Maybe that will help to better illuminate his reputation as the Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers. It's felt that Kokopelli's image was "cleaned up" over the passing of years due mostly to the influence of the many Roman Catholic priests that invaded the American Southwest to Christianize the "heathen" natives. Kokopelli's hump is said to be full of seeds. These are the seeds that he scatters on his journeys, and symbolizes the semen of the male principle to be laid to rest in the earth. Kokopelli's flute music sooths the good fertile earth, making it ready, willing, and able to receive his fertilizing seed... And BTW - the flute that Kokopelli plays is actually a nose flute. (It all sounds a bit messy to me...)   Hopi Kokopelli kachina (unknown Hopi carver) Traditional Hopi depiction of Kokopelli   In the Hopi pueblo tradition he is identified as the Hump-backed flute player when he borrows a flute from Lenang, the flute kachina.Other Native American Tricksters Another interesting story regarding a Native American trickster comes to us from the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) tribe. In this version of the Trickster - he apparently had a very talented penis that he could detach and then send down river to "have his way" with any of the young maidens that were innocently bathing in the stream. back to Mercury in Astrology