From California to parts of the mid west, but mostly through the Southwest are petroglyphs of what is commonly known as Kokopelli. All of these resemble a little hunched back man playing a flute with some sort of cockscomb headdress. Most Native cultures identify this character as some type of fertility symbol. There are many theories of his origin from being some type of bird man (Kokopelli is a Hopi word for beaked Kachina) to an insect man or hunch back. But most anthropologists think he was inspired by the Traders coming up from Mexico to trade with the Native cultures like the Anasazi, Hohokam or Papago tribes.

During this period, there were no horses and it might have been common to see Traders on foot carrying large bags of wares. A flute or whistle would have been useful to a salesman entering an encampment alerting residents of his presence but also as a symbol of his non aggression. On hearing some of the stories relating to the traveling salesman, the image of Pan, the lecherous wood nymph, comes to mind. Although they talked of selling anything from rainbows to seed to grow crops, they always talked of Kokopelli’s seduction of young girls.

His outfit would have been typical of the period. His sandals were made from yucca and his headdress was fashioned after an old Apache headdress which was possibly a clue to what the petroglyphs were suggesting.