POETRY ON MEDIUM

Kokopelli’s Rock & Roll Tour

A few verses about the modern American West by a former resident with a lingering attachment

Kokopelli sketch by Jesse Walter Fewkes (Edited by author — the original is Public Domain)

A syncretic religious belief is usually when a god from one culture is turned into a different god in another culture: the sage Utnapishtim becomes the prophet Noah, the divine protector Thor becomes the warrior saint George of Cappadocia, etc. We are actually in the middle of such an evolution in our very lifetimes.

Kokopelli, the Hopi fertility god, has become a symbol for the American West in general. Although the traditional Kokopelli is a god associated with rain, animals, and childbirth, many white Americans have adopted a version sometimes called ‘the Anasazi flute player’ as a patron of local arts and culture.

The Welsh rock band Kosheen even released an album called Kokopelli, which the singer claimed was named after an “American witch doctor” they read about while in the States.

This is my ode to the new Kokopelli

Kokopelli embraced capitalism, they say
Kokopelli stands with the American way
He’s no longer a native god
He’s the symbol of alt mod