Kokopelli, the humped-back flute player, is a symbol depicted throughout the southwest on rock art and pottery. He is regarded as the universal symbol of fertility for all life, be it crops, hopes, dreams, or love.

In Pueblo myths, he carries in his hump seeds, babies, and blankets to offer to maidens he seduces. In upper Rio Grande pueblos, he wandered between villages with bags of songs on his back. As a fertility symbol, he was welcome during corn-planting season. At night, while the people slept, he roamed the corn fields playing his flute. The next morning villagers would arise to find the corn four feet tall and Kokopelli vanished.

Some legends suggest that he was an ancient toltac trader who traveled routes between Mexico, the west coast, the southwest, and possibly even as far as the eastern areas of the US. In Zuni culture, Kokopelli is known to be an important rain priest who brings in the rain. Known as Ololowishkya, he is shown with a festive hairstyle, displaying a large phallus and is always seen with a flute.