Among the pueblo peoples of the american southwest, kokopelli was a

Kokopelli is a standout among the most familiar figures found in the petro glyphs and pictographs of the Southwest. The Spanish preachers in the region persuaded the Hopi specialists to ordinarily discard the phallus from their portrayals of the figure. Similarly as with most kachinas, the Hopi Kokopelli was regularly spoken to by a human dancer.

the answer is the government.

the catholic church withhold people's access to the bible during the middle ages.

people could go to church and listen to the teachings, but it was absolutely forbidden to own and/or read the books of both the old and new testaments. it was also prohibited to translate the books (which where originally in biblical hebrew) to any other language.

this was done so the church could remain in control of what their teachings were and to enhance their importance and power, while also being able to judge people's actions through information that was unavailable for the general public.