My Deer Ladies

Catrin Arno, Farewell

She was the myth slipped down through dreamtime. The promise of feast we

all knew was coming. The deer who crossed through knots of a curse to find

us. She was no slouch, and neither were we, watching. Joy Harjo

Frida Kahlo, The Little Deer, 1946

Oleg Dou, Fawn 1, thanks to Designboom

For this Autumnal installment of Animalarium's "beastly women" series

I have chosen the figure of Deer Woman, a shape-shifting female 

who is featured in the mythical tales of many Native American cultures.

This being, also known as Deer Lady, is one of the powerful spirits who carry

otherworldy and ancestral knowledge from generation to generation.

Christina Bothwell, Deer Girl

Sörine Anderson, Travelling Through the Dark

The myth of Deer Woman is related to fertility and marriage rituals. 

She is often described as a beautiful girl with deer hooves and doe eyes,

or as a being with a human upper body and the lower body of a deer. 

In some versions of the tale, she is the vengeful spirit of a woman who died after 

being raped. Men who meet her fall under the spell of her beauty and sexual power

will abandon everything to follow her, but she will steal their spirit and lead

most of them to despair, madness or death. This cautionary tale teaches that

sexual attraction is not a good basis for marriage, and each member of the tribe

should choose their mate wisely and responsibly.

Hiroshi Tanabe, thanks to Joe Kral

Coco de Paris

Daniel Egnéus

Fictionist

In the rare tales narrating an encounter between Deer Lady and a woman, 

the event leads to transformation and the awakening of artistic talent.

Kelly Louise Judd, Perched

Kristin Vestgard, For All My Grandmothers

Katherine Rohrbacher, thanks to Artodyssey

 Catrin Arno, Summer

Many thanks to Carolyn Dunn for her beautiful article on Deer Woman.