My Deer Ladies
, FarewellShe was the myth slipped down through dreamtime. The promise of feast weall knew was coming. The deer who crossed through knots of a curse to findus. She was no slouch, and neither were we, watching. Frida Kahlo, The Little Deer, 1946 Oleg Dou, Fawn 1, thanks to For this Autumnal installment of Animalarium's "beastly women" 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 carryotherworldy and ancestral knowledge from generation to generation. , Deer Girl , Travelling Through the DarkThe 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 powerwill abandon everything to follow her, but she will steal their spirit and leadmost of them to despair, madness or death. This cautionary tale teaches thatsexual attraction is not a good basis for marriage, and each member of the tribeshould choose their mate wisely and responsibly. , thanks to 
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, , For All My Grandmothers , thanks to , SummerMany thanks to for her on Deer Woman.
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