Harper’s Blue Deer Music
The inspiration for the name Blue Deer Music came from a trip to Sayulita, Mexico in the mid-1990s where my partner, Judi, and I met a Huichol family. The family lived in the mountains near Sayulita most of the year but came to town periodically to sell their beautiful artwork consisting of yarn work and wooden carvings covered with beads. We were fortunate to be able to buy several of their artworks some of which they made on site as we were talking with them over a period of three or four days.
The artwork of the Huichol people, descended from the Aztecs, reflects their spiritual beliefs and practices and primarily focuses on images from nature including peyote, corn and various animals such as eagles, bears and deer. Each year the Huichol people take part in an extensive journey to what they call the sacred land of Wirikuta. The goal of the journey is to find peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus, which they call “Blue Deer”. The peyote is used by the Huichols in ceremonies to induce visions that will guide them in life and inspire their artistic creations.
The Huichol people are struggling to survive due to the encroachment of development and supplement their existence with the sale of their artwork. Please see the following links if you are interested in learning more about the Huichol people and/or purchasing their artwork: