The Dreamcatcher Legend
Dreams were sought by the Indians, since
they valued visions to
be very sacred. The Old Ones tell that dreams
do hold great
power and drift about at night before coming
to the sleeping ones.
To keep the dreamer safe, the Old Ones created
a special web,
the Dreamcatcher, to hang above their sleeping
places.
The ancient story told by the Native Indians
is that the
Dreamcatcher's hoop, with the intricate webbing
at it's center,
ensures a sleep undisturbed by bad dreams.
The good dreams would take the path of the
web with great
ease to its center and would float gently
down the trail of
beads, and like the feather, drift down into
the minds of the
sleepers below.
The bad dreams would struggle with the web
and always
become entangled. The night would pass on,
leaving them to
perish in the rays of the new day sun.
Hang one near you, and pleasant dreams!
"Gaa wiin daa-aangoshkigaazo ahaw enaabiyaan
gaa-inaabid."
[Translated: "You can not destroy one
who has dreamed a dream like mine."]
Story of the Dream Catcher
Long ago when the world was young,
an old Lakota spiritual
leader was on a high mountain and had
a vision.
In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster
and teacher of wisdom,
appeared in the form of a spider.
Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language
that only the spiritual
leaders of the Lakota could understand.
As he spoke, Iktomi, the spider, took
the elder's willow
hoop which had feathers, horse hair,
beads and offerings on it
and began to spin a web.
He spoke to the elder about the cycles
of life. . . . and how we
begin our lives as infants and we move
on to childhood, and then
to adulthood. Finally, we go to old
age where we must be taken
care of as infants, completing the
cycle.
"But," Iktomi said as he continued
to spin his web, "in
each time of life there are many forces
- some good and some
bad. If you listen to the good forces,
they will steer you in the
right direction. But if you listen to
the bad forces, they will hurt you
and steer you in the wrong direction."
He continued, "There are many forces
and different directions
that can help or interfere with the
harmony of nature, and also with
the great spirit and all of his wonderful
teachings."
All the while the spider spoke, he continued
to weave his web
starting from the outside and working towards
the center.
When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the
Lakota
elder the web and said, "See, the web is
a perfect circle
but only the good will know the way."
He said, "use the web to help yourself and
your people to
reach your goals and make good use of your
people's
ideas, dreams and visions."
"If you believe in the great spirit, the
web will catch your
good ideas -- and the bad ones will perish
in the morning."
The Lakota elder passed on his vision
to his people and now
the Lakota people use the dream catcher as
the web of
their life.
It is hung above their beds or in their homes
to sift their dreams
and visions. The good in their dreams is
captured in the web of life,
float down to them and carried with them
... but the evil in their dreams struggle in the web and will no longer
be a part of them.
They believe that the dream catcher holds
their destiny.
Dreamcatchers are believed to bless the
"sleeping one" with not only pleasant dreams,
but also good luck
and harmony throughout their lives. The colored
beads on the
beaded Dreamcatcher are believed to be the
good dreams caught
by Mother Sun at star time. The Dreamcatcher
strengthens the
link between creation and the spirit world.
Web Center
(weaving) designs are 8 point (Spider Woman
legs), 7 point (Seven
Prophecies), 6 point (the eagle), or 5 point
(the star) real
feathers, gems of choice (usually 4 to represent
the four directions),
or beads of choice are substituted to hold
the feathers : in some legends children require a feather in the
center of the web (meaning breath or life) with an owl feather for girls
and an eagle feather for boys : in some legends children also require wood
rings as legends dictate this particular
Dreamcatcher must
dissolve like innocence of youth : adults
can use beads (covering
metal), leather (covering metal), wood (cedar
or willow) outer rings and any web center ornaments depending upon your
particular interpretation of Dreamcatcher legends.
THE ORIGINAL ORIGIN OF THE DREAMCATCHER WAS
CREATED IN WHAT IS NOW CALLED THE MIDWEST
OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. LEGENDS VARY
SLIGHTLY BUT THE MAIN MESSAGE IS MEANT TO
BE
SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD.
Dream Catcher
I Let Your Good Dreams Pass On Through, But
Bad
Dreams All I Catch For You, I'll Hold Them
Fast Till
Morning Light, Then Let Those Bad Dreams
All
Take Flight.
'Legend of the Dream Catcher'
The Dream Catcher was originally made
by tribes such as
the Ojibwa (aka: Ojibwe, Ojibway and
Chippewa), from a
hoop of bent willow with a webbing
of sinew. The Native
Americans sometimes carried them in
dances and
ceremonies.
Hung from a baby's cradleboard or near
the sleeping area in
the lodge, it was believed to sort dreams.
The bad dreams
were caught in the web and , while the good
dreams flowed
through to the dreamer.
The wise Natives of the plains knew that
dreams hold much
meaning. The night air would bring the dreams
to their
people, both good and bad. So a web was woven
of sinew,
supple wood, beads and a feather, to catch
the dreams as
they drifted past.
Tatoo van Ilona ![]()
|