Dream Catcher Origin: The History and Story Behind Dream Catchers

 

In my opinion, dream catchers are absolutely fascinating and beautiful. They are a Native American tradition and have been around for generations.

Traditional dream catchers are intended to protect people who are sleeping from negative, bad dreams while still letting the positive, good dreams come through. The good dreams go through the hole in the center of the dream catcher and then glide down the feathers to the person sleeping below. This, of course, is why people say that dream catchers should always hang over your bed, otherwise, it won’t work.

 

 

Traditional dream catchers are made using a hoop of willow and decorating it with bits and pieces of everyday life (feathers, arrowheads, beads, shells, etc). Of course modern dream catchers are similar; however, they are also very different. They are more… decorated and fancier looking as you could say.

Well, I have made the decision that I am finally going to attempt to make a dream catcher of my own! I’m pretty excited but nervous at the same time lol. I will soon post it when I’m finished; I’m going to include directions as well!

Until then, let’s explore the story behind dream catchers.

Traditional Dream Catchers VS Modern Dream Catchers: 

 

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Above are examples of traditional Native American dream catchers. Below are modern dream catchers.

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As you can see, they are very similar. However, the differences are noticeable. I think the major difference is that Native American were mostly concerned with the meaning and spiritual belief of the dream catchers and today, people are more concerned with perfection, looks, and decoration. This, of course, is just my opinion.

Here’s a little history about dream catchers:

The original web dream catcher of the Ojibwa was intended to teach natural wisdom and nature is considered an important teacher.

Dream catchers of twigs, sinew, and feathers have been woven since ancient times by Ojibwa people. They were woven by the grandfathers and grandmothers for newborn children and hung above the cradleboard to give the infants peaceful, beautiful dreams. The night air is filled with dreams. Good dreams are clear and know the way to the dreamer, descending through the feathers.

The slightest movement of the feathers indicated the passage of yet another beautiful dream.

Bad dreams, however, are confused. They cannot find their way through the web and are trapped there until the sun rises and evaporates them like the morning dew.

Originally the Native American dream catcher was woven on twigs of the red willow using thread from the stalk of the stinging nettle. These twigs are gathered fresh and dried in a circle or pulled into a spiral shape depending upon their intended use. They used natural feathers and semi-precious gemstone, one gemstone to each web because there is only one creator in the web of life

The dream catcher has been a part of Native American culture for generations. One element of Native American dream catcher relates to the tradition of the hoop. Some Native Americans of North America held the hoop in the highest esteem because it symbolized strength and unity. Many symbols started around the hoop, and one of these symbols is the dream catcher.

Indian Lore

“Long ago when the word was sound, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster, and searcher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder’s willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin the web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life, how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on 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’ll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.

When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their ideas, dreams, and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will filter your good ideas and the bad ones will be trapped and will not pass.

The elder passed on his vision onto the people and now many Indian people have a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions. The good will pass through the center hole to the sleeping person so the evil in their dreams is captured in the web, where they perish in the light of the morning sun. It is said the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future.”

Did you enjoy learning about the story behind dream catchers? 

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Disclaimer** The history and story of dream catchers written above are not mine. I am not taking credit in any way for them. I thought they were very interesting and wanted to share it with you. This is for informational purposes only.

Here is the source for both of these stories. I have also tagged/linked the titles to their individual site pages as well.  🙂