Ojibwe Dreamcatcher Legend
This is the way the old Ojibwe storytellers say
Asi-bi-kaa-shi (Spider Woman) helped Wa-na-boz-hoo bring Grandfather
Giizis (Sun) back to the people. To this day, Asibikaashi will build
her special lodge before dawn. If you are awake at dawn, as you
should be, look for her lodge and you will see how she captured the
sunrise as the light sparkles on the dew which is gathered there.
Asibikaashi took care of her children, the people of the land, and she
continues to do so to this day. Long ago in the ancient world of the
Ojibwe Nation, the Clans were all located in one general area of
that place known as Turtle Island. When the Ojibwe Nation dispersed
to the four corners of North America, to fulfill a prophecy,
Asibikaashi had a difficult time making journeys to all those baby
cradle boards, so the mothers, sisters and Nokomis (grandmothers)
weaved magical webs for the new babies using willow hoops and sinew
or cordage made from plants. The shape of a circle represents how
Giizis travels across the sky.
The dream catcher filters out the bad ba-we-dji-ge-win (dreams) and
allows only good thoughts to enter into our minds when we are
abinooji (asleep). A small hole in the center of the dream catcher
is where the good bawadjige may come through. With the first rays of
sunlight, the bad dreams will perish.
When we see little Asibikaashi, we should not fear her but instead
respect and protect her. In honor of their origin, the number of
points where the web connects to the hoop are 8 for Spider Woman's
eight legs or 7 for the Seven Prophecies. It is traditional to place
a feather in the center of the dream catcher; it means breath, or
air. It is essential for life. In the cradle board, a baby watched
the air play with the feather and was happily entertained with the
blowing feather.
Dream catchers used by adults do not use feathers in the
center. The feather of the owl, keeper of wisdom,
was kept by the woman; the feather of the eagle, keeper of courage,
was kept by the man. |
Chippewa Dream Catcher Legend
"While our children sleep the evil spirits come to terrify even the youngest of
them." Then said the Medicine Woman, to each mother in fear, should she lose her
child to the evil ones, for they awoke and cried with the knowledge of terrible
demons in their eyes. You must weave a spiders web with love from a willow hoop,
using nettle stalk cord dyed red with sacred herbs. As you say the sacred words,
with each weave you shall weave with only happy thoughts and playful things.
Leave in the center an opening, as your open heart, to let only good things
pass. Hang from the loop the sacred feathers, in this way the Good Spirit dreams
will find their way through the center hole and float down the feathers onto the
sleeping ones. The Bad Spirit dreams will get caught in the web and disappear
with the morning light. And so they hung this Dreamcatcher over the baby's
cradle board. Dreamcatchers are believed to bestow pleasant dreams, good luck,
and lifetime harmony.
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Dreamcatcher Symbolism
hoop = circle of life
points (where web meets hoop)=
7 for seven grandfathers who prophesy
8 for eight legs of the spider
13 for thirteen moons |
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What does an Indian look Like?
When asked this question what picture comes to mind? A tall leather-dressed man
with a war bonnet sitting upon his painted and adorned horse? Perhaps, it brings
back the childhood stories of Cowboy and Indian hooting matches as kids scream
and chase each other with plastic guns and plastic bow and arrows?Is an Indian dark with flowing long hair and black eyes? There are countless
ways that the Native Americans have been stereotyped, but if you take a closer
look, you may see something else.
The love and devotion to the Creator and family is above all else. There is no
anarchy or power struggle as all are the same.
To see one's self as a part of the earth. The waters. The sky. To burn with the
fires of love that the Creator gives all. With every breath taken comes love
from the Creator, eyes with ability to see what is meant to be seen as love and
blessings so freely given that to give thanks is the only way to live every
second of every day..
....To pray is to breath the love of the Creator,
to see with the eyes of the Creator,
to share all things with the Creator and each other,
to live life in peace, love and prayer.
These come much closer to describing a true Native American.
To see the tall and short, thin and thick, light and dark thru the
eyes that the Creator uses is to see all people.
And so it is that to see a Native American that lives the true Red
Path is to see the Creator's love in human form.
That is what an Indian looks like. |
An Ancient Chippewa
TraditionThe dream net has been made for many generations
where spirit dreams have played. Hung above the cradle board or in the lodge up high. The dream net catches bad dreams
while good dreams slip on by. Bad dreams become entangled among the sinew thread. Good dreams slip through the center hole
while you dream upon your bed. This is an ancient legend, since dreams will never cease,
hang this dream net above your bed. Dream on and be at Peace
A Short History of the DreamcatcherThe exact origin of the Native American dream catcher is unclear. A great deal of tribal-specific history has been lost, forgotten
or changed as the First Americans were forced from their lands and diminished in numbers.
New nations formed as survivors of differing clans banded together
and with them new traditions reflecting the melding of cultural elements.In 1929, ethnographer
Frances Densmore
produced the first documented account of the Native American dream catcher. She describes spider web-like cradle charms
that were used by the Chippewa Indians to catch "everything evil, as a spider's web catches and holds everything that comes in contact with it." Evidence of similar beliefs
has since been found throughout the Americas as well as Mexico. |
