Celebrated for their striking geometric spider-web design, the dream catcher was originally the product of Ojibwe Indian culture, as a means of ultimate talismanic protection. Its origins lie in Ojibwe legend, which tells of a Spider Woman who protected their people from evil forces. The dream catcher was created to honor this legend, designed as a symbolic means to snare evil forces and particularly bad dreams.
Dream Catchers: Dreamcatcher: Grandmother's Dreamcatcher: Illustrated instruction kit by a Navajo couple on how to build dreamcatchers. Beautiful picture book about an Ojibwa baby's dreamcatcher. Gentle story of a contemporary Chippewa girl learning the dream-catcher tradition. Did you scroll all this way to get facts about ojibwe dreamcatcher? Well you're in luck, because here they come. There are 256 ojibwe dreamcatcher for sale on Etsy, and they cost $38.28 on average. The most common ojibwe dreamcatcher material is metal. The most popular color? You guessed it: black. Ojibwe dream catcher legend Long ago in the ancient world of the Ojibwa Nation, the Clans were all located in one general area of that place known as Turtle Island. It is still told by the old Ojibwa storytellers how Asibikaashi (the Spider Woman) helped Wanabozhoo bring giizis (the sun) back to the people. Navajo Natives create our Classic Dream Catchers. They make them with natural feathers, imitation sinew, glass beads, metal beads and tin cones. Each Dream Catcher comes with a card explaining the Dream Catcher legend. The larger Dream Catchers include the artist’s name and tribal affiliation. Native inspired dream catchers. Traditionally Dream Catchers are often hung over a bed or cradle as protection from bad dreams or spirits. They originate in Ojibwe culture as the 'spider web charm' or 'dream snare'. The dream catcher may also include sacred items such as certain feathers or beads. Some variation of col.
The creation of a dream catcher traditionally begins with a hoop constructed from willow. On to this hoop a loose, woven mesh, akin to a spider web, of fiber made from either animal tissues or plant materials. Following this weaving, the catcher is decorated with both symbolic and sacred objects, such as feathers or beads. Later spread to other tribes, the dream catcher is recognized today as a powerful and persevering symbol of American Indian history that continues to delight.
Quick Facts
- In the Ojibwe language, a dream catcher is referred to as a “asabikeshiinh,” which translates roughly to “spider”
- Though the dream catcher carries far back into Ojibwe lore, the first mention in print of their existence was made in anthropologist Francis Densmore’s “Chippewa Customs,” published in 1929
- While the connotations of dream catchers lead to many being suspended over or near beds, they can also be given a symbol of general good luck upon events such as marriage
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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. This is the way that the old Ojibwe storytellers say how Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) helped Wanabozhoo bring 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 this miracle of how she captured the sunrise as the light sparkles on the dew which is gathered there.
Asibikaasi took care of her children, the people of the land, and she continues to do so to this day. When the Ojibwe Nation dispersed to the four corners of North America, to fill a prophecy, Asibikaashi had a difficult time making her journey to all those cradle boards, so the mothers, sisters, & Nokomis (grandmothers) took up the practice of weaving the magical webs for the new babies using willow hoops and sinew or cordage made from plants. It is in the shape of a circle to represent how giizis travels each day across the sky. The dream catcher will filter out all the bad bawedjigewin (dreams) & allow only good thoughts to enter into our minds when we are just abinooji. You will see a small hole in the center of each dream catcher where those good bawadjige may come through. With the first rays of sunlight, the bad dreams would 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 connected to the hoop numbered 8 for Spider Woman’s eight legs or 7 for the Seven Prophecies.
It was traditional to put a feather in the center of the dream catcher; it means breath, or air. It is essential for life. A baby watching the air playing with the feather on her cradleboard was entertained while also being given a lesson on the importance of good air. This lesson comes forward in the way that the feather of the owl is kept for wisdom (a woman’s feather) & the eagle feather is kept for courage (a man’s feather). This is not to say that the use of each is restricted by gender, but that to use the feather each is aware of the gender properties she/he is invoking. (Indian people, in general, are very specific about gender roles and identity.) The use of gem stones, as we do in the ones we make for sale, is not something that was done by the old ones. Government laws have forbidden the sale of feathers from our sacred birds, so using four gem stones, to represent the four directions, and the stones used by western nations were substituted by us. The woven dream catchers of adults do not use feathers.
Native American Art Dream Catchers
Dream catchers made of willow and sinew are for children, and they are not meant to last. Eventually the willow dries out and the tension of the sinew collapses the dream catcher. That’s supposed to happen. It belies the temporary-ness of youth. Adults should use dream catchers of woven fiber which is made up to reflect their adult “dreams.” It is also customary in many parts of Canada and the Northeastern U.S. to have the dream catchers be a tear-drop/snow shoe shape.