Dream Catchers

A dream catcher is one of the most popular objects used as either decoration or symbol worldwide. Uniquely beautiful as it may look, dream catchers have a rich history and tradition behind it.

 

Dream catchers are believed to originate from the Ojibwe people – a large population of the Native Americans. Dream catchers were woven by elders and were hung above the cradle of infants in order to give them beautiful dreams.

 

Dream catchers are crafted in the shape of a hoop. Hoops in the tradition of Native Americans, symbolize unity and strength.

There are various stories behind the dream catchers. One story states that dream catchers were originally built to teach Native Americans the lesson of nature and the natural knowledge.

 

A Lakota elder, a spiritual leader, who was then on a high mountain, had a vision where Iktomi, the spider-trickster spirit and culture hero appeared and spoke to him in sacred language. In his vision, the spider-trickster spirit picked up his hoop that was laced with horsehair, feather and beads and began spinning a web. That was the first form of the dream catcher.

 

While weaving, Iktomi spoke to the elder about the cycle of life – of living, of starting out as infants and of moving on to childhood, adulthood and old age where we get to be treated as fragile as infants, thus completing the cycle of life. He also spoke of the good and the bad, and the wrong and right paths. After Iktomi finished weaving the web, he gave it to the elder, leaving some words to ponder. He said that the web must be used to help people reach their goals. It will help them make good use of their ideas, of their dreams and of their visions. And with a strong belief in the Great Spirit, the web will help trap bad thoughts, allowing only good ideas to pass through.

 

The Lakota leader shared the vision to his people. Thus, through the generations, the tradition of dream catchers has been preserved.

Why hang dream catchers?