Cherokee Indian Dream Catcher

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A Chippewa Legend

Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. Here at Native American Vault, we offer wonderfully made dreamcatchers with varying designs and sizes. Alibaba.com offers 111 cherokee indian dream catchers products. About 48% of these are Natural Crafts, 2% are Carving Crafts. A wide variety of cherokee indian dream catchers options are available to you, such as technique, use, and type.

A spider was quietly spinning his web in his own space. It wasbeside the sleeping space of Nokomis, the grandmother. Each day,Nokomis watched the spider at work, quietly spinning away. One dayas she was watching him, her grandson came in. 'Nokomis-iya!'he shouted, glancing at the spider. He stomped over to the spider,picked up a shoe and went to hit it.

'No-keegwa,' the old lady whispered, 'don't hurt him.'

'Nokomis, why do you protect the spider?' asked the little boy.

The old lady smiled, but did not answer. When the boy left, thespider went to the old woman and thanked her for saving his life.He said to her, 'For many days you have watched me spin andweave my web. You have admired my work. In return for saving mylife, I will give you a gift.'

He smiled his special spider smile and moved away, spinning as he went.

Soon the moon glistened on a magical silvery web moving gentlyin the window. Tips poker texas holdem. 'See how I spin?' he said. 'See andlearn, for each web will snare bad dreams. Only good dreams willgo through the small hole. This is my gift to you. Use it so thatonly good dreams will be remembered. The bad dreams will becomehopelessly entangled in the web.'

Authentic


Sleep well sweet child
Don't worry your head
Your Dream Catcher is humming
Above your bed Slots empire casino no deposit bonus codes 2020.

Listen so softly
I know you can hear
The tone of beyond
Close to your ear

Love is alive
And living in you
Beyond all your troubles
Where good dreams are true

Dream Catchers

An ancient Chippewa tradition
The 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.

Cherokee Indian Dream Catcher

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.

Return to Chippewa Legends

Introduction to the Legend

Everyone dreams. Psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have tried to interpret dreams and our subconscious thoughts. Though these modern scientists have provided multiple theories and vast quantities of written analysis, they are by no means the first to have taken on this eternal and elusive subject.
Dream interpretation has directly influenced Native American cultural and spiritual beliefs for centuries. American Indians believe dreams influence the conscious soul of the dreamer, oftentimes acting as a means for change in personality traits such as confidence, maturity, kindness, and loyalty.

Best Selling Dream Catchers

5 Dreamcatchers in One

More About Dream Catchers

Dreams have always been a fundamental part of Ojibwe culture and have many purposes.

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  • Prophecies: Dreams can show future events that will affect a tribe or individual person.
  • Names: Spiritual leaders can receive the name of a newborn child through dreams.
  • Spiritual Strength: Many Ojibwe people pray, meditate, and fast in order to bring on dreams that will give them spiritual guidance during difficult times.
  • Symbolism: Dreamers will often see a symbol that has personal meaning to them throughout their lives. Many Ojibwe make a charm to keep with them to remind them of the symbol. Some even take them to the grave when they die for strength in the afterlife.

The Ojibwe people, often referred to by their anglicized name, 'Chippewa', so insightfully understood the importance of dreams, especially in children, that they attempted to assist a child’s ability to receive good dreams and filter out dark or negative dreams with the use of a dream catcher.

What is a Dreamcatcher?

Frances Densmore, a renowned ethnographer who dedicated decades of her life to working with many Native American tribes, including the Ojibwe, wrote in her 1929 book, Chippewa Customs, about the longstanding existence of dream catchers:
Infants were given protective charms in the shape of “spiderwebs” that were hung on the hoop of a cradleboard. Traditionally, two spider webs were hung on the hoop, and it was said that they protected the child from harmful dreams and other dangers passing through the air.
In other words, a dream catcher would trap the bad dreams that blew freely in the night air and keep them from entering the mind of those it protected.

History Of Dream Catchers Cherokee

History of the Dreamcatcher

Dream

In her writings, Densmore dispels a common misunderstanding of the Ojibwe dream catcher by indicating that its purpose was to ensnare harmful influences in its web, thereby keeping them from reaching the dreams of children.

The Ojibwe people believe that the dream catcher’s web will trap bad dreams or dark spirits, thereby allowing the good dreams to escape through a small hole in the center and enter the child’s dream.
Beyond the protection and enhancement of children’s dreams, dream catchers were believed to have worked equally as effective for adults and families. Many Ojibwe lodges had a dream catcher hanging above the family’s sleeping area in order to filter bad spirits from all of their dreams.
As intermarriage and trade contact with other tribes increased, the concept of dream catchers spread to nearby tribes such as the Lakota who, over time, developed their own traditions.
In modern times, particularly during the American Indian Movement (AIM) of the 1960s and 1970s, when a pan-Indian mindset developed in the United States, many other tribes accepted the concept of dream catchers and incorporated them into their own cultures as a way of retaining traditional spirituality.
Today, only 40 years since the AIM movement took place, the common misconception remains that dream catchers have always been an integral part of most Native American cultures. But the truth is that mainly the Ojibwe people and Lakota were the early adopters and until more recently, were the only possessors of the traditional dream catcher.

Two Dreamcatcher Legends

Catchers

Dream catchers have two legends about their beginnings; one told by the Ojibwe and another told later by the Lakota after they learned about them through trade and intermarriage with the Ojibwe people.
Ojibwe Legend
A grandmother watched patiently each day as a spider spun his web above her sleeping place until one day her grandson noticed the spider and tried to kill it.
“Don’t hurt him,” she told the boy in a soft tone, surprising him.
“But grandmother, you should not protect this spider.”
When the grandson left, the spider thanked the woman for her protection and offered her a gift. “I will spin you a web that hangs between you and the moon so that when you dream, it will snare the bad thoughts and keep them from you.”
At this, grandmother smiled and continued to watch the spider spin his web.
Lakota Legend
While receiving a spiritual vision high on a mountain, a Lakota leader met Iktomi, a trickster who also held great wisdom. Appearing to the leader in the form of a spider, Iktomi made a hoop of willow and spun a web inside of it.
He told the aged Lakota man that many forces, both bright and dark would attempt to enter peoples’ dreams and that the dream catcher he was making would catch the bright forces and allow the dark ones to slip away and burn up. Iktomi instructed the old man to make dream catchers for his people so they could all achieve a bright future by capturing the good dreams that are blown about by the winds of the night.
As you can see, in the Lakota version, dream catchers trap good dreams, just the opposite of the Ojibwe belief.

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Design of the Dreamcatcher & What the Parts Mean


Cherokee Indian Dream Catcher Tattoo

Once again we turn to Frances Densmore to learn about dream catcher design in ancient times. She writes “These articles…consisted of wooden hoops about 3 ½ inches in diameter filled with an imitation of a spider’s web made of fine yarn, usually dyed red. In old times this netting was made of nettle fiber.”
Nearly every part of a dream catcher had a meaning.

  • Hoop: The wooden hoop was either circular or teardrop shaped. It served primarily as a frame for the web, but some believe it represents the circle of life.
  • Web: The web, traditionally patterned after a spider’s web, was to catch bad dreams (good for Lakota) and keep them from entering the dreamer’s head.
  • Feathers: Numerous purposes are assigned to feathers that hang from the hoop. Many believe they provide a soft ladder for the good dream to glide down and gently enter into the dreamer’s mind.

In more modern times makers have added other items to dream catchers.

Authentic Dream Catchers Cherokee

  • Beads: A single bead often represents the spider that made the web. Many beads or hanging beads can represent good dreams that trapped during the night.
  • Gem Stones: Because it is illegal for most people to posses certain types of feathers, gem stones are now used to replace the symbolism feathers once held.
  • Arrowheads: For increased strength and protection, some makers add arrowheads. For other, arrowheads point to the four corners of the earth, directions from which the wind blows.

Design Variations & Commercialization

Since the common acceptance of dream catchers in the 1970s, many variations have appeared. The end-point weave of a spider web pattern is now uncommon, giving way to mid-point weaves, loops, stars, and other decorative, frilly patterns. The traditional use of feathers and beads is still in practice, but the symbolism only remains in non-commercial uses.
Some Native American individuals and groups feel that the commercialization of dream catchers is an unfortunate misappropriation of spiritual traditions, while others actively engage in their manufacture and sale.
Marketing and mass-production methods have left customary materials at the wayside in favor of easily obtained supplies such as fishing line instead of nettle fiber, balsa wood instead of willow, and synthetic feathers and beads. Many non-Natives also produce and sell dream catchers, further confusing the item’s important spiritual traditions.

Protecting the Culture of Dream Catchers

Authentic Cherokee Indian Dream Catchers

Fortunately, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 prohibits manufacturers from suggesting that their products are Native-made or have any connection with a Native American group unless they are “a member of any federally or State recognized Indian Tribe, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian Tribe.” Furthermore, listing the tribal affiliation of the producer of the items is required. This, at least, will allow consumers to know if they are purchasing an Ojibwe, Lakota, Cherokee, or some other design of dream catcher.

Cherokee Indian Dream Catcher Tattoo

Dreams of the Fathers

Despite the many styles available today, and notwithstanding the different versions of the origin of dream catchers, they are very popular across cultural boundaries. Perhaps this widespread acceptance is a symbol itself of the power of dreams to affect reality.