How Does a Dreamcatcher Work?

The Origin of the Dreamcatcher

Many Native American tribes claim to be the originator of the dream catcher. Nobody knows the true details, but a woman named Frances Densmore researched the origins of the object in the last century. Her findings uncovered the legend of the dreamcatcher in the Ojibwe tribe. This legend states that a woman whom the tribe called Spider Woman helped bring the sun to their people. At that time, according to legend, all people lived in one general area together. Spider woman would build her lodge early each day, and could be seen as the dew settled on the spider webs around her lodge. These dewy webs caught the sun's rays each day. Later, when people began to scatter to the four corners of the Earth, Spider Woman--who also cared for the infants of the tribe--could not follow everyone at once. So she took the sinew of the dew-covered plants and webs, weaving them into a circle that represented the sun. These were the first dream catchers.

Purpose of the Dreamcatcher

The dreamcatchers that were given to the infants were attached to their cradle boards. These boards were used much in the way we use baby carriers, except that they were worn on the mother's back, with the infant snugly tucked in. The dreamcatchers were believed to have the power to trap bad dreams within the woven webbing. The circular opening in the center allowed good dreams to pass through to the child by sliding down the feathers into the sleeper. As the sun rose in the morning, its rays would destroy the bad dreams trapped in the dreamcatcher's web (according to the Objibwe story).

The Modern-day Dreamcatcher

The dreamcatcher has today gained popularity to the point of over-saturation. There are dreamcatcher earrings, keychains and apparel items. Dreamcatchers are made of any kind of material imaginable. Many tribes now make and sell them as well. Instead of being applied to cradle boards, they are hung as decor on walls. Once considered a sacred item, they now are mass-produced, and few people still believe the original legend behind them. Yet some are still made traditionally by the Objibwe tribe and used over the beds of children and adults, to trap bad dreams in their web.

Resources

• The Dreamcatcher
• Dreamcatcher Information and Links