Ä Area: META_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Msg#: 2565 Date: 05-21-96 20:22
From: Don Allen Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: Dream Catcher origin
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
* Forwarded from INDIAN_AFFAIRS
* Originally By: Frosty Deere
* Originally To: All
* Originally Re: Dream Catcher origin
* Originally Dated: Wednesday May 08 1996 12:39
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From: NATIVE-L@GNOSYS.SVLE.MA.U
Subject: Dream Catcher origin
MJ McFadden wrote asking for the FIRST origin of Dream Catchers ...
They are/were Ojibwe/Annishnabe/Chippewa (all same tribe). We have gotten TRULY
tired of hearing how they came from the plains tribes, the southwest, & the
most common of all "According to Sioux Legend, ..." I swear there must of
hundreds of these darned tags at galleries all over the globe with each gallery
owner "swearing" that a "Sioux" artist gave it to them... They all act
surprised when you tell them that no "Sioux" artist would refer to themselves
this way. I've been quite inactive the past month or two due to an "overload"
work schedule, but I do "scan" the list weekly for subjects of import to myself
& my son. I believe Jim Shupe posted the results of research that myself &
Mary Ritchie put together last year to give to non-Ojibwe who truly want to
learn something of our culture. Most of the Ojibwe language input is from
Mary. As Elders located in the East & in California, we hear a lot of weird
questions/stories and since my son sells Dreamcatcher "kits", it is important
to us to be as accurate as "humanly" possible. Here is that Origin story, one
more time:
DREAM CATCHER
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.
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.
The above story is a combination of information gatherered by Lyn Dearborn,
from California, and Mary Ritchie, of the Northern Woodlands, with assistance
from Canadian elders. Miigwetch!
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+ "We
did not weave the web of life. We | Lyn Dearborn; Naturalist/Person are merely
a strand in it. Whatever | Turtle Clan Ojibwe we do to the web, we do
to ourselves" | Basketry Instruction
--"Walk gently on Mother Earth" -- | dearborn@anchor.engr.sgi.com
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
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