Dream Mythology: Dreamcatchers

Hey everyone! Welcome back!

So, still covering dream mythology, and, believe me, there is still a lot where that comes from. It's pretty amazing how many mythologies have some form of entities or explanations for sleep phenomena. But so far, we've only really covered certain creatures that are related to sleep, dreams or nightmares in mythology. Today, we're going to be a bit different and cover an item related to sleep. A somewhat well known item, in shape, if not in name.

Today, we are going to look at an item of Native American Culture, the Dreamcatcher.

So, what exactly is a dreamcatcher?

Well, a dreamcatcher's name pretty much describes what it does. It, you guessed it, catches dreams. Though the name itself is actually a translation from the various names it has in Native American cultures. In Lakota, a dream catcher is called 'iháŋbla gmunka'. 'Iháŋbla' means 'to dream' or 'to have visions, while 'gmunka' means 'to trap' - so essentially a dream trap or dream catcher. In Ojibwe there are two words given to a dreamcatcher - 'asabikeshiinh', which is the inanimate form of the word 'spider', or 'bawaajige nagwaagan', which translates to 'dream snare'. Dreamcatchers are said to have been first created by the Ojibwe people, though the practice spread somewhat do to intermarrage and/or trade. In the Pan-Indian Movement during the 1960-70s, it was adopted as a kind of symbol of unity between Native American Nations, but others feel that the dreamcatcher has been overcomertialised, misapropriated and missused by non-natives.

Now, I am not personally Native American, so bear with me. I do hope that I at least scratch the surface of what a Dreamcatcher is, but I will always suggest reading up on it yourself too, just in case I missed anything on my brief summery. Though I do admit that dreamcatchers have always facinated me, if not from their appearence, then from the story behind it.

Indeed, there is, like many of the myths and legends I've been covering, a story behind the dreamcatcher. The Ojibwe story tells of the Spider Woman known as Asibikaashi, who took care of the children and the people of the land. Eventually, as the people began to spread out over Native America, it became more and more difficult  for her to reach all the children. As such, Mothers and Grandmothers would weave magical webs made from sinew, or cortage made from plants, over willow hoops to form what would become a dreamcatcher. The webs would catch dreams, filtering out the bad from the good. Good dreams would filter through the dreamcatcher and into the sleeping minds, while bad dreams would become trapped within the web, and disipate as the sun rises.

Of course in recent times, Dreamcatchers can look pretty different, made from all kinds of materials, but those ones aren't authentic. As you can guess, you need to look to the right places for a real, authentic version. But you have to admit, the desig itself is very pretty. I could at least imagine them to catch dreams either like flies in a spiderweb, or allowing the dream to move on like morning dew on a thread. Or maybe I'm just a little poetic? Either way, I have to say I do like dreamcatchers, both by their appearence and the reason they were made in the first place.

It makes for some interesting inspiration as well. Who knows, maybe it will inspire something in Dreamwalkers in the future?

Until next time!

Tara