Dream Catchers:
WHAT: Hart of the West Powwow 2000 WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 23, 2000, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: William S. Hart Park, Newhall INFO: (661) 259-0855
Holding the Destiny of the Future.By LEON WORDEN, September 2000.
©2000, LEON WORDEN.
The legend of the dream catcher varies in its details from people to people, but the principle is the same: It filters out bad forces, helping its owner stay on the right path in life.
Traditionally made by grandmothers in the tribe, dream catchers are given to newborn babies to be hung on their cradle-boards, and often to newlyweds to be hung in their lodges. It is said that dream catchers sift through the dreams that fill the night air, letting the good dreams pass through while the bad ones get caught in the hole in the center and disintegrate.
Early dream catchers were made with a supple wood such as willow for the ring, with webbing fabricated from plant material or sinew. Often a prayer or chant was performed while it was being created.
Modern dream catchers usually have hoops of steel or brass, and webbing of artificial materials in a variety of colors. Each part of a dream catcher has symbolic meaning, and there is no "wrong" dream catcher.
By Ojibwa (Chippewa) tradition, when a dream catcher is placed above a cradle, all of the good dreams flow through the webbing and reach the feathers, from whence they drip down to the sleeping child. The bad dreams get caught in the web and disappear when the rising sun evaporates the morning dew.
One day, according to some Ojibwa accounts, a grandmother was at home, sewing and doing beadwork. Her grandson stopped by with some food for her and noticed a spider. He picked up a piece of wood and was about to squash the spider when his grandmother, startled, stopped him. After all, the spider hadn't hurt him.
The grateful spider thanked grandmother profusely and told her that in return for saving his life, he would weave a magical web that would catch all her bad dreams and let only the good ones flow through. Thenceforth the Ojibwa people made magical dream catchers and hung them over their babies' cradles.
The Lakota Sioux tell a somewhat different story.
This time the spider is Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom, who appeared in arachnid form to an old Lakota spiritual leader high atop a mountain. Iktomi picked up the elder's willow hoop, which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web.
Speaking in a language only spiritual leaders could understand, Iktomi discussed the cycles of life, from infancy to childhood to adulthood and old age — when people must be cared for like children, thus completing the cycle. As he worked on his web Iktomi said there are good forces and bad forces in every time of life. The good forces can steer you on the right path and the bad forces can lead you astray.
Completing the web, Iktomi gave his handiwork to the old man and explained that the web was a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Believe in the great spirit and respect your people's opinions and dreams, Iktomi said, and the web will catch your good ideas and send the bad ones away through the hole.
The elder passed this vision along to his people, who placed facsimiles of Iktomi's web above their beds to sift through their dreams. The good dreams were caught in its web of life while the evil passed through before it could take hold. By Lakota tradition, the dream catcher holds the destiny of the future.
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