Dream Catcher: Journey Into The World Of Ojibwa

Nightmares and negative thoughts get stuck in it and are then neutralized by the first morning sun.

Do you have a dream catcher at the head of your bed, in the entrance area of ​​your house or on a window? The dream catcher is believed to improve sleep by filtering dreams.

Nightmares and negative thoughts get stuck in it and are then neutralized by the first morning sun. Today we invite you to learn more about this Indian cult object.

The Ojibwa people and the dream catcher

The origin of the dream catcher  can be found among the Native Americans. These self-made cult objects became popular in the 1960s and then sold more and more to tourists. They are part of the Ojibwa culture and tradition.

The Ojibwa  are among the largest Indian peoples in North America and are particularly found in the Ontario, Wisconsin and Minnesota areas.

To make the dream catcher , nettle fibers are knotted into a ring and a web that resembles a spider’s web  is attached to it. Willow is also used for this, although the traditional dream catcher does not have a particularly large diameter (about 10 cm).

Dream catchers were made to avoid nightmares, ward off bad energies and drive away evil spirits.

The Ojibwa were heavily criticized for the sale of this cult object by other Indian tribes, as they feared that the true mysticism and spiritual value would be lost, as dream catchers are purely decorative objects for tourists.

Despite all the criticism, the dream catcher became one of the best-selling items in the 1960s – most were sold in America, but there were also many buyers worldwide.

The purpose of the dream catcher

Dream catchers are usually hung at the head of the bed to ward off nightmares and terrifying visions. In the tradition of the  Ojibwa, this cult object works as follows:

• Nightmares and bad feelings get stuck in the dream catcher during sleep. The good dreams and positive thoughts then wander down through the springs and reach us. With the first morning sun, the nightmares fade, neutralize and then disappear forever. Beautiful, is not it?

A beautiful legend accompanies this cult object of the Ojibwa: The central figure was a beautiful woman named Asibikaashi. She is also referred to as “spider woman”, but this was not associated with negative connotations.

Asibikaashi took care of all creatures on Turtle Island, the home of the Ojibwa Indians.

She protected the beds of small children  with an invisible, sensitive net to keep nightmares and bad thoughts away. So nothing bad could happen to the child. The first rays of the sun then destroyed everything bad.

A beautiful legend, of which there is also another version. The Lakota people have another explanation that is also interesting:

• Nightmares as well as negative energies go through the web until they disappear, while the good dreams are caught in the middle and then slowly slide down through the springs and envelop us in a calm and restful sleep. The bad goes and the good stays.

Dreamcatchers are a beautiful tradition, no matter in which shape or color they can also help to collect our own thoughts. Fortunately, we can still enjoy the heritage and cultural assets of various Indian tribes today  .