Dream Catcher ( Ojibwe asabikeshiinh , the inanimate form of the word "spider" [1] [2] , or bawaajige nagwaagan "dream trap" [2] ) is an Indian amulet protecting the sleeping from evil spirits . According to the legends [3] , bad dreams are entangled in the web , and good dreams slip through a hole in the middle.
For a long time, many tribes claimed the authorship of dream catchers. The most famous among them were the Navajo, Lakota Sioux, Hurons, Crees, Mohawks, Chiroks, Iroquois and Ojibwe. At the beginning of the two thousandth, it was agreed that the original authorship of the dream catchers belonged to the Ojibwe tribe. [four]
The dream catcher not only catches unpleasant, frightening dreams and evil spirits that come with them, but everything that brings unhappiness, for example, a cold or failure.
Amulet is a web of harsh threads or deer veins stretched on a circle from a willow branch. Often several feathers are woven into the catcher, decorated with beads, shells or beads. Amulet hangs over the head of the sleeper. Such an amulet can be made with your own hands or bought in a souvenir shop.
The round shape of the dreamcatcher hoop resembles a sacred circle ( medical wheel ) - one of the most important symbols of the Indians.
The pen, which is a manifestation of the supernatural energy of the Universe, symbolizes the path that a person must follow in the dream space. It is believed that every time a good dream is dreamed, the feathers of the feather move as the dream makes its way to the sleeping person. [five]
Content
Legends of Origin
Lakota Legend
According to one of the ancient legends, the elder of the Indian people Lakota climbed the mountain, and there he had a vision in which the ancient teacher of wisdom appeared to him in the guise of a spider. While they were talking, the spider bent the branch of the old willow into a ring and, decorating it with a bird's feather, began to weave a web inside the ring.
He said that this willow circle symbolizes the circle of human life: a baby is born, grows up, enters into adulthood. Then he begins to age and takes care of new babies. So the circle closes. A hoop made of vine also symbolizes the life path of a person. Saying this, the spider was weaving its web, and only a hole remained in its center.
Then he said: “There are a lot of roads along which a person moves - everyone chooses his own way. And in every moment of life a person owns passion. If they are good, then they direct him on the right path, and if they are evil, then a person goes on a false path. A web is a perfect circle, but there is a hole in the very center. Good thoughts will pass through the center to the person. Evil thoughts will become entangled in the web and disappear at dawn. ”
Ojibwean legend
Once upon a time, the people of Ojibwe lived on Turtle Island. Grandmother Spider, Asabikashi, took care of her children, the people of the earth, but when the people of Ojibwe settled in the four corners of North America , Asabikashi found it difficult to travel to each cradle, and then she taught women to weave magical webs for young children - from willow twigs and tendons or threads from plants. The round shape of the Dream Catcher symbolized the daily journey of the sun across the sky; the number of places where the cobweb is connected to the hoop is eight, which means the eight legs of the Grandmother-Spider. The cobweb on the hoop delayed bad dreams, and through the small hole in the center she let in only pleasant dreams and good thoughts for the children, so spiders are not frightened.
By tradition , a feather symbolizing breathing was tied to the center of the dreamcatcher: air is the most important thing in life.
Dream catchers Ojibwe did not only for children. They were not intended for long-term use, and this has its own philosophy. Over time, the willow dried out and the tension of the tendons broke the hoop. It symbolized the transience of youth.
Since then, many tribes have made their dream catchers [6] .
The biggest dreamcatcher in the world (Guinness World Record)
The largest dream catcher in the world is located in Lithuania in the city of Dubingiai [7] It was created by Vladimir Paranin and has a diameter of 10.14 m. The largest dream catcher in Russia is located in Karelia in the village of Kalevala [8] . Bibigul Mamaeva made an amulet “Dreamcatcher” with a diameter of 7.42 meters, a circumference of 23.3 meters and a weight of 271 kg. This happened in Kalevala, March 20–22, 2016, on the Day of the Vernal Equinox [9] . This record was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records [10] and the Book of Records of Russia [11] .
Current usage
In the 60-70 years. In the twentieth century, on the wave of the Pandenda movement, dream catchers began to spread among other tribes, and now it is the most common souvenir, often without any specific meaning - only an easily recognizable form and pseudo-Indian design. Dream catchers caught on in the new-age environment.
Many Indians consider modern use of the amulet to be profitable and an undesirable example of cultural borrowing [12] [13] .
Siberian shamans and dream catcher
The Siberian peoples attached a slightly different meaning to this amulet. It was one of the tools of the shaman . He was also hanged over the headboard, as the Indians did, but the ward not only caught good dreams, not missing bad ones, but also helped the shaman to control dreams, as well as see the future in them, hints in various situations that helped to make important decisions for the whole tribe .
Notes
- ↑ Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary
- ↑ 1 2 Prindle, Tara NativeTech: Dream Catchers . The appeal date is September 23, 2007. Archived March 24, 2012.
- ↑ The Ojibwe legend of N'okomis Neopr .
- ↑ Oberholtzer, Cath. Dream Catchers: Legend, Lore and Artifacts . Firefly Books (2012).
- ↑ Packard, Mary. The symbolism of the dreamcatcher . Dream Catchers (May 16, 2012). - Translation from the book The Power of Dreams: Dream Catchers.
- ↑ Where does the custom of using Dream Catchers come from? | legendarion.net
- ↑ Guiness World Records. Largest dreamcatcher (07/21/2018).
- ↑ Russia has made the world's largest “dream catcher” . www.moya-planeta.ru. The appeal date is January 26, 2018.
- ↑ Volgogradka hit the Guinness Book with the largest amulet (Russian) , Rossiyskaya Gazeta (January 25, 2017). The appeal date is January 26, 2018.
- ↑ Largest dreamcatcher (eng.) , Guinness World Records . The appeal date is January 26, 2018.
- ↑ Russia, Book of Records . The biggest dream catcher in the world (Polish) , THE BOOK OF RECORDS OF RUSSIA . The appeal date is January 26, 2018.
- ↑ Jenkins, Philip. Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality. - New York: Oxford University Press , 2004. - ISBN 0195161157 .
- ↑ "Native American Dream catchers" , Native-Languages
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dream Catcher
- tvoison.ru // Dreamcatcher
- The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990
- Sapnugaudykles.lt in English
- The legend of the dreamcatcher
- A story of the dreamcatcher