Just were do ‘traditions’ come from?
What constitutes ‘authentic’ tradition?
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| Closest to the elements given below (a) |
Dream Catchers are attributed uniformly in descriptions to the Ojibwe, but the making and use had dispersed to other Nations, the Lakota often mentioned.
The core of the legend is :
“ As the legend goes, according to Longboat, "there was a very special woman who was responsible for the children. Her name was Spider Woman, a name likely given as was customary in Indian tradition.
"Her job," said Longboat, "was to web these dream catchers and hang them above a baby's cradle board while the infant was sleeping. As its popularity increased, however, it proved too much for Spider Woman to take on because she could not travel from one location to another and try to look after all of the children.
"So, at that time, she passed the webbing (technique) down to the aunties, grandmothers and the mothers, to look after the webbing for the children and the young.” ” (1)
There may be no other First Nations object that as been so massively appropriated by outside cultures. To the point any attempt at finding design definitions becomes almost impossible. This really should be no great surprise, given how individual lines to tradition have been shattered at European hands. (2)
The following elements appear to be involved :
- Makers : uniformly, the creation was in the hands of grandmothers, aunties, mothers
- Size : for the original purpose of child protection, 3 - 5 inches
- Materials : frame of willow, wrapped in leather, web of sinew
- Form : exterior frame is circular "it was made in a circle ? a representation of the sun that travels across the earth." Other references state the circle also represents the shape of the full moon. However, a tear drop (snowshoe?) shape, frame ends crossed and to the top, also is mentioned (no symbology available).
- Webbing : The ‘making of’ references state the interior web starts at the hanging point and consists of a series of loose loops around the frame, with additional loops progressing towards the centre. All formed from the same length of cord, so resembling a spiders web. This suggests the webbing is more irregular than symmetrical. (3)
- Attachments : The largest variation in description comes in the number of starting loops (there appears no ‘standard’) :
8 for the legs of Spider Woman
7 for the Grandfathers / Prophecies
5 for the sky shapes
13 for the lunar cycle
28 for the days in a lunar month
- Centre : The webbing ends in the centre as a perfect circle. The purpose is to allow ‘good dreams’ to pass through, the evil ones caught in the web, to evaporate in the rising sun.
- Feather : A feather hangs from the dream catcher, which dribbles the passed good dreams down on to the sleeping child.
Longboat states a single feather, ‘owl feather for women, eagle feather for men’. A single feather is attached to the end of the web forming cord, so hanging from the central circle. (4)
- Beads : One source stated that glass beads (obviously post-European) were added originally to replace feathers, at a point where many First Nations ritual practices were outlawed, including the passing and use of certain feather types. Other interpretations
1 for the Creator (placed in the exact centre)
3 for the Three Fires (the Potowotami, Ottawa and Chippewa Nations)
4 for the Four Winds (see below)
- Central X : Used in some examples, marking the Four Winds (compass points)
At this point in time, it is hard not to imagine the dream catcher as a
cultural object has now descended totally within the public domain. (A perfect example is the massive and rambling discussion provoked with the commentary "Are Dream Catchers Evil?")
It is worth noting that in an attempt to illustrate this commentary - it proved virtually impossible to find an image of the most basic dream catcher as defined by the elements listed above. (5)
There are two primary reasons that I can see for this :
a) MASSIVE ‘cultural appropriation by the New Age pagans
b) the inherent design potentials of the basic elements.
c) A flood of commercial versions of what is at core a simple object to manufacture
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| 'The Dream Catcher' - use for a Hollywood style horror film! |
Two main references used (from many sought over the internet)
Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta
- https://ammsa.com/publications/alberta-sweetgrass/where-did-ojibwe-dream-catcher-come-0
Dream Catchers
- http://www.dream-catchers.org/ojibwe-dream-catcher-history/
1) All quotes from Bev Longboat, ‘the executive director at the Niwasa (Little Ones) Head Start Program at Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ont’. (see link above)
2) It has been pointed out that there are several problems with any attempt to gather this kind of information :
a) Individual Nation groups will have different details, perhaps down to a local geographic level.
b) The line of historic through traditional to modern practice has been completely shattered through European impositions (read ‘intentional destruction’).
c) There has been considerable (and understandable) ‘re-invention’, now itself dating back to a period (1960’s - 70’s) starting to be shrouded in memory.
d) Add to this the problem of a difference between definitions of ‘traditional’ (‘what my grandmother told me’) and ‘historical’ (dated objects or writings). This last may reflect my own (‘Western’ / European) perceptions, especially since my focus is to time measured in centuries, not generations - especially since I now myself could be considered a ‘grandfather’ by count of years.
3) A feature of so many modern interpretations is the web having machine like mathematical / symmetrical patterns.
4) Modern interpretations also all show many variations in the number of feathers attached, with multiples tied to the bottom edge of the external frame. Almost uniformly, feathers so attached have cord or lacing over the bare shaft of the feather, with at least one bead inserted on to the shaft.
5) try : https://duckduckgo.com/?q=traditional+ojibwe+dream+catcher&t=ffnt&atb=v41-1&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
I scrolled down through at least 100 images - to the point were it was obvious the search engine was loosing track and getting very derivative.
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