Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web, and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them.
Anthea Rossouw founded Dreamcatcher 3 decades ago in a South Africa dominated by Apartheid, racial and cultural divide. Her work in poverty relief programmes innovating and re-imaginging sustainable enterprise develoment, impacts positively locally and recognised globally. As a model for sustainable development. Shop online for our dream catchers & bohemian chime collections in South Africa. Colourful, feathers & macrame. Read more about their origin & meaning here. Dreamcatcher was founded to make a difference to strengthen the communities who were suffering extreme hardship due to the political system, the aftermath of which still resonates daily in communities across South Africa. Dec 20, 2018 The designs would change as well, and the more common dream catcher patterns that are seen today were actually based on a children's game involving a hoop with weaving similar to the dream catchers. This game would have one person roll the hoop on the ground while another tried to throw a wooden stick or spear through the hole while it was moving.
The dream catcher has been a part of Native American culture for generations. One element of Native American dream catcher relates to the tradition of the hoop. Some Native Americans of North America held the hoop in the highest esteem, because it symbolized strength and unity. Many symbols started around the hoop, and one of these symbols is the dream catcher.
Dream Catcher Lore:
Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air, catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher, slipping through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day.
How the Dream Catcher is made:
African Dream Catcher Tattoo
Using a hoop of willow, and decorating it with findings, bits and pieces of everyday life, (feathers, arrow heads, beads, etc) the dream catcher is believed to have the power to catch all of a person’s dreams, trapping the bad ones, and letting only the good dreams pass through the dream catcher.