The Keeper Of The Forest

Published On: 11-15-2011 07:15am

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Category: Stories and Legends

               The Keeper Of The Forest

     The spider who spins his silky web is considered the keeper of the forrest. Legend says that the Great Spirit gave spider the job of protecting the entry to the Sacred Forest. His job was to spin a web so fine that only the animals and people who lived there could see it in the sunlight. So, spider began to build his web all around the forest. He spun his web just high enough for the animals to pass beneath without getting caught in the web. When the people who lived in the forest saw the sunlight hit the web, they walked around it or beneath it so as not to disturb the fine net Spider had built to protect them. If the animals and people saw the spider web broken, it meant that strangers had entered the Sacred Forest. All who lived there were put on alert.

       Spider did such a fine job of protecting his people that the Creator gave it the job of protecting all things with its web! So Spider spun a tiny web to protect the sleeping children from bad dreams and taught the people of the Sacred Forest how to make a web from grapevine . The bad dreams were caught in the web until day break when they were released.The good dreams were passed through the tiny center hole to the sleeping child.

       Using sinew, grapevines, leather, feathers and beads, the people began to create what is now known as the dream catcher. They were traditionally about 3 inches wide so that they could be hung on the cradle board of the infant. A tiny bead representing spider is placed in the center. A very small feather is added so that baby's breath can be seen, thus representing the breath of life. Additional beads and leather were added for decorations. These served to entertain the child when a breeze moved them. For those not in a cradle board, the dream catcher was hung above their sleeping area.

     In modern times, the making of a Dream Catcher has changed considerably. Metal rings are use, colored feathers, and even multiple circles are added. However, I have chosen to stay as close to tradtion as possible in order to keep the culture.

       I hope you have learned and enjoyed the legend of the Dream Catcher.

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