<P> In some Native American cultures, a dreamcatcher or dream catcher (Ojibwe: asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for "spider") is a handmade willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web . The dreamcatcher may also include sacred items such as certain feathers or beads . Traditionally they are often hung over cradles as protection . It originates in Ojibwe culture as the "spider web charm" (Ojibwe: asubakacin "net - like", White Earth Band; bwaajige ngwaagan "dream snare", Curve Lake Band), a hoop with woven string or sinew meant to replicate a spider's web, used as a protective charm for infants . </P> <P> Dreamcatchers were adopted in the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and gained popularity as a widely marketed "Native crafts items" in the 1980s . </P> <P> Ethnographer Frances Densmore in 1929 recorded an Ojibwe legend according to which the "spiderwebs" protective charms originate with Spider Woman, known as Asibikaashi; who takes care of the children and the people on the land . As the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America it became difficult for Asibikaashi to reach all the children . So the mothers and grandmothers weave webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants . The purpose of these charms is apotropaic and not explicitly connected with dreams: </P> <P> Even infants were provided with protective charms . Examples of these are the "spiderwebs" hung on the hoop of a cradle board . These articles consisted of wooden hoops about 31⁄2 inches in diameter filled with an imitation of a spider's web made of fine yarn, usually dyed red . In old times this netting was made of nettle fiber . Two spider webs were usually hung on the hoop, and it was said that they "caught any harm that might be in the air as a spider's web catches and holds whatever comes in contact with it ." </P>

What is the meaning of a dream catcher