DREAMS

Dreams: translation

Some people understand that to dream is tojourneyin theother world, or that the dream world is the real one and that what is seen there will happen here sooner or later. Dreams may therefore be seen as opportunities fordivinationor asvisionsof the future. Dreams usually need interpreting: dreams of particularanimalsmay warn of the need to be wary of poison.CarlosFausto’s (2004) discussion ofbloodandtobaccoideas inAmazoniaentails consideration of dreams as a prime means by which shamans seek to control enemies (especially other-than-human ones), making them allies and even pets who will help the shamanhealor harm others. Dreams may also beinitiatory: to see particularly powerfulother-than-humanpersonsis to know that one has beenelectedto become a shaman. Greg Sarris’s account of the life of Mabel McKay, aPomo doctorand weaver, provides an illustration of reliance on dreams as modes of communication between shamans and theirhelpers. Note that theAboriginal Australiantermthe Dreamingis not primarily concerned with dreams. Rather, it is a rough translation equivalent for a variety of indigenous terms, only some of which refer to revelatory dreams.