Dream Travelers: Sleep Experiences and Culture in the Western Pacific

Additional praise for Dream Travelers: “Roger Lohmann’s Dream Travelers is a highly promising book with strong potential to attract readers in cultural anthropology and related fields. The collection is well-organized, with first-rate contributors and a clear sense of other research in the general arena of dreams and anthropology. Particularly significant is the focus on the theme of journeys, movement, and travelling. I think Lohmann is onto something here, and other scholars in psychology, religious studies, and anthropology will be interested in what he and his collaborators have to say.” —Kelly Bulkeley, The Graduate Theological Union “My lasting impression following reading this fine collection of anthropological essays is of the dream as an alternative mode of cognition—as an important means of apprehending the world and engaging with others. Based on original fieldwork, each essay contributes rich ethnographic data to reveal the interaction between the apparently private inner realm of dreams, and shared, cultural phantasy systems. Lived culture emerges from this dynamic interplay. For all those with a serious interest in dreams, this book is a ‘must.’ Furthermore, if there still remain any social or cultural anthropologists who feel that dreaming is a topic better left to the psychoanalyst, or dismissed entirely, this important collection will surely convince them otherwise.” —Michele Stephen, Associate Professor of History, La Trobe University, Australia “Dream Travelers represents the best kind of collaborative anthropology: Detailed ethnography by experts in particular societies brought together to create a large and impressive theoretical vision. An important read for scholars who work outside as well as in Oceania, this volume will provide a much needed push forward for anthropological thinking about dreams.” —Susan Sered, Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University “Returning to one of the foundational problems in anthropology, the authors of Dream Travelers explore the cultural significance of dreaming in a fascinating journey through Melanesia, aboriginal Australia, and Indonesia. Powerfully evocative, the chapters are a pleasure to read in their own right while the collection as a whole propels our understanding of dreams in important new directions. Dream Travelers makes significant contributions to comparative ethnography, the anthropology of religion, and the psychology of dreaming.” —John Barker, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia

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Dream Travelers

< Sleep Experiences and Culture in the Western Pacific Roger Ivar Lohmann

DREAM TRAVELERS

Copyright © Roger Ivar Lohmann, 2003. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 1–4039–6322–3 hardback ISBN 1–4039–6330–4 paperback Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dream travelers : sleep experiences and culture in the western Pacific / edited by Roger Ivar Lohmann ; contributors, Jane Goodale . . . [et al.] ; afterword by Waud Kracke. p. cm. “Result of sessions at two meetings of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania”—Pref. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–6322–3—ISBN 1–4039–6330–4 (pbk.) 1. Dreams—Melanesia—Cross-cultural studies. 2. Dreams— Australia—Cross-cultural studies. 3. Dream interpretation— Cross-cultural studies. 4. Ethnology—Melanesia. 5. Australian aborigines—Social life and customs. I. Lohmann, Roger Ivar, 1962II. Goodale, Jane C. (Jane Carter), 1926- III. Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania. Meetings. GN668.D74 2003 154.6’3’099—dc21 2003041436 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Letra Libre, Inc. First edition: September 2003 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

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Contents List of Illustrations Preface 1

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Introduction Dream Travels and Anthropology Roger Ivar Lohmann Dreaming and the Defeat of Charisma: Disconnecting Dreams from Leadership among the Urapmin of Papua New Guinea Joel Robbins Dreaming and Ghosts among the Hagen and Duna of the Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew J. Strathern Dreamscapes: Transcending the Local in Initiation Rites among the Ngaing of Papua New Guinea Wolfgang Kempf and Elfriede Hermann Ambrymese Dreams and the Mardu Dreaming Robert Tonkinson “This Is Good Country. We Are Good Dreamers”: Dreams and Dreaming in the Australian Western Desert Sylvie Poirier Dreams, Agency, and Traditional Authority in Northeast Arnhem Land Ian Keen Tiwi Island Dreams Jane C. Goodale The Cultural and Intersubjective Context of Dream Remembrance and Reporting: Dreams, Aging, and the Anthropological Encounter in Toraja, Indonesia Douglas Hollan

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Supernatural Encounters of the Asabano in Two Traditions and Three States of Consciousness Roger Ivar Lohmann Afterword Beyond the Mythologies: A Shape of Dreaming Waud Kracke

About the Contributors Index

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List of Illustrations

Cover Dowasi, an Asabano man, crossing the Om River. Photo: Roger Lohmann Map The Western Pacific Peoples Discussed in this Volume. Map drawn by Roger Lohmann

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Urapmin often report dreams in church services such as this one. Photo: Joel Robbins. Aluni, 1998. In a space (kene kulu kama, “dead cordyline garden”) within a sweet potato garden, men and boys thatch the cover for the new grave of an old man who has recently died. Other graves stand nearby. After a death has occurred, women’s mourning songs are intended to guide the spirit (tini) of the deceased person to mountain caves where it will join the other dead spirits. The dead may still appear to their living kin in dreams with warnings or advice about the future. Photo: Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew Strathern. “Now it was like I was a child of the Whites.” Photo: Elfriede Hermann, 1989. Members of the local Presbyterian evangelical “team” sing as villagers enter church in the village of Ulei for a team service aimed at the elimination of sorcery and magic from Southeast Ambrym. Photo: Robert Tonkinson, 1973. Two Mardu Maparn with a novice, attempting to diagnose his sickness. Photo: Robert Tonkinson. Budja Budja Napangarti during a women’s ceremony. Photo: Sylvie Poirier.

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Dancing “Morning Star,” at Milingimbi, 1975. Photo: Ian Keen. Rachel Puruntatamer, chief mourner at grave/memorial ritual, painted to disguise herself from the ghost of the deceased. Photo: Jane Goodale. The construction of an effigy of the dead called a tau tau, associated with nene’ spirits, who often visit people in their dreams. Photo: Douglas Hollan. Adiabo and Jim Alosi, some of whose supernatural encounters are described here, and Robert, a boy knowledgeable in traditional myths. Photo: Roger Lohmann.

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Preface

Out-of-body experiences are not rare occurrences that happen only to a select few. They are the nightly adventures of virtually every person, and while some regard dreams as fantasies, ethnological research has shown that members of most societies consider them to literally be soul-journeys. The dreamscapes upon which dream-selves leave dream-footprints are visited as real places in a universe that anthropologists recognize to be imagined in accordance with cultural ideals. Dreamlands are even more refined to match the imagination than the physical earth perceived in waking life, to which people also add cultural constructs. Though they are often experienced as uncannily real, dream travels lead to murky corners inside of minds which have been culturally informed. This collection of essays documents variations on this theme—the standard human explanation for dream perceptions, found in societies that are culturally very different from one another. Each of the authors offers ethnographic and theoretical contributions on the implications of this ubiquitous understanding of dreaming, including the political, cosmological, and psychological uses of the belief that dreams represent actual travels. The chapters collected here are the result of sessions at two meetings of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania. At the first, a working session held in Hilo, Hawai‘i in February 1999, Florence Brunois, Jane Goodale, Doug Hollan, Ian Keen, Roger Lohmann, Jeannette Mageo, Sylvie Poirier, Joel Robbins, Pamela Stewart and Andrew Strathern, Jolene Stritecky, and Bob Tonkinson presented pre-circulated papers. Our ensuing discussions covered a vast range of perspectives, from dreams as a casual topic of conversation to dreams as divine revelations. We discussed the need to distinguish between the experience of the dream and the sharing of dream narratives. In considering the experience, we agreed that one must examine the range of dream forms: how dream images are perceived, interpreted and remembered. At the level of dream sharing, questions of circumstance and motivation come into play. One must ask when, why, and with whom people share their dreams. Local theories of what dreams are and how to interpret their imagery

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are variable from one society to the next. Some traditions consider dreams to be random, meaningless thoughts. However, there is a widespread tendency to perceive dreams as at least significant, and at most as experiences of equal or greater validity to those of waking life. Agency issues are also important— local theories vary from understanding dreams as happening to passive dreamers to dreams as something that dreamers actively do. After reflecting on these topics, those participants wishing to continue with the project developed and revised their papers for a second meeting the following year. In February 2000, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Jane Goodale, Doug Hollan, Wolfgang Kempf and Elfriede Hermann, Roger Lohmann, Sylvie Poirier, Joel Robbins, and Bob Tonkinson shared revised papers, as well as those by Ian Keen and Pamela Stewart and Andrew Strathern, who were unable to attend. At this symposium, our conversations turned to dreams’ role in transforming, transcending, and traveling. We also focused more on the political uses of dreams to reflect, limit, and extend power. We considered the relationship between ethnographer and informant, which influences what sorts of dream narratives are produced. Those who stayed with the project commented on each others’ papers, and revised their own again to appear as contributions to this volume. We are fortunate to include an afterword by Waud Kracke. I discussed the book project with him at the 1999 meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Chicago. He graciously agreed to read the chapters and offer his comments. Many people have aided this work through their enthusiasm and support, including the contributors, participants in the first session who are pursuing other venues, and others who contributed to our discussions at the meetings, including Ann Chowning, Maurice Godelier, and Maria Lepowsky. In preparing this manuscript, I had the benefit of an anonymous reviewer’s comments and many editorial suggestions from Heather M.-L. Miller. —Roger Ivar Lohmann

Chapter 1 Introduction