Forest smells and spider webs: ritualized dream interpretation among Andaman islanders

Abstract

This article examines the significant role of dreams among the Andamanese and the changes in sleep and dreaming that have taken place as modern settlements replace traditional campsites. As Andamanese hunters and gatherers go to sleep at a campsite, they discuss what they did throughout the day and especially what they have seen in dreams. In the morning, it is proscribed to wake a person up so that dreaming is not disturbed. A shared consensus on the group's dreams guides the members' waking actions. The sleeping arrangements in modern Andamanese settlements have changed: Andamanese believe that these afford less dream recall or understanding and attribute their declining hunting success to this diminished dreaming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)