“far, far away my shadow wandered…”: the dream symbolism and dream theories of the Mehinaku Indians of Brazil

Abstract

The Mehinaku Indians of Brazil make a deliberate effort to recall and interpret their dreams. The interpretations, most of which are based on a metaphoric relationship between the dream symbol and its meaning, suggest a concern with the physical and psychological boundaries of the individual. This pattern is part of a larger system of beliefs that reflects the relative absence of bounded social groups and a “person‐centered” system of conferring identity. [dreams, dream interpretation, nature of self, South American Indians]