How Evaluating Dreams Makes History: Asabano Examples

Abstract

Among the Asabano of Papua New Guinea, dreams deemed true have motivated hunting expeditions, medical treatments, and religious conversion. In contrast, dreams deemed false have negligibly affected behaviour. The Asabano draw on multiple and changing opinions and theories of dreams and dreaming when assessing whether or not particular dreams accurately represented reality. Dreams conforming to several dream scenario genres routinely receive attention as potential “true” dreams. These scenarios concern hunting, illness, death, and since contact, Christianity. Analysis of subsequent waking events resolves ambiguous cases. Asabano dream theories have changed in response to enculturation, diffusion, and personal experiences. Theories and methods of evaluating remembered dreams influence agency and events. I argue that classifying particular dreams as true or false is an historical process because once a remembered dream is labelled “true” or “false” it motivates appropriately responsive action or inaction.