essay

The role of dreams in Ojibwa culture

Contributions to anthropology : selected papers of A. Irving HallowellChicagoPublished In 1976 • Pages: 449-474

By: Hallowell, A. Irving (Alfred Irving).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article Hallowell discusses Ojibwa worldview (see also document no. 77) and dreaming. The Ojibwa believe that a good life, free from hunger, disease, and misfortune is dependent on the blessing of powerful 'other-than-human' persons. Ojibwa males seek this blessing in a dream fast. In one boy's dream an other-than-human person appeared to him in human form and then changed into a golden eagle. The boy then perceived himself changing into an eagle, flying off with the other eagle. In Ojibwa worldview, outward forms are unstable and only the vital core of humans and other-than-humans is constant. Hallowell argues that such dreams instill moral responsibility, self-discipline, and personal security, which are necessary for a hunting way of life.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Sanctions
Theory of disease
Spirits and gods
Revelation and divination
Ethnopsychology
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Ojibwa
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Arctic and Subarctic
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnographer
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard ; 1998
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1930-1940
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1930-1940
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Berens River, Manitoba, Canada
NotesAdditional notes
[A. Irving Hallowell]
Includes bibliographical references (p. 472-474)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
75020890
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Ojibwa Indians