_Dreams of Animals._--We are naturally reduced to inference in dealing
with animals as with very young children; but various observations seem
to show that dreams are common in older dogs, especially after hunting
expeditions; in young dogs sleep seems to be quieter; dogs accustomed to
the chase seem to dream more than other kinds.
_Dreams among the Non-European Peoples._--In the lower stages of culture
the dream is regarded as no less real and its personages as no less
objective than those of the ordinary waking life; this is due in the
main to the habit of mind of such peoples (see ANIMISM), but possibly in
some measure also to the occurrence of veridical dreams (see TELEPATHY).
In either case the savage explanation is animistic, and animism is
commonly assumed to have been developed very largely as a result of
theorising dreams. Two explanations of a dream are found among the lower
races: (1) that the soul of the dreamer goes out, and visits his
friends, living or dead, his old haunts or unfamiliar scenes and so on;
or (2) that the souls of the dead and others come to visit him, either
of their own motion or at divine command. In either of the latter cases
or at a higher stage of culture when the dream is regarded as god-sent,
though no longer explained in terms of animism, it is often regarded as
oracular (see ORACLE), the explanation being sometimes symbolical,
sometimes simple.
There are two classes of dreams which have a special importance in the
lower cultures: (1) the dream or vision of the initiation fast; and (2)
the dream caused by the process known as incubation, which is often
analogous to the initiation fast. In many parts of North America the
individual Indian acquires a tutelary spirit, known as _manito_ or
_nagual_, by his initiation dream or vision; the idea being perhaps that
the spirit by the act of appearing shows its subjection to the will of
the man. Similarly, the magician acquires his familiar in North America,
Australia and elsewhere by dreaming of an animal. Incubation consists in
retiring to sleep in a temple, sometimes on the top of a mountain or
other unusual spot, in order to obtain a revelation through a dream.
Fasting, continence and other observances are frequently prescribed as
preliminaries. Certain classes of dreams have, especially in the middle
ages, been attributed to the influence of evil spirits (see DEMONOLOGY).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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