The Anthropology of Dreams: Insights from Dr. Roger Ivar Lohmann

Dreams have long fascinated humans across cultures and throughout history. But how do different societies interpret and use dreams? Dr. Roger Ivar Lohmann, an associate professor of anthropology at Trent University, has spent years studying the relationship between dreaming and culture. In this article, we'll explore key insights from Dr. Lohmann's research on the anthropology of dreams.

The Anthropological Approach to Dreams

Dr. Lohmann's interest in anthropology stemmed from a desire to understand why people think and behave differently across cultures. As he explains:

"I was since I was a kid in school I found myself surprised and confused by the way my fellow human beings behaved. Why did they do the things that they did? They weren't things that I would do or I would notice myself thinking in a certain way and I was like why, why do I find that interesting and that not interesting?"

This curiosity led him to study anthropology as a way to gain insight into human diversity. The anthropological approach brings together multiple perspectives - biological, cultural, linguistic, and archaeological - to build a holistic understanding of humanity.

When it comes to dreams, anthropologists like Dr. Lohmann examine how different societies conceptualize, interpret, and use dreams. This reveals fascinating cultural variations in beliefs about the nature and significance of dreaming.

Cultural Dream Theories

One of Dr. Lohmann's key contributions is identifying different "cultural dream theories" - the beliefs that societies hold about what dreams are and how they work. Some common cultural dream theories include:

The Visitation Theory

Many cultures believe dreams involve visitations from spirits, deities, or other supernatural beings. For example, Dr. Lohmann notes that some Christian traditions interpret nightmares as visitations from demons or the devil.

The Soul Travel Theory

This theory holds that during dreams, a person's soul leaves their body and travels to other realms. It's a common belief in many indigenous societies.

The Nonsense Theory

Common in Western societies, this theory posits that dreams are simply random neural firings with no inherent meaning.

The Memory Updating Theory

This aligns more closely with scientific understandings of dreams as the brain processing and consolidating memories and experiences.

Dr. Lohmann emphasizes that individuals often hold multiple, sometimes contradictory dream theories simultaneously. The theory someone applies to interpret a particular dream can have significant real-world impacts.

Dreams and Religious Conversion

One fascinating area Dr. Lohmann has studied is the role of dreams in religious conversion. During his fieldwork with the Asabano people of Papua New Guinea, he observed how dreams facilitated their conversion to Christianity.

As Dr. Lohmann explains:

"People would hear a story, say there is a God and when you die you can go to heaven or hell. So that will be a completely foreign idea to the Asabano traditionally. But then if you, after they hear these things, they would dream and in their dreams some of these stories that they were hearing from the missionaries would be played out in their dreams."

These dreams of Christian imagery and concepts were often interpreted as confirmation of the new religious teachings. The vivid, immersive nature of dreams made them powerful tools for internalizing and accepting unfamiliar religious ideas.

This highlights how dreams can serve as a bridge between old and new belief systems during periods of cultural change. The brain incorporates new information from waking life into dream content, which can then reinforce acceptance of those new ideas.

Dreams and Witchcraft Beliefs

Another striking example of dreams' cultural power comes from traditional Asabano beliefs about witchcraft. Dr. Lohmann describes how dreams could lead to deadly consequences:

"Someone dies. The fact that someone died was itself seen as evidence that there are witches and that witches use magical powers to kill people... To figure out who is the witch, one of the best ways for them in the old days was to see dreams. If you see a dream of a certain person doing witchcraft on the person, that would be taken as if it were evidence that they had had an eyewitness account."

Based on these dream accusations, suspected witches would sometimes be killed by vigilante mobs. This demonstrates the very real and sometimes tragic impacts that cultural dream theories can have.

Interestingly, Dr. Lohmann notes that conversion to Christianity led the Asabano to abandon violent responses to witchcraft accusations. While still believing in witches, they now deal with suspected witchcraft through prayer instead.

The Personal Impact of Cultural Immersion

Dr. Lohmann's fieldwork with the Asabano didn't just yield academic insights - it impacted his own dreaming as well. He recounts a vivid dream/vision he had while living among the Asabano:

"I saw the ghost of my dead sister who had died many years before appear and she was nasty and harassing me and possibly hurting me. And I woke up and what most struck me at that moment was that I was actually scared by it because I was at that point thoroughly convinced that ghosts are imaginary."

This experience gave Dr. Lohmann greater empathy for how dreams can feel intensely real and convincing, even when they contradict one's waking beliefs. He theorizes that his dream resulted from his brain integrating Asabano ideas about malevolent ghosts with his childhood memories of his deceased sister.

It's a powerful example of how immersion in a new culture can reshape even our unconscious minds and dream lives.

Scientific Perspectives on Dreaming

While much of his work focuses on cultural beliefs about dreams, Dr. Lohmann also emphasizes the importance of scientific dream research. He explains the current leading theory on dream formation:

"We now know that one of the things that's going on with dreams scientifically is that dreams are imagery that's being shown in the brain that is comparing recent experiences to earlier experiences and earlier understandings from memory. So what we're seeing in dreams is the brain's memory updating system in operation."

This scientific perspective sees dreams as the brain's way of processing new information and experiences, integrating them with existing memories and knowledge. It helps explain why dream content often incorporates elements from both our recent experiences and long-term memories.

Dr. Lohmann argues that understanding the neurological basis of dreaming is crucial for interpreting dreams accurately. While cultural beliefs about dreams can have powerful personal and social effects, he advocates for grounding dream interpretation in scientific evidence where possible.

Dreams and Emotional Processing

Beyond memory consolidation, Dr. Lohmann notes that dreams likely play an important role in emotional processing and adjustment. He references the work of researcher Rosalind Cartwright on how dreams help us work through difficult emotions and experiences.

This emotional regulation function of dreams aligns with both scientific theories and many cultural beliefs about dreams as tools for healing and insight. It suggests that paying attention to our dreams may offer valuable perspective on our emotional lives.

Dreams and Grief

One area where dreams can be particularly impactful is in processing grief. Dr. Lohmann shares his own experience of dreaming about his deceased sister as a child:

"I had dreamt about my sister being dead before many years before when it happened, but it wasn't a threatening situation. It was more just this is weird, my sister isn't alive anymore. And I, the dream was of her being buried and it was just weird trying to make sense of it all for a little boy's mind."

These types of dreams about deceased loved ones are extremely common across cultures. They can serve various functions - helping the dreamer accept the reality of the loss, working through unresolved emotions, or maintaining a sense of connection with the deceased.

Interestingly, Dr. Lohmann notes that his personal beliefs as an atheist shape how he views dreams of deceased loved ones:

"For me, death is the end. It's the end of the body's running and the body is us... So if I imagine what would it be like to have a dream of [my deceased father] that I'm happy with, I'm very happy with the notion that he stopped running, you know, and that he had a good life and we had good times together and that that's over now."

This contrasts with many cultural and religious views that interpret dreams of the deceased as evidence of an afterlife or ongoing spiritual existence. It highlights how our waking beliefs inevitably color our interpretation of dreams.

The Ongoing Relevance of Dream Research

While scientific understanding of dreams has advanced significantly, Dr. Lohmann emphasizes that there is still much to learn. He expresses excitement about emerging technologies that may allow researchers to actually view the content of dreams:

"I wish we could see all the dreams, you know, like one day we will be able to hook someone up and see exactly what they're dreaming and then we can actually understand the topic even more."

Such advances could revolutionize both scientific and cultural approaches to dreaming. In the meantime, Dr. Lohmann advocates for greater education about current scientific knowledge on dreams. He believes this can help people interpret their dreams more accurately and avoid potentially harmful misinterpretations.

At the same time, he acknowledges the deep human drive to find meaning in dreams. Even with scientific explanations, dreams are likely to remain a source of personal insight, creative inspiration, and cultural significance for many.

Conclusion

Dr. Roger Ivar Lohmann's research offers fascinating insights into the complex relationship between dreaming and culture. By examining how different societies conceptualize and use dreams, we gain a richer understanding of both human diversity and the universal experience of dreaming.

Key takeaways include:

• Different cultures have varying theories about what dreams are and how they work
• These cultural dream theories can have significant real-world impacts
• Dreams can play important roles in religious conversion and cultural change
• Scientific understanding of dreams continues to evolve
• Dreams likely serve important functions in memory consolidation and emotional processing
• Our waking beliefs inevitably shape how we interpret our dreams

As we continue to unravel the mysteries of dreaming, anthropological perspectives like Dr. Lohmann's remind us to consider both the universal and culturally-specific aspects of this fundamental human experience. Whether viewed through a cultural, personal, or scientific lens, dreams remain a captivating window into the human mind and imagination.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgTgXVJ_KBY