The Breath of a Ghost: Dreams and the Fear of the Dead

The Breath of a Ghost: Dreams and the Fear of the DeadAuthor(s): Donald TuzinSource:

Ethos,

Vol. 3, No. 4 (Winter, 1975), pp. 555-578Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the American Anthropological AssociationStable URL:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/639999

Accessed: 04/12/2008 06:45

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Thbe

Breath

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Ghost

Dreamsand theFearoftheDead

DONALDUZINJustoveracenturyhaselapsedsince theoriginalpublicationofE. B.Tylor's Primitive Culture(1891[18713).Inthecourseofthisunprecedentedsurveytheauthornoted that"thesavageor bar-barian hasneverlearnedtomake thatrigiddistinction betweenimaginationandreality,toenforce which isone ofthemainresultsofscientificeducation"(1891:445).Aprominentexampleof suchontological confusionisthedream,inwhichbizarrepseudohappen-ingsnightlyexplodeupon theprescientificsleeper,instigating andaffirmingbeliefsinghosts,thetransmigrationofthesoul,andotherfantasies.Tylorreasonablyattributedtheseimaginativeflights totheunschooledassumptionthatdreamexperiencesareobjectivelyrealandvalid(1891:478).Ironicallyenough,evenasTylordispar-agedsavagedreamtheoriesheand hisWesterncontemporarieswereunawarethattheir ownunderstandingofthiscomplexphenom-enon was"prescientific" whenmeasuredagainstpsychologicalin-sightsof thenextgeneration.Subsequentpsychodynamictheoryformulated whatpoets andplaywrightshadknownforsometime:thatthereare areasofmentalexperience inwhichthedistinctionbetweenrealandimaginedisnot allthatrigid,andinfact the

DONALDUZINsassistantprofessor intheDepartmentofAnthropology attheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.

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dreamisa mostworthyexampleof realand imaginedmaterialsindelicatecombination.Despitetheamusedcontemptof generationsofanthropologists,theissue raisedby Tyloris an interestingand importantone, de-servingreconsiderationin lightofsubsequentanthropologicalandpsychoanalyticalthinking.I referto the matteroffolk systemsofdream interpretation-notonlythe particular("emic")construc-tionsplacedondreamsbya culture,butalso,andmore abstractly,the analytical implicationsof a folk interpretation,whateveritscontent,beingafantasyconstruct in itsownright. In thispaperIwishtoexaminethesetwo interpretationallevels as they occuramongtheIlahitaArapeshof northeasternNewGuinea-agroupbearinglinguisticaffinitieswiththeMountainArapesh(Mead1935,1938/1939,Fortune1942),buthavingamoreelaboratesocialor-ganizationbasedonlarge, denselysettledvillages(Tuzinn.d.).'Havingaccomplishedthis-against a backgroundof generaltheory,Iapplytheconceptualresultto certain beliefsandpracticessur-roundingthedead.Particularattentionispaidtothefunctionalimplicationsof(1)the differentghosttypesencounteredbytheArapeshdreamerasdistinguishedbydegreesof familiarityinlife,and(2)thestrikinglydifferentbeliefs heldaboutghostsasagainstthetemporallymore remote ancestors. Finally,ifany ghostofTylorisdetectedinwhat follows,heisneitherinvoked nor unwelcome.IIBefore turningtotheoreticalmatters,let me introducethereaderto thesubjectiveauraofthephenomenonbypresentingsomeitemsofArapeshghost-lore,deferringtheiranalyticalimplicationsuntillaterintheessay.Forreasonsunconnectedwiththe currenttopic,Ionce hadcauseto askagroupofinformantsto decideamongthemselveswhatsmellwas theworstoneimaginable.Theanswercamebackquickly:itisthe breathof aghost.Theodor,theyexplained,resemblesthatofhumanputrescence,exceptthatitisworse,much worse-anddif-

i.

Fieldworkwasconductedduringtwenty-onemonths intheperiod1969-1972,undergeneroussupportfromtheAustralianNationalUniversityandtheWenner-GrenFoundationforAnthropologicalResearch.IamindebtedtoMelfordE.SpiroandMarcJ.Swartzfortheirvaluablecriticsmsofanearlierdraft.For additionalmaterialrelevanttothesubjectofthisessay,seeTuzin(1972,1973,1974).