Crack a Book: An Ethnographic Account of Dreams’ Interpretation in Pakistan

Abstract

Reams have always been an important area of concern for scientists both in natural as well as in social sciences. From theological to scientific stages of human rationale, dreams remained a widely discussed topic. The current research work was interested to have an ethnographic account of dreams and their interpretation under the umbrella of symbolic anthropology in one of the traditional villages in the capital city of Islamabad, Pakistan. This was a qualitative study which utilized certain qualitative research tools such as transit walk, rapport establishment, participant observation, IDIs, key informants, case studies, field notes, and visual aid. Forty-seven respondents selected on the basis of snowball sampling were interviewed for getting the data. One of the main objectives of the study was to seek the insiders’ view about the importance of dreams and their interpretation in the locale. The study found that dreams are having extraordinary importance in the lives of natives and so on they seek to have their interpretation. It was further observed that the two mainstream practices (cultural and religious) of dream interpretation were followed by the respondents. The study concluded that dreams were considered to be the source of guidance from supernatural powers by the natives. The study recommends having an ethnological approach towards the study of dreams and their interpretations across the diverse societies