Dreams among the Guarani: bibliographical essay

Author(s)

Hugo Salustiano Santos

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2022-09-30

Examining board members

Marina Vanzolini Figueiredo; Eliel Benites; Elizabeth de Paula Pissolato; Karen Gomes Shiratori

• Advisor: Marina Vanzolini Figueiredo

Abstract

This dissertation is a comparative bibliographical research about the role of dreams among the Guarani peoples. By discussing several subjects related to dreams (kinship, corporality, territoriality, cosmology, among others), I argue that dreams - often conceived as messages or warnings from divinities - constitute one among several technologies that account for an \"art of care\" that the Guarani use to speculate and act in their life. Dreaming (and sharing dreams) corresponds to one of the processes through which the awareness of human and non-human agencies of the cosmos, of events to come, their effects on people and of what it is desirable to obtain or avoid from these agencies and/or events is made possible. I try to demonstrate that this attention to dreams is fundamental for the constitution of the person, kinship, territory, colectivity, to a lasting life and, in some cases, to reaching the aguyje , allowing the passage to the \"Land without Evil\" ( yvy marã e\'ỹ). Although dreams are often deceptive - there is risk of encounters and undesirable transformations occurring in them - they also hold the power of being one among other means that the Guarani have to undercome what makes them wither away, allowing the production of states of contentment and new existential capacities, the glimpse of new territories and relational contexts, among other aspects. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/04636-3 - Dream and alterity among the Guarani
• Grantee: Hugo Salustiano Santos
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master