The social world of dreams and nightmares in a post-conflict setting: the case of Gorongosa in central Mozambique

Victor Igreja¹, Beatrice Dias-Lambranca^2
1 psycho-pedagogue and medical anthropologist, is attached to the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. His multidisciplinary research focuses on the long-term consequences of war trauma and the availability of resources to address post-war reconciliation, justice and healing
² degree in philosophy, French language teaching and has carried out research with women war survivors in central Mozambique

Correspondence Address:

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

The paper describes socio-cultural theories of interpretations of dreams among the population in central Mozambique. In general, dreams are considered a means of communication, conveying important messages that are applied to organize the social world. The prolonged civil war has impacted upon these dreaming systems by adding another dimension to the interpretation. War-related dreams do not serve as communication channels, but are experienced as striking repetitions of past events. In this way, the dreamer is forced to reconcile with his or her own history without the use of interventions that aim to block the realization of the dream in a waking state.