Music and dreams in Pilagá society

GARCÍA, MIGUEL ANGEL

Toronto

Conferencia; Indigenous Music and Dance as Cultural Property: Global Perspectives; 2008

Emmanuel College, Victoria University of the University of Toronto

For the Pilagá -natives from northern Argentina- dreams are an optimal way to get in contact with the several non-human beings who interfere with their lives. By means of oniric practices, shammans who have kept their distance from Christianity learn from their helping "spirits" to prepare medicines, to diagnose diseases that plague their group and to carry out diverse therapeutic actions. From them also, they receive the songs that identify and summon them. The usual procedure to acquire a song follows three steps: communication with the "payaq", singing the song at daybreak and the telling of what happened during the dream to those who dwell with the individual who has acquired the vocal expression. Songs acquired this way are used exclusively by the"pi´ogonaq". The Pilagá "healers" who practice their diagnostic and theurapeutic arts in the Evangelic churches of the region also receive sometimes vocal expressions during their oniric practices. Their songs are significantly different from the shammanic songs not only in their musical structure but also in the circulation procedures, since they can be used by other people without any restriction. This case study, just a brief presentation, leads to reflection on the importance of dreams in Pilagá society and how in variant contexts of belief, the same ethnic group may develop different ways to validate the origin and the ownership of the songs.