What do dreams say?

Dreams in some cultures are considered to be the connection between humans and higher beings, or the gateway for the dead to talk to the living.

They are also used to predict the future. Many believe the Freudian theory that dreams are a manifestation of our own emotions and desires.

Not all cultures make sense of dreams in the same way, and not all of them give the same weightage to dreams.

Garos believe that dreams can be interpreted in certain ways, and attach specific meanings to them.

Dreams that are believed to bring good luck to a person include climbing a hill, driving a car, and growing one’s hair out. However, dreaming of cutting one’s hair supposedly brings bad luck, so does the colour red. If one dreams of getting drenched in the rain, people are saying bad things about the person, while dreaming of fishing brings fortune.

The one kind of dream that leaves a person unsettled, regardless of their culture, is dreams of death. In Garo culture, dreaming of someone dying, although scary, is supposedly a good thing. However, if a person sees dead people in their sleep, it is considered a harbinger of death much like the crow or raven in some cultures.

Months ago, a woman in the town of Tura went to sleep peacefully one night. In a dream that left her shaken, she saw a gathering of the dead. All the people who had passed away in her family and in that neighbourhood had gathered at one place. They seemed to be waiting for something.

It was a very short dream, lasting just a few seconds as dreams usually do. It had left her feeling unsettled nonetheless.

The traditional belief is that when one dreams of dead people, it means they have come to the land of the living to guide or welcome the soul of a person who would soon pass away.

A few days after the woman had the dream, her father unfortunately passed away.

Another common belief is that if a dead person wants to take someone with them in a dream, and if that person says yes, they will fall sick or pass away soon.

So, the answer should always be no.