Identifying the magical displays of the Lords of the World: the oneiromancy of the gSal byed Byang bu

Within the vast array of mantic tools that characterize the discernment and interpretation of hidden circumstances, oneiromancy occupies a revered position and plays a specific role. According to the indications contained in textual sources, the dream state can be the vehicle for visions of pure fields, prophetic encounters, emblematic appearances of totemic animals and of messengers of powerful entities, to name just a few instances. The interrelation of divination in general, and oneiromancy in particular, with specifically identified liturgical and medical praxes, testifies to the value of the first and establishes the efficacy of the latter. The contribution is focused upon the gSal byed byang bu, a Bonpo text on oneiromancy from the Giuseppe Tucci Fund, and will propose some hermeneutical reflections by taking into account the emic and etic implications of the divination discourse, so as to contextualize it in the broader ethno-sociological framework of the Tibetan cultural heritage.