Another bizarre dream
Mar. 3rd, 2007 05:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoEspecially bizarre for me.
Once again a technicolor production with elaborate sets and costuming, cast of thousands (well, at least, hundreds.) My weaving study group was going on a field trip to see how clothing was woven, designed, and tailored in some culture noted for its couture. Oddly, no individuals from the group actually appeared in the dream, but still it was supposed to be that group. There was also no actual travel scene, though the place in which the dream takes place seemed not to be on earth at all, but on some alien planet in the manner of a Dr Who episode. The people in the dream were all normal-looking humans though.
In advance of the visit, I had a dream within a dream about what this place would be like. As in many of my dreams of this sort, the sets were interior rooms with curved walls and no square corners. People sat about conversing and flirting, often around free form tables. They wore elaborate costumes and had very complex hairstyles that seemed likely to have involved bleaching, dyeing, and curling. In this dream within a dream, I met a woman who called herself Gaia. She had white hair piled in tight curls and expressed rather strong opinions about how things in her society weren't going quite right and she wanted to see changes. When I awakened from the inner dream, my group was just arrived at its destination.
We did go to a market place where clothing was tailored and made, and observed in detail a fitting session for a woman's garment. Women generally wore long dresses in elaborate colors and fabrics, with embroidered or woven designs in them. The fitting was strange, though. The subject was wrapped in fabric by encasing her in a cylinder of it, and it was then marked for length just above her head. The attendants now laid her down on the floor and pulled the tube of fabric, which had complex bands of color woven into it at the lower end where the hem would be, off over her head. She sat and waited while they scurried away with it and shortly returned with the finished items. The final garment was almost Arabic in style, to cover her completely, with a cowl and veil. Not only was there a veil, but there was a face mask to be worn under it in case she should drop the veil and want to keep her face hidden. The mask was purple and made of a stiff material like burlap, with eye holes and a form fitting shape that revealed the silhouette of nose and lips. The dress itself was of a green, flowing textile that had heavy ornamental stripes in shades of orange. Some of the stripes were shaggy, like throw rugs.
During this fashion show some uniformed officials arrived to arrest the clothing purveyors and their customer. It wasn't clear what the charges were, but all were hustled off leaving only myself standing in an empty shop. I don't know what became of the rest of my study group, but by then they were all gone.
I went searching for my companions, naturally enough. I wandered through crowded streets and markets, though all was enclosed rather like a huge shopping mall. There were pools and fountains, and many little resting spots with seats and tables. I began to realize that the officials or nobles of the place all carried with them little objects that they handled like PDAs. These had some sort of readable display on them and a means of text entry by pressing the surface, but they were semi-circular in shape with a notch at the far edge that was just large enough to fit around a person's throat.
While standing to one side of a fountain, I could overhear a conversation among three male officials nearby, and it became clear that there was some kind of revolution going on. They were members of the rebellious party, which was apparently succeeding in its attempt to seize control of the state. I was horrified to learn that apparently it was the custom in their society that a political victor would eat his defeated opponent, and that assassination was commonly practiced but it was considered more becoming to challenge one's opponent directly in a duel to the death.
They were especially concerned about finding someone. This was an elusive witness to some embarrassing event that they felt must not be exposed. In the course of the conversation, I came to the realization that I was the witness for whom they were looking. One of them said something like "He must be found and eaten. It is the only way."
I slipped away but not for long. Soon one of the same three individuals confronted me and demanded to see my identification. I showed him my passport, and he began asking me questions that I didn't understand. He became angry and threatening, and ultimately raised his "PDA" to threaten me with it, attempting to place it against my throat. The notched edge was flashing red and I realized that it was actually a weapon. Sidestepping, I pushed him hard. He wasn't expecting that, apparently, and toppled into the ornamental pool next to us. His elaborate clothing entangled him and made it hard for him to get out. I actually thought he might drown, but I didn't wait to see. I fled through the crowds and the twisty corridors. No one seemed to pay attention, though I was sure I was being followed now.
There was a new undertone to the conversations, and the name Gaia was being spoken frequently. Finally I overheard someone saying "Gaia has succeeded. She is in control now."
Looking for rest room facilities eventually crops up in any dream of this sort that I have, and this is where that happened. In an amusing twist, these were advertised as "pleasure baths" and actually had hawkers outside the entrance encouraging people to visit them. They were segregated by gender as in our own society, and I entered a large one hoping to escape notice, though the entrance was guarded by uniformed men who scrutinized everyone going in or out. They made no attempt to stop me, though. The interior was fancifully decorated and huge, with strange fountains and facilities I didn't recognize. I was wondering if there was a good hiding place there when my pursuers burst through the entrance...
And I woke up.
I can recognize a lot of elements that inspired this, up to a point. Right before going to bed last night I was hunting down information on construction techniques for the Andean ruana, and I went to bed thinking about how I would make one. The cultural intrigues and middle eastern elements come in part from Stephen R. Lawhead's book Byzantium, which I just finished reading earlier this week. I'm not sure where the cannibalistic element comes from though. Gaia seems an obvious reference to the current political controversies over global warming, pollution, and energy sources, though just what it all means I'm not sure.
In any case, it was very colorful and the costuming was remarkable. XD
The water is higher than last night. We fear our duck house may soon be afloat.
Once again a technicolor production with elaborate sets and costuming, cast of thousands (well, at least, hundreds.) My weaving study group was going on a field trip to see how clothing was woven, designed, and tailored in some culture noted for its couture. Oddly, no individuals from the group actually appeared in the dream, but still it was supposed to be that group. There was also no actual travel scene, though the place in which the dream takes place seemed not to be on earth at all, but on some alien planet in the manner of a Dr Who episode. The people in the dream were all normal-looking humans though.
In advance of the visit, I had a dream within a dream about what this place would be like. As in many of my dreams of this sort, the sets were interior rooms with curved walls and no square corners. People sat about conversing and flirting, often around free form tables. They wore elaborate costumes and had very complex hairstyles that seemed likely to have involved bleaching, dyeing, and curling. In this dream within a dream, I met a woman who called herself Gaia. She had white hair piled in tight curls and expressed rather strong opinions about how things in her society weren't going quite right and she wanted to see changes. When I awakened from the inner dream, my group was just arrived at its destination.
We did go to a market place where clothing was tailored and made, and observed in detail a fitting session for a woman's garment. Women generally wore long dresses in elaborate colors and fabrics, with embroidered or woven designs in them. The fitting was strange, though. The subject was wrapped in fabric by encasing her in a cylinder of it, and it was then marked for length just above her head. The attendants now laid her down on the floor and pulled the tube of fabric, which had complex bands of color woven into it at the lower end where the hem would be, off over her head. She sat and waited while they scurried away with it and shortly returned with the finished items. The final garment was almost Arabic in style, to cover her completely, with a cowl and veil. Not only was there a veil, but there was a face mask to be worn under it in case she should drop the veil and want to keep her face hidden. The mask was purple and made of a stiff material like burlap, with eye holes and a form fitting shape that revealed the silhouette of nose and lips. The dress itself was of a green, flowing textile that had heavy ornamental stripes in shades of orange. Some of the stripes were shaggy, like throw rugs.
During this fashion show some uniformed officials arrived to arrest the clothing purveyors and their customer. It wasn't clear what the charges were, but all were hustled off leaving only myself standing in an empty shop. I don't know what became of the rest of my study group, but by then they were all gone.
I went searching for my companions, naturally enough. I wandered through crowded streets and markets, though all was enclosed rather like a huge shopping mall. There were pools and fountains, and many little resting spots with seats and tables. I began to realize that the officials or nobles of the place all carried with them little objects that they handled like PDAs. These had some sort of readable display on them and a means of text entry by pressing the surface, but they were semi-circular in shape with a notch at the far edge that was just large enough to fit around a person's throat.
While standing to one side of a fountain, I could overhear a conversation among three male officials nearby, and it became clear that there was some kind of revolution going on. They were members of the rebellious party, which was apparently succeeding in its attempt to seize control of the state. I was horrified to learn that apparently it was the custom in their society that a political victor would eat his defeated opponent, and that assassination was commonly practiced but it was considered more becoming to challenge one's opponent directly in a duel to the death.
They were especially concerned about finding someone. This was an elusive witness to some embarrassing event that they felt must not be exposed. In the course of the conversation, I came to the realization that I was the witness for whom they were looking. One of them said something like "He must be found and eaten. It is the only way."
I slipped away but not for long. Soon one of the same three individuals confronted me and demanded to see my identification. I showed him my passport, and he began asking me questions that I didn't understand. He became angry and threatening, and ultimately raised his "PDA" to threaten me with it, attempting to place it against my throat. The notched edge was flashing red and I realized that it was actually a weapon. Sidestepping, I pushed him hard. He wasn't expecting that, apparently, and toppled into the ornamental pool next to us. His elaborate clothing entangled him and made it hard for him to get out. I actually thought he might drown, but I didn't wait to see. I fled through the crowds and the twisty corridors. No one seemed to pay attention, though I was sure I was being followed now.
There was a new undertone to the conversations, and the name Gaia was being spoken frequently. Finally I overheard someone saying "Gaia has succeeded. She is in control now."
Looking for rest room facilities eventually crops up in any dream of this sort that I have, and this is where that happened. In an amusing twist, these were advertised as "pleasure baths" and actually had hawkers outside the entrance encouraging people to visit them. They were segregated by gender as in our own society, and I entered a large one hoping to escape notice, though the entrance was guarded by uniformed men who scrutinized everyone going in or out. They made no attempt to stop me, though. The interior was fancifully decorated and huge, with strange fountains and facilities I didn't recognize. I was wondering if there was a good hiding place there when my pursuers burst through the entrance...
And I woke up.
I can recognize a lot of elements that inspired this, up to a point. Right before going to bed last night I was hunting down information on construction techniques for the Andean ruana, and I went to bed thinking about how I would make one. The cultural intrigues and middle eastern elements come in part from Stephen R. Lawhead's book Byzantium, which I just finished reading earlier this week. I'm not sure where the cannibalistic element comes from though. Gaia seems an obvious reference to the current political controversies over global warming, pollution, and energy sources, though just what it all means I'm not sure.
In any case, it was very colorful and the costuming was remarkable. XD
The water is higher than last night. We fear our duck house may soon be afloat.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 03:47 pm (UTC)Good luck with the duck house.
Now I have to find out what an Andean ruana is.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 03:58 pm (UTC)The ruana is a rectangular garment traditionally woven of alpaca wool on a backstrap loom. It is outerwear, as we wear sweaters or jackets, and resembles the Mexican serape in some respects. In its simplest form, it is just a large rectangle of cloth with a slit in the middle for a neck hole. Since backstrap looms work best for narrow strips of cloth, a ruana is often made of two or more strips sewn together along the lengthwise edges, with the neck opening left unsewn. It can be used as a blanket, a raincoat, a cape, or with a belt added, as a more formal garment.
The character Paca wears one in the Disney film The Emperor's New Groove and you often see them worn by Peruvian folk music performers. Men wear long, full ruanas while women usually wear shorter ones that give them more freedom to work and deal with children.
Love Ruanas
Date: 2007-03-03 04:37 pm (UTC)Anne,
http://hand-woven.blogspot.com
Re: Love Ruanas
Date: 2007-03-03 06:03 pm (UTC)I'm figuring knee length and a shoulder width that will drape to my elbow. I need to make samples to decide between a twill or plain weave fabric and see how much it will shrink when finished.
I don't know if you'll be back to read this, but if you do, I'm curious to know how you found me. I went to look at your Blogger page, but it seemed inappropriate to attach this question to any of your posts there. (I do have a Blogger account but I don't use it for a personal blog. You'll find me scribbling there at the Hollow Tree Spinners pages, where our spinning COE group shares findings.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-04 11:44 pm (UTC)Mine are usually just out and out weird.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-05 12:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-05 11:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-05 11:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-05 11:14 pm (UTC)I'm not up on Equine eating habits :)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 12:12 am (UTC)Lunch between 1 and 2 pm.
Dinner at about 6:30 pm.
I usually go to bed at 10:30.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 04:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 12:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 09:13 pm (UTC)