VISION QUEST

among the American Indian hunters of the eastern woodlands and the Great Plains, an essential part of a young boy's (or, more rarely, a girl's) initiation into adulthood. The youth was sent out from the camp on a solitary vigil involving fasting and prayer in order to gain some sign of the presence and nature of his guardian spirit (q.v.). The specific techniques varied from tribe to tribe, as did the age at which the quest was to be undertaken, its length and intensity, and the nature of the sign. In some traditions the youth would watch for an animal who behaved in a significant way; in others he discovered an object (usually a stone), which resembled some animal. In the predominant form, he had a dream in which his guardian appeared (usually in animal form), instructed him, took him on a visionary journey, and taught him songs. Upon receiving these signs and visions he returned to his home, indicated his success, and sought out a religious specialist for help in interpreting his visions. The techniques of the vision quest are not confined only to those at puberty. They underlie every visionary experience of the Indian, from those of the ordinary man who seeks to gain contact with and advice from his guardian to the visions of the great prophets and shamans (religious personages with healing and psychic transformation powers). Among the South American Indians, the vision quest, like the guardian spirit, is confined exclusively to the shaman.