MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MOHAVES. 



By George A. Allen, Colorado River Agency, Colorado. 



Although the Mohaves are giving up many of their superstitions^ 

 some of them still cling to the teachings of their ancestors. They cre- 

 mate their dead, the funeral pyre being made ready for the corpse as 

 soon as life is extinct, and the body is placed on the pile of wood pre- 

 pared, while all the friends and relations of the deceased gather around 

 and set up a pitiful moan. Formerly they burned all the property of 

 the deceased, and often the mourners would contribute everything 

 they possessed to the flames, thereby showing the affection and grief 

 they felt for the dead; but this custom is not much practiced at the 

 present time. The women usually contributed a portion of their hair 

 to the flames — that is, those who belonged to the immediate family of 

 the deceased— and would even sometimes throw themselves on the fire, 

 such was their grief. 



While they have but little reverence, they believe there is a God, 

 whom they call Mat-o-we-lia, and that He is the maker of all things; 

 that He has a son, whom they call Mas-zam-ho, who is king of de- 

 parted spirits. Mat-owe-lia conducts tlie movements of the sun, moon, 

 and stars; sends the rain, sunshine, etc. Mas-zam-ho has full charge 

 of affairs in heaven, or "White Mountain," as they call it. 



They believe the spirits of the dead go up to the "White Mountain" 

 in smoke, and that all the property destroyed in the flames with the 

 deceased will go with him to the "White Mountain," where pots are 

 constantly boiling with something to eat. 



They had formerly an annual burning of i^roperty, and all would con- 

 tribute something to the flames in expectation of its going up to their 

 departed friends. This practice is entirely discontinued on the reser- 

 vation, but is still kept up by the Yumas at Fort Yuma, and by the 

 Mohaves at Needles and Fort Mohave, off the reservation. 



They also have a belief that all the Mohaves who die and are not 

 cremated turn into owls, and when they hear an owl hooting at night 

 they think it is the spirit of some dead Mohave returned. They are 

 also superstitious about eating any kind of food that they are not ac- 

 customed to. They will not eat the meat of the beaver, claiming that 

 if they did their necks would swell. This belief was brought about by 



615 



