Devereux], MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 23 



ces are especially obvious in the case of twins. According to one Mo- 

 have theory (Devereux, 1941, and pt. 7, pp. 348-356) , twins are not im- 

 mortal visitors from heaven, but the acquisitive ghosts of the dead, 

 whoso property-mindedness closely resembles that displayed by some 

 old woman who hoards property for her own funeral (Kroeber, 1925 

 a) and also the property-mindedness which the Mohave impute to the 

 recently deceased (pt. 7, pp. 431-459). Moreover, the Mohave hold 

 that twins who become shamans are, as a rule, exceptionally powerful 

 ones (Devereux, 1937 c, 1941). These considerations imply that there 

 is a basic affinity between the "primary" and the "secondary" invaders 

 both in ahwe : nyevedhi : (where enemy +/= ghost) and in hiwey lak 

 nyevedhi: (where actual memories of deceased persons +/= ghosts). 



(4-) Endogenous vs. exogenous disorders — Ahwe: hahnok, ahwe: 

 nyevedhi :, hiwey lak, hiwey lak nyevedhi :, and nyevedhi : taha : na 

 are, both culturally and psychoanalytically, closely related to a num- 

 ber of other exogenous diseases of the psyche. Indeed, the list of 

 beings causing exogenous psychiatric disorders includes not only aliens 

 and ghosts (and memories of the deceased) but also the insane deity 

 ( = father figure) Mastamho (pt, 4, pp. 116-117), hikwi:r snakes 

 (= paternal phallus and also both parents in the "primal scene") 

 (pt. 4, pp. 117-128), relatives whom one still mourns (pt. 4, pp. 128- 

 186), the dead who are being cremated (pt. 4, pp. 186-195), witches 

 (= incestuous parent figures), and magical substances and narcotics 

 (whose power closely resembles the powers of shamans who are turn- 

 ing into witches) (pt. 4, pp. 195-212) . 



In brief, the preceding considerations justify : 



(1) The separation of certain "straight" diseases, in which, e.g., 

 enemies do play a role, but only as objects, rather than as subjects or 

 actors, from disorders in which enemies, aliens, ghosts, and the like 

 are active causes of psychiatric illness. 



(2) The policy of treating ahwe: nyevedhi: as a form of ahwe: 

 hahnok with complications, and hiwey lak nyevedhi: as a form of 

 hiwey lak with complications, and also the policy of treating nyevedhi : 

 taha :na as a psychiatric disorder sui generis. 



As an aside, it seems appropriate to note here, at least in passing, 

 that it would probably have been impossible to unravel the basic pat- 

 tern of Mohave nosological thought, as it pertains to the problem 

 under discussion, without some psychoanalytic understanding of the 

 unconscious meaning of certain cultural data, which had to be ana- 

 lyzed in order to clarify the structure of Mohave nosological theories. 



