Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 33 



The diagnosis :yamomh {insanity). — In theory, though not always 

 in actual practice, the Mohave do differentiate between "insanity" 

 (neurosis and psychosis) on the one hand and "organic illness" on 

 the other hand, even though a few shamans specializing in the cure 

 of organic ailments usually confuse the two, simply because the panic, 

 pain, or toxicity of organic illnesses sometimes produces epiphenom- 

 enal mental disturbances. The tendency of such prejudiced native 

 organicists to think of mental disorders solely as symptoms of phy- 

 sical ailments is made evident not only by Hikye : t's confused ac- 

 count of the etiology of mental disorders, but is also echoed by Ahma 

 Huma:re's explicit assertion that hi:wa itck (pt. 3, pp. 91-106), 

 which is caused by a specific and recent psychic trauma, is not a 

 "true insanity." By contrast, more broadminded "organicists," like 

 the shaman Hivsu : Tupo : ma and some others, as well as many in- 

 telligent laymen, spontaneously insisted that hi : wa itck is a true 

 psychosis. Furthermore, in contradistinction to confirmed organicists, 

 they tended to view the physical symptoms of certain disorders in 

 which mental disturbances were also present, either as part of the 

 total disease picture, or else, in some very interesting instances, as 

 signs of "organic compliance" (organisches Entgegenkommen) in the 

 strictly Freudian sense of this term. 



The Mohave also differentiate between perversion and neurosis — 

 witness Tcatc's assertion that the zoophilia of persons whose insanity 

 is due to witchcraft is entirely different from the zoophilia of 

 shamans, which is a sign of their "devilishness" (perversion). Mo- 

 have theory and psychoanalytic theory are in agreement on this point. 



It is, however, not always easy to ascertain precisely what critical 

 symptom is used by the Mohave to differentiate, e. g., between mental 

 disorder, muteness, perversion, and organic illness. According to 

 the organically minded shaman Ahma Huma : re, neuroses, psychoses, 

 and muteness should all be labeled "yamomk" (insanity), apparently 

 because, in his opinion, tlie crucial symptom of "yamomk" is a very 

 broadly defined "speech disturbance," called yavooik, which he de- 

 fined as "they talk, but do not know what they are talking about." 

 Since he specifically stated that the relatives of mute persons could 

 interpret their inarticulate sounds and other attempts at communi- 

 cation, it is obvious that he equated the inarticulate sounds emitted 

 by mutes with the chaotic content of the speech of psychotics. 



Thus, even if one is mindful of these special opinions, resulting 

 from idiosyncratic professional interests, it is fairly safe to say that, 

 on the whole, the Mohave differentiate rather appropriately between 

 organic illness and mental disorder. On the other hand, their 

 differential diagnosis of the several forms of yamomk known to them 



