50 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



CASE 3 (Informant : Hilyera Anyay) : 



I dreamed I was doing some planting on the sandhills. I remember that, in 

 my dream, I was planting corn and, when I got so far, I turned around, looked 

 back and saw that the corn had already sprouted and was about a foot high. 



Associations. — These dreams seemed to have occurred just before my arms 

 began to ache. Some people who plant crops year after year have suma : tc 

 itcem (=bad dreams) in their old age, and these bad dreams seem to bring 

 rheumatisms with them. A man who has died since gave me sallyi : tc (=moxa) 

 therapy ; he took a piece of arrowweed, thrust its tip into hot coals and, when 

 the stick began to glow, he slightly burned my joints with it. Then he applied 

 some liniment to me. As a result of this treatment I feel much better now. 

 [White people who have rheumatism sometimes heat their aching joints with 

 warm bricks.] I too have seen people do that, and might give it a try the 

 next time I have pains in my joints. 



Comment 

 In aboriginal times the Mohave did not plant on sandhills, but on 

 the overflow of the Colorado River (Kroeber, 1925 a). At present 

 they plant in an artificially irrigated valley. An abnormally rapid 

 growth of the crops is mentioned in several myths, and especially in 

 the myth that describes how the invention of agriculture made infanti- 

 cide unnecessary (Devereux, 1948 d) . 



THE GOD MASTAMHO'S PSTCH0SI8 



In 1938, when investigating mental disorders among the Mohave, 

 the following myth fragment, dealing with a case of divine insanity, 

 was read to the Mohave : 



Then, meditating as to his [Mastamho's] own end, he stretched out his arms, 

 grew into Saksak the fish eagle, and flew ofl", without power or recollection, 

 ignorant and infested with vermin. [Kroeber, 1925 a.] 



Wlien asked to comment on this incident, all informants agreed 

 that it was correctly reported. In explanation, they stated that 

 Mastamho became insane "because he had done so much in the course 

 of his life." This spontaneous explanation is very significant, since, 

 unlike the subsequently published, full text of this episode (Kroeber, 

 1948), the condensed version read to the Mohave did not even hint 

 at the causes of Mastamho's psychic decompensation. 



Before discussing the implications of this episode, it is desirable to 

 cite in full the miabridged version of this episode (Kroeber, 1948). 

 The incidents about to be described occurred just after Mastamho 

 told Thrasher and Mockingbird to teach play and sex to the Mohave, 

 and specifically mentioned venereal diseases, loose women, and ugly, 

 but sexually successful, men. He then informed Thrasher and 

 Mockingbird, who up to then were "people," that, on completing their 

 teaching assignments, they would turn into birds.^® 



" Once their tasks or adventures are completed, many Mohave mythical personages be- 

 come birds or even roclcs (Devereux, 1939 a ; 1948 h). 



