Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 83 



bation. This indicates orgastic frigidity, which is almost always an 

 outstanding and typical characteristic of nymphomaniacs, who can ex- 

 perience extremely intense excitement without being able to achieve 

 an orgasm. Hence, they are driven to cohabit with many men, being 

 constantly on the lookout for a male who can give them an orgasm, 

 but never finding because their failure to reach a climax is psycho- 

 logically determined. 



Tcatc's spontaneous remark, that she was afraid of intercourse in 

 her youth, and that the women of the older generation were better 

 behaved, suggests an appreciable traditional (cultural) inhibition 

 of the young Mohave woman's orgastic potentialities. Her comment, 

 that this disease does not occur in the drinking and sexually dissolute 

 younger generation has two — not necessarily mutually exclusive — 

 implications : it suggests, first of all, that there occurred a breakdown 

 of traditional internal inhibitions, not only to the point where orgasm 

 can be readily achieved, but to the point where it can be achieved with 

 anyone, including even the most casual partners. It may also imply 

 that, as a result of drinking to excess, inhibitions which would operate 

 in a state of sobriety are temporarily suspended, permitting orgasm 

 to take place. This inference agrees with the well-known psychiatric 

 epigram: "The superego is soluble in alcohol." (See Appendix, pp. 

 505-548.) 



Kamalo : y taminyk, also reported from the Diegueno by Toffelmier 

 and Luomala (1936), appears to be a variety of ya tcahaetk, but, 

 unlike that disease, seems to occur only in women. 



INSANITY RESULTING FROM MAGICAL COURTSHIP 



Preliminary comment. — The shaman Hivsu : Tupo : ma called this 

 condition nepu : k, an expression that my linguistic informant, 

 Pulyi : k, failed to recognize. This may possibly indicate that 

 "nepu : k" is simply a typical Mohave compression of several words 

 forming a teclinical term, the way hiwey lak is sometimes abbreviated 

 to weylak.^* Pulyi : k agreed, however, that love magic exists, but 

 specified that it did not include helticathom (see further below, for a 

 contrary statement). 



•8 similar compressions or abbreviations are used also in designating some Individual 

 who has a complicated name, made up of several -words. In such cases he is commonly 

 referred to either by one of the words only, or else by a two- or three-syllable word, made 

 up of the last syllable(s) of one word and the first 8yllable(s) of the nest word. Thus, 

 the name of the mythical personage Hukthar Havl : yo was recorded by Kroeber (1948) as 

 "Tharavlyo." Another type of compression occurs in Bongs, which often consist not of 

 complete sentences, but only of "key words." In addition, in order to fit the text to the 

 rhythm of the melody, already mutilated words may be further split up, by attaching their 

 first syllable(s) to the preceding word and their last syllable(s) to the next word, to such 

 an extent that no one may be able to unscramble the carefully recorded song of a singer. 

 This was shown when a linguistic Informant failed to unscramble the alyha : (trans- 

 vestite = coward) Initiation song dictated to the writer by Nyahwe : ra with the help of 

 Hlvsu : Tupo :ma (Devereux, 1937 b). 



