Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 201 



never again marry a woman of the Kunyii :th gens, because they are so quick- 

 tempered, I replied : "I, for one, would never marry you." When this remark 

 of mine became known, people warned me, saying : "He is a shaman, even though 

 he denies it, and may make you fall in love with him." The reference is 

 apparently to magical courtship (pt. 12, pp. 83-87) since only curers of venereal 

 diseases (hiwey lak and hiku:pk) are especially lucky with women. 



It is true, of course, that one informant denied that it was possible to obtain 

 a wife by witchcraft. However, the case of Kanvotce does not contradict even 

 this, possibly subjective, opinion, since, even before Kwathany Hi :wa began to 

 bewitch her, Kanvotce was considered "his girl." On the other hand, the in- 

 ference that genuine magical courtship was at work in this instance is supported 

 by Pulyi :k's assertion that the victim of this form of witchcraft sees the witch 

 in dream, in the very act of bewitching her and making her ill. The exceptions 

 to this rule are cases which do not involve love magis, so that the personal 

 identity of the witch need not necessarily be disclosed to the victim in dream. 

 In such instances the witch may appear in his victim's dream, e. g., in the guise 

 of a less powerful shaman, whose soul the witch "borrowed" so as to disguise 

 his identity. "Suppose Kwathany Hi :wa took Anyay Ha :m's soul, in order to 

 deceive a victim. (Hispan Himith) Tcilyetcilye, who is as powerful as Kwathany 

 Hi :wa (and who also happens to be a "ghost doctor," cf. Fathauer, 1951), would 

 see the truth (when called in to treat the victim?), and would tell it, if he is not 

 afraid of Kwathany Hi :wa." At this point Hama : Utce : interrupted Hivsu : 

 Tupo :ma and said that she, too, had heard of such "goings-on." 



In other instances — which may include ordinary witchcraft, as well as magical 

 courtship — the witch may appear in his victim's dreams in his true shape, but 

 may forestall a cure by "sealing the lips of the victim" (he:ya averk, or he:ya 

 tcahana :p). 



Even so, conclusive evidence of witchcraft may come to light after a shaman's 

 victim dies. Thus, according to Tcatc, "Two years ago (1936), the corpse of 

 Jenny Honadick rose up on the cremation pyre, because she had been bewitched 

 by Kwathany Hi :wa. She died of a hemorrhage at the mouth." 



Comment 



Suggested Mohave diagnosis: Magical courtship (pt. 2, pp. 83-87). 

 Tentative diagnosis: Hysteria, followed by death from other causes, 



CASE 51 (Informants : Hivsu : Tupo : ma and Hama : Utce : ) : 



Hi :wa Maa :ma, whose vital statistics are no longer remembered, lived at 

 Fort Mohave. He had the power to cause, as well as to cure, a type of con- 

 vulsive seizure (fit) believed to result from excessive masturbation (pt. 2, pp. 

 72-76). He bewitched several women between the ages of 35 and 40, as weU 

 as some men and children, causing them to have convulsive seizures. My 

 informants specified that Hi :wa Maa :ma "gave his victims these fits," without 

 first having to compel them, by means of witchcraft, to engage in masturbation. 



"Eventually he was killed. We do not know who did it, nor how it happened. 

 They just sent word that he had been killed." 



Comment 



Suggested Behave diagnosis. — Atcoo :r hanyienk (pt. pp. 72-76) induced by 

 I witchcraft. 



Tentative diagnosis. — Hysterical attacks in a woman approaching menopause 

 (cf. the specification "between the ages of 35 and 40"). 



