Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 217 



anesthesias, but disturbances of the sensorium of organic origin, ob- 

 served in old people. 



(3) Echolalia and echopraxia. — A description of the latah syn- 

 drome of the Malay (Yap, 1952) and of the imu syndrome of the 

 Ainu (Uchimura, Akimoto, and Ishibashi, 1938) was given to inform- 

 ants, who were then asked whether such behavior occurred among the 

 Mohave. Hilyera Anyay stated that he had never heard of such 

 seizures and then proceeded to describe a kind of fugue state, which 

 may be hysterical. 



{Ji) Hysterical fugue states. — Hilyera Anyay said that certain 

 people sometimes just sit still and seem to be almost in a kind of 

 trance. "They do not seem to hear what is being said, nor to see what 

 is being done. At times such a person may get up and move around, 

 and he may talk in such a way that no one understands him 

 (Glossolalia?)" They may even grab people by the hair°^ and get 

 into a fight. I have heard of such things happening, but do not know 

 anyone who had this condition." 



{5) Globus hystericus and hysterical seizures. — "[After Hilyera 

 Anyay mentioned the "phantom foreign body" in the vagina of 

 widows suffering from ah we: nyevedhi: (pt. 4, pp. 128-150), he was 

 asked about the globus hystericus.] It is something that comes up- 

 ward and chokes them. Then they have a fit (convulsion) . They are 

 also unable to urinate.^* This illness, too, can be treated. [How is 

 that done?] They take young arrow- weed tops, or some greasewood 

 {Sarcohatus vermiculatus) branches and warm them by holding them 

 near a fire. Then they put the warm twigs on tliis hard spot. They 

 also heat water and make the patient drink it. If they are (have) 

 suma.'tc ahot (have good dreams, or dream-power), they get well, 

 and their urination becomes normal again." 



{6) Charms. — The presumably hysterical reactions of the owners 

 of charms and magical substances are described in part 4, pages 

 202-212. 



Hysteria is an extremely common neurosis in primitive society. 

 It is therefore quite probable that a number of cases cited in this 



" Glossolalia — the "speaking In tongues" — is known to occur in primitive society 

 (May 1956). 



" The Mohave club-wIelding warriors would grab the foe by the hair and smash his face 

 with an upward stroke of their "potato-masher" clubs. 



" This specification is of extraordinary Interest, since it reveals real clinical acumen. 

 Indeed, unlike epileptics, hysterics usually do not void their urine during their seizures. 

 In fact, this is an important diagnostic criterion in differentiating between epilepsy and 

 hysteria. In addition, the retention of urine during such attacks characterizes especially 

 "retentive" hysterics, who often have what is sometimes called a "spinal cord bladder." 

 Such hysterics may retain their urine for Incredibly long periods of time, and must be 

 frequently catheterlzed. Our Mohave data clearly suggest that the hysterics in question 

 are of the "retentive" type, since, on the one hand, the globus hystericus is "stuck" in the 

 throat and "chokes" them, and, on the other hand, the widow, who remains fixated on 

 her defunct spouse, seeks to retain bis phantom phallus In her vagina by means of a 

 muscular spasm. 



