PAKT 7. SUICIDE 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



It is a basic Mohave tenet that all possible events in life, as well as 

 all beliefs, customs, and rituals constituting culture, were established 

 during the period of creation, usually by means of a mythical prece- 

 dent. It is therefore desirable that — as an introduction to the study 

 of suicide in Mohave culture — we should first examine the Mohave 

 myth concerning the origin of death, which is so lengthy that it can 

 only be cited in an abridged form. 



The mythical origin of death, — The precedent for all deaths, from 

 any cause whatsoever, was set by Matavilye. He decided that man 

 had to be mortal, lest the earth should become so crowded that people 

 would have to void their excreta on each other.^' He was in the 

 primal house when he resolved to die, so as to set a precedent. He was 

 ill at that time and felt the need to defecate. Rising from his bed, 

 he headed toward the door and, according to the Yuma version 

 (Harrington, 1908), on passing near his daughter, he deliberately 

 touched her genitals.^^ According to the Yuma account, it was this 

 act which exasperated his daughter, while according to the Mohave 

 account she was offended because her father wished to void his stools. 

 Be that as it may, the daughter, who was also the first witch, immedi- 

 ately dived into the ground,^^ emerged exactly under her father, 

 and, by swallowing his excreta, bewitched him. Shortly thereafter 

 Matavilye died, as he intended to die, thereby bringing death into 

 being. When they cremated him, Coyote — leaping over Badger and 

 Raccoon, the shortest persons present — grabbed his heart and ran 

 away with it.^° Later on, as a punishment, Coyote became a foolish 

 ( =insane) tramp of the desert (Kroeber, 1948) . 



If one examines this account with special reference to self-destruc- 

 tion, the following points help one to understand the place of suicide 

 in Mohave culture: 



(1) The first death, which is the cause and prototype of all deaths 

 on earth, was due to an act of will : Matavilye decided to die. Other- 



"Thls specification Is psychologically closely related to the way Matavilye died (cf. 

 below). 



*• Another example of this type of seductive contact occurs In the story of a runaway 

 "Coyote" Rlrl (DevereuT, 1948 h), who also resented It. 



» A typical action In Mohave myths (Kroeber, 1948). 



*• Earlier accounts of this prototypal death were published by Bourke (1889), Kroeber 

 (1925 a, 1948), and Devereux (1948 f). All accounts are similar, at least In their broad 

 outlines. 



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