Devereuxl MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 303 



profess to have memories of, and to be motivated by memories of, 

 their prenatal existence. The fact that in five of the nine types of 

 suicide the suicidal impulse is explicitly stated to be directly related 

 to prenatal existence, while in the four remaining ones it is possible 

 to suggest at least some indirect connections with prenatal existence, 

 does, on the other hand, have a psychodynamic significance. It sug- 

 gests that the Mohave may unconsciously view suicide as regression 

 to prenatal bliss — an element pointedly stated especially in regard 

 to twins who, according to one theory, die in order to return to their 

 heavenly home (Devereux, 1941, and pt. 7, pp. 348-356) . Needless to 

 say, this Mohave theory of suicide is but one cultural phrasing of 

 man's great reluctance, or even basic incapacity, to believe in his 

 own death and permanent cessation (Devereux, 1942 b) . 

 \ The motivation of suicide. — According to the Mohave, each type or 

 : categoiy of suicide has a different type of motivation. For this 

 I reason it seems more expedient to discuss motivation in connection 

 1 with the type of suicide that it is supposed to cause. SufBce it to say 

 i for the present that most motives imputed to "suicides" involve re- 

 li sentment, a dislike and depreciation of life, an urge to kill, and an 

 i element of self-punitiveness which, in the case of witches longing 

 }- for their beloved victims, is — at least in cultural belief — masked by 

 |j the cultural tenet that unless a witch is killed, he may lose his hold 

 F over his ghostly retinue of former victims (Devereux, 1937 c and 

 '( pt. 7, ^^x). 387-426) . By contrast, culture itself emphasizes the element 

 \ of guilt in the voluntary "social suicide" of men marrying their 

 r cousins (pt. 7, pp. 356-371). A detailed discussion of specific motives 

 \ will be found in the individual sections devoted to various types of 

 suicide. On the other hand the general role of aggression will be 

 described in the next paragraphs. 

 Aggression. — Frustrated as well as manifest aggression is so con- 

 I spicuous in all forms of Mohave suicide, that it would be tautological 

 |i to demonstrate its presence in every type of suicide known to the Mo- 

 have. The present section simply seeks to clarify the role of aggi'es- 

 sivity in Mohave life as a whole. 



Tlie first point to be made is that our own culture, of which our socio- 

 logical and psychological sciences are products, systematically mini- 

 mizes and distorts the creative value of aggression. Some psychoana- 

 lysts, like K. A. Menninger (1938) , almost seem to imply that only the 

 most sublimated and disguised aggressivity has any social value what- 

 soever. Wliile there is certainly nothing to be said either for blind, 

 hateful, destructiveness or for the vicarious aggressiveness of the effete 

 Roman spectator watching gory combats, a certain basic willingness 

 to protect one's life — and way of life — seems indispensable for social 

 and individual survival. In fact, even stoical courage is no real sub- 



