322 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



more men than vromen commit "real" suicide, although one would 

 have expected them to notice this fact, since the Mohave themselves 

 stress that modern suicides are largely due to disappointments in love 

 and firmly believe that women are far more flighty than men are, 

 which would necessarily imply that they would be less likely than 

 men to kill themselves because of disappointment in love (pt. 7, 

 pp. 459-484) . 



Stafhtical trends^ as seen hy the Mohave^ are as foUoios: 



(1) Prenatal suicides were said to be decreasing in numbers. This 

 statement is probably correct, since many Mohave women now have 

 their babies in the reservation hospital. 



(2) Suicide at loeaning: No statistically significant statements 

 were made. A decrease seems probable, due to better medical care. 



(3) Suicide of tivins: The number of twins is said to be increas- 

 ing. This is correct, but only in the sense that many more twins sur- 

 vive today than in former times. 



(4) Symbolic suicides markedly decreased in numbers because the 

 ritual of killing of a horse at the marriage of cousins is now obsolete. 

 However, cousin marriages, being less openly condemned than for- 

 merly, were said to be increasing in numbers, thus "causing whole 

 families to become extinct." 



(5) The willing victims of uiitchcraft were said by some to have 

 become more numerous in recent times, because witches now ply their 

 evil trade without fear of being killed. Others felt that such deaths 

 had become less numerous, because it is no longer worthwhile for a 

 witch to bewitch anyone, since he knows that he cannot always pro- 

 voke others into killing him in the end. 



(6) The vicarious suicide of witches is markedly on the decrease, 

 since witch Idlling is now prohibited by law. The Mohave also im- 

 plied that suicidal witches were usually older persons, who had had 

 time to bewitch a number of persons. No informant stressed the pre- 

 ponderance of male over female suicidal witches, though they said 

 that there were few female shamans in aboriginal times. 



(7) The vicari.oi(s suicide of braves is wholly obsolete, though it 

 sliould be noted that, during World War IT, even men in their forties 

 tried to volunteer for service. One such man even tried to join the 

 Marines, in order to see "real fighting." 



(8) Funeral suicide is now wholly obsolete. 



(9) Active suicide is said to be increasingly frequent — a statement 

 that is probably correct. No informant pointed out the preponder- 

 ance of male suicides over female suicides. 



Trends in means used for committing suicide. — Tn aboriginal 

 times the suicide poisoned himself with datura, jumped into the 



