346 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



its real home is tlie cradle — i.e., a uterus substitute^ — and not the 

 parental dwelling. In brief, the assumption of a full human and 

 social status — characterized by a loss of interest in the womb — does 

 not occur until the Mohave child is weaned and ceases to sleep in its 

 cradle. This delayed assumption of full human status is probably 

 related to a high infant mortality, since, should an as yet incompletely 

 humanized child die, the parents are not obliged to burn down the 

 house, as they must do when a completely humanized person dies 

 (Kroeber, 1925 a; Devereux, 1942 a, and pt. 7, pp. 431-i59). 



The treatment of tdvdhnyi: h calls for the following comments: 



(i) Manipulations. — The use of the left liand suggests that Hivsu : 

 Tupo : ma's relevant curing powers were obtained from the gods rather 

 tlian from the "Ancient Ones," whose identity is far from certain 

 (Devereux, MS., 1935). He used both his breath and his spittle, 

 because these substances are the means whereby the shaman transmits 

 his powers — be it for good or evil purposes (Kroeber, 1925 a; Deve- 

 reux, 1937 c) — to those whom he wishes to cure, or else to bewitch. 

 In this context brief mention may also be made of Roheim's interpreta- 

 tion of these technical aspects of therapy among the Yuma. Rolieim 

 (1932) viewed rubbing and massage as masturbation equivalents, and 

 the use of saliva as a substitute for fellatio. He also specified that, 

 during the treatment, the shaman's curing hand must sweat. This last 

 point may be of some significance, since it suggests that the shaman 

 is under tension while treating a patient." If this hypothesis is cor- 

 rect, the presence of salivation presents a real problem, because in 

 certain states of anxiety and tension — for example, when one is lying — 

 the saliva tends to dry up.^ 



Salivation and sweating occur simultaneously only in relatively 

 high specific states of tension. Hence, their occurrence in Mohave 

 therapeutic activities defines rather clearly the affective state of the 

 shaman who is treating a patient. Indeed, in some individuals, one 

 act which causes salivation and sweating to occur simultaneously is 

 eating; a finding which supports Roheim's (1932) thesis that the 

 shaman's healing activities are related to oral impulses. 



(^) The lack of songs in nowise diminishes the effectiveness of the 

 treatment, since, as stressed elsewhere (Devereux, 1957 b), curing 

 songs are simply "telegraphic'' allusions to a myth and derive their 



1 The psychological eqiiatinK of the uterus with the cradle is shown hy the fact that a 

 woman can make herself sterile by burning the cradle of h(>r dead child (Devereux, 1948 cK 

 to prevent Its return to earth. The house of the adult dead is burned for the same 

 reason (pt. 7, pp. 431-459). 



^ Compare in this context the fact that the lie detector measures the psychogalvanic 

 skin reflex, i.e., the intensity of the current which is determined by the amount of skin 

 moisture, i.e., of sweating. 



3 Cf. the primitive form of lie detection, which consists in causing the suspects to lick a 

 hot iron. The guilty party will suffer a burn, because, due to tension and anxiety, his 

 saliva dries up. 



