408 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



Although Ah'a Kupa :m's story is a rather commonplace one, the attitudes 

 and opinions expressed in connection with his death shed an interesting side- 

 light uiwn the problem of witch liilling. 



^Yhen the informant had completed his story, the highly educated Hama: 

 Utce:, who may or may not have been related to Ah'a Kupa :m,™ exclaimed 

 rather sarcastically: "And that brought all the dead back to life! Ah'a 

 Kupa:m was a pretty good man!" This statement is worthy of detailed 

 scrutiny. It is certainly not simply an expression of the interpreter's very 

 real humaneness, which also found an expression in her comments on the death 

 of the unjustly accused Tama:rahue (Case 106) since, in another instance, she 

 expressed satisfaction over the death of a witch (Case 101). Nor did her 

 remark seem motivated by the fact that she may have been related to this 

 witch, partly because Ah'a Kupa :m was killed before the interpreter was born, 

 and partly because this witch's own kin were, indirectly at least, responsible 

 for his death. Finally, her remark does not simply reflect an educated 

 person's contempt for those who believe in witchcraft, since Hama: Utce: 

 was never quite certain of just where she stood on the subject of witchcraft. 

 In other words, her remark cannot be viewed as an assertion of Ah'a Kupa :m's 

 innocence. If, however, it is viewed as a form of gloating over the death of 

 Ah'a Kupa :m's victims, some of whom were related to him, the interpreter's 

 comment can be viewed as an expression of her identification with the ag- 

 gressor. This interpretation is the most probable one, since, at that time, 

 Hama: Utce: harbored conscious death wishes toward her aunt, and also pro- 

 fessed not to care whether she, herself, lived or died (Case 115). 



Equally noteworthy was Hivsu : Tupo :ma's concluding remark : "Ah'a Kupa :m 

 was the last witch to be killed among the Mohave." The manner in which 

 this statement was made, when taken in conjunction with the fact that several 

 decades had elapsed since Ah'a Kupatm's murder without a single further 

 witch killing, suggested that, in this informant's opinion, the custom of killing 

 witches had become entirely obsolete. At the same time, the informant was not 

 too sure of this, since, when he confessed to me that he, too, had bewitched 

 some people, he begged me not to mention this to anyone, lest he be assaulted as a 

 witch. Oddly enough, the informant's drunken fears turned out to be more 

 realistic than his sober predictions, since, less than 2 years after this conversa- 

 tion, a Mohave couple killed a "witch" who was threatening them (Case 104). 

 The fact that this witch-killing couple was rather young and relatively "progres- 

 sive" shows how tenaciously certain basic attitudes and behavior patterns resist 

 acculturation (Hallowell, 1955 [1945]; Thompson, 1948; Devereux, 1951 a; 

 Al. F. C. Wallace, 1951). Hence, it is unwise to call a custom obsolete until it is 

 entirely forgotten and until even the basic attitudes related to it have been 

 superseded by different ones. 



CASE 101 (Informants: Hivsu: Tupo:ma and Hama: Utce:) : 



Kwitcia:r, of the Mah gens, a 45-year-old fullblood Mohave, lived in a house 

 located on the Arizona bank of the Colorado River, just opposite Needles, Calif. 

 He specialized in the treatment of bewitched people and of respiratory diseases 

 (colds, influenza, pneumonia, etc.). This "very powerful" shaman, "who 

 seemed to know everything," was killed around 1893. 



Kwitcia :r became a practicing shaman at the age of 30 and was soon after- 

 ward accused of being also a witch, though informants could not agree as to 

 whether Kwitcia :r himself ever admitted being a witch. It is known, however, 

 that he bewitched Ma :tas, of the Hualy gens, a fullblood Mohave male, 25 



■»» Opinions differ on this point The relationship was affirmed In 1936 and denied at a 

 later date. 



