456 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



cally than did Hivsu : Tupo :ma, who, being a fullblood Mohave, had no subjective 

 reason for constantly emphasizing his allegiance to the Mohave way of life. 



CASE 110 (Informants: Hivsu: Tupo:ma and Hama : Utce:): 



Utu :ra, of the Tcatc gens, an approximately 40-year-old fullblood Mohave, tried 

 to jump on the funeral pyre of his wife O :otc, of the O :ote gens, a fullblood Mohave 

 woman approximately 30 years of age, who had died of "pneumonia." He ran 

 toward the funeral pyre and (presumably because his courage failed him at the 

 last moment) fell down just beside it, only managing to burn his long hair, which, 

 since it had caught fire, had to be cut off. This incident took place at the Needles 

 cremation grounds, around 2 :00 or 3 :00 p.m., some 30 years ago (1906?) . At that 

 time both of Utu:ra's parents were already dead. Later on, Utu :ra died of 

 hiku :pk, which, in this case, was translated as syphilis. At this point Hama : 

 Utce :, who was from Parker, Ariz., said rather tartly : "Syphilis is just about all 

 they die of over at Needles." Here, at Parker, they had no syphilis until, several 

 decades ago, some Federal troops were stationed at La Paz." ^ 



Comment 



Since Utu:ra allegedly died from syphilis, it seems necessary to stress that 

 his "suicidal" gesture was almost certainly only a dramatic bit of hysterical 

 exhibitionism, rather than a symptom of mental derangement caused by paresis, 

 since neurosyphilis is practically absent among Indians (Kraepelin, 1904). 

 The fact that he "collapsed" (?) just beside the pyre, instead of falling on it, 

 as did Syuly (Case 109), strongly suggests that, at the very last moment, his 

 courage deserted him. Indeed, had he actually stumbled, or had he collapsed 

 as a result of sheer exhaustion after a prolonged wake, he could just as easily 

 have burned his hand or his face, instead of simply singeing his hair ivhich, 

 as the chief mourner, he would have had to cut off anyhoiv.^ His dramatic 

 gesture simply enabled him to get rid of his hair in a more obstentaious manner 

 than if it had been clipped in the traditional, and relatively humdrum, way. 



At the same time Ut :ra's gesture yields important insights into the emotional 

 significance of funeral gifts and of the hair-cutting rite. Since the Mohave are 

 very proud of their hair and take excellent care of it (Case 30), the clipping 

 of the mourner's hair represents a real sacrifice," as does the frantic — and 

 spiteful — cremation of funeral gifts, which, as stated before, also seems to 

 symbolize a partial self-immolation. In allowing his hair to catch fire Utu:ra 

 simply condensed into a single act three, formally distinct but psychologically 

 interconnected, matters : the clipping of the mourner's hair, the spiteful giving 

 of funeral gifts, and the hollow gesture of attempted self-immolation. 



" This specification may represent an Indirect allusion to the fact that the Mohave at 

 Parlcer had great confidence in "our doctor," M. A. I. Nettle, M.D., who took excellent 

 care of them. 



^According to Dr. Nettle (1933), several Mohave women had prostituted themselves to 

 this unit of Federal Negro cavalry, contracting venereal diseases and bearing a few half- 

 Negro and half-Mohave children. Most informants denied, however, that any Mohave 

 had a Negro father or grandfather. This denial is relatively credible, since, in the 1930's, 

 the Mohave had no prejudice against Negroes, and always had a kind word for a Negro 

 handyman and his practical nurse wife, who were employed at the Agency Hospital. 

 Moreover, the Mohave freely — though perhaps erroneously — conceded that a certain 

 Mohave had a Chinese father (Devereux, 1937 d, 1949 c). 



"Although the hair of the mourners does not seem to be thrown on the funeral pyre, 

 the connection between the clipping of hair and death is so close that dreams of having one's 

 hair cut short are believed to be omens of an impending bereavement. 



«* The man who, during an attaclj of hi :wa itck depression, cut off his hair as though 

 he were In mourning, on getting over his depression carefully picked up his braids and tied 

 them back to his remaining hair (Case 21). 



