478 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



Mohave habits for Atci : Ahwat to kill himself the mintite he began to have 

 troubles with his wife. It is far more likely that these difficulties were of some 

 duration and that the idea of suicide occurred to Atci : Ahwat as a result of his 

 recent investigation of Kamey He :ya's suicide. 



The fact that Atci : Ahwat, who, being a sheriff, must have had a lot of ex- 

 perience with firearms, was one of the few Mohave who bungled his suicide, 

 is also noteworthy. It suggests an appreciable lack both of real resolution 

 and of an effective identification with Kamey He:ya, due in part to the fact 

 that the nexus between him and his "model" Kamey He :ya was outside the reg- 

 ular network of basic Mohave relationships, and belonged to the sphere of ac- 

 culturation relationships (i.e., a sheriff investigating a suicide) which, as yet, are 

 not sufficiently a part of the Mohave Indian's social personality to motivate 

 him effectively, especially in so extreme an undertaking as suicide. This hy- 

 pothesis is perfectly compatible with Durkheim's (1897) views concerning the 

 basic role of anomie in suicide, though in this instance the lack of a tradition- 

 ally affective bond between Kamey He :ya and the sheriff made the former an 

 ineffective "model" which, while presumably triggering off the sheriff's suicidal 

 attempt, also explains its ultimate ineffectiveness, which parallels the failure 

 of Kamey He :ya's suicidal attempt. 



It should also be specified that these unique examples of seemingly "serious" 

 Mohave suicides being saved from death cannot be explained solely in terms 

 of the fact that they are the most recent suicides of which I have a record, be- 

 cause, due to the competence of the late M. A. I. Nettle, M.D., the Mohave had 

 excellent medical care ever since 1910 or thereabouts. Had it been possible to 

 save any of the other (earlier) suicides, Dr. Nettle would have done so. 



Singe Cases 



StJBQSoup I. — Suicides resulting from social isolation. 



(A) The shaman Tama rrahue was unjustly accused of being a witch. (Sup- 



plementary Case C, see Case 106). 



(B) Nyortc was neglected by her son (Case 123) . 



(C) Kwali: was old, ill, and had no relatives (Case 124). 



Subgroup II. — Suicide caused by the wife's simple or aggravated infidelity. 



(D) Wilymawilyma's wife was first unfaithful and then left him (Case 125). 



( E ) Hipily Tcukup was cuckolded by members of his gens ( Case 126 ) . 



(F) Atceyer Tcuva :u's wife deceived him with aliens (Case 127) . 



SUBGROUP I 



SUPPLEMENTARY CASE C (for a full account see Case 106, pp. 425-426) : 

 Tama :rahue, embittered by unjust accusations of being a witch, first drank 

 datura and then drowned himself in the Colorado River. 



Comment 



Tama :r5hue used atypical means to kill himself. 



This motivation is, on the other hand, typical, since disappointment over so- 

 ciety's unjust accusations is but a more generalized form of the individual's 

 distress when his own kin persecutes or rejects him (Cases 111, 116, 118). Ex- 

 amples of shamans distressed when unjustly accused of witchcraft are given in 

 pt. 4, pp. 150-175, and pt. 7, pp. 387-426.) 



