Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 507 



rather than the systematic excessive use of alcohol by even a small 

 fraction of the population. This is probably due to the basic psycho- 

 logical health of the individual Mohave, which is rooted in the mature 

 erotic satisfactions and in the psychological security which his culture 

 affords him (Devereux, 1939 b) . 



Dealers in illegal alcohol. — Bootleggers are protected by the 

 Mohave. A young Mohave man, who occasionally acted as my 

 interpreter, described the situation as follows: "There were recently 

 (1938?) a couple of convictions and several men were expelled from 

 this area, but this did not put down the alcohol trade, I think that the 

 bootleggers must have emissaries who arrange these things. You can't 

 persuade a Mohave to tell you the names of the bootleggers and of their 

 emissaries, because he is accustomed to alcohol." 



Although the Mohave knew that bootleggers charged outrageous 

 prices, their resentment was directed at the law prohibiting the sale of 

 alcohol to Indians, and at whites in general, rather than at the illicit 

 dealers as a class, or as individuals. The fact is that the discriminatory 

 law actually increased, rather than decreased, the social cost of alco- 

 holism. It is true that the average Mohave could not afford to buy 

 illegal liquor frequently. However, the high cost of bootlegged alco- 

 hol lead to the exploitation of the Indian by unscrupulous dealers. 

 Furthermore, when the Mohave did obtain alcohol, he felt impelled to 

 drink it up all at once, partly because he did not know how to handle 

 liquor rationally and partly because he wished to dispose of the in- 

 criminating evidence as quickly as possible. In brief, psychological 

 problems do not seem to yield to legislative solutions among the 

 Mohave any more than they do among other nations. Only a sys- 

 tematic strengthening of the fundamental values, satisfactions, and 

 security systems of Mohave culture could counteract the spread of 

 alcoholism. The forced acculturation and pauperization of the 

 Mohave (Devereux, 1942 c, 1948 f) lead only to an increase in 

 anomie — and therefore also in alcoholism. 



Expectations of gifts of alcoholic heverages. — The Mohave do not 

 expect the average white to give or sell them alcohol. Only one of my 

 closest friends ever asked me to obtain alcohol for him (Case 139) , and 

 was not in the least offended when I declined to do so, since my policy 

 of neither drinking, nor procuring drinks, was so well known that, 

 when a certain disreputable woman alleged that I had offered her a 

 drink, her statement was promptly challenged by several of her rela- 

 tives, some of whom did not even know me personally (Devereux, 

 1948 f). 



On the whole, the Mohave did not press their white friends to pro- 

 cure alcohol for them, perhaps because they could freely purchase it 

 from certain notoriously unscrupulous individuals. 



492655—61 33 



