Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 521 



Psychological reactions to the suppression of intertribal warfare 

 were somewhat complex, although they, too, can be suitably analyzed 

 in terms of a shift in the goal structure of Mohave culture. 



The first reaction was a somewhat chaotic one, and consisted of 

 witch killings and infanticide. These aggressions di tiered from war- 

 like activities in being relatively private undertakings, which lacked 

 the framework and moral basis of an organized tribal activity, so 

 important to the Mohave who are highly conscious of their tribal unity 

 and identity (Kroeher, 1925 a; Devereux, 1939 b). These semiprivate 

 types of aggression appear to have been subsequently abandoned, 

 presumably because they did not provide the basic psychological satis- 

 factions of organized warfare, which had formerly deflected aggres- 

 sions in a tnorale building manner from members of the ingroup to 

 members of the outgroup. Last, but not least, intratribal acts of 

 violence inevitably elicited additional governmental interventions in 

 Mohave affairs and were therefore contrary to tribal interests. 



The second reaction consisted in the evolving of an attitude of utter 

 contempt for the white man and his w^ays (Devereux, 1948 a). This 

 relatively healthy defense mechanism still persists and serves to per- 

 petuate many important values of Mohave life, and especially those 

 patterns which contrast with white practices. In other words, the 

 defensive persistence of many Mohave values is due not so much to 

 mere inertia, as (o "antagonistic acculturation" (Devereux and Loeb, 

 1943 a). 



The third reaction is psychologically a rather complex one. Since 

 genital sexuality was substituted for the gratification of (pregenital) 

 aggressiveness, genital behavior became contaminated by certain 

 aggressive impulses. The fact that the invasion of genitality by pre- 

 genital impulses is incompatible with Mohave tribal ideals is high- 

 lighted by one of Hama : Utce :'s remarks. On being asked about the 

 occurrence of sadomasochistic behavior, she said, "Only whites do such 

 things. We are not sufliciently civilized for that," but added that 

 amorous biting was believed to be a sign of undesirable jealousy 

 (Devereux, 1947 a). Hence, whenever aggressiveness appears in a 

 genital context, it tends to be disguised either as humor, or as "legiti- 

 mate" indignation, thus allowing it to escape the censorship of the 

 superego, or, more probably, of the ego ideal. 



The fourth reaction was a socially constructive one. On the one 

 hand, external pressures compelled the Mohave to abandon organized 

 intertribal aggressions, while their contacts with modern life, espe- 

 cially in schools and in hospitals, interfered so much with the survival 

 of the ancient tribal interest in supernaturalistic (shamanistic) 

 dreaming that, according to Wallace (1947), hardly any member of 



