524 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 175 



by means of intoxication and aggression, whereas in the second scheme 

 the compromise represents a victory for the ego ideal, which is incom- 

 plete only when, instead of engaging in sexual acts, or instead of pass- 

 ing out, the Mohave engages in overt acts of aggression. This point is 

 important enough to be discussed under a separate heading. 



4. PASSING OUT 



It is a psychoanalytic truism that the seemingly "accidental" pairing 

 of two ideas is never an "accident," but the unintentional revelation 

 of an unconsciously perceived nexus between two factors. It is, there- 

 fore, of the utmost significance that the late M. A. I. Nettle, M.D., as 

 well as several Mohave informants, remarked that "Drunken Mohave 

 Indians do not fight — they merely pass out." This formulation clearly 

 suggests a nexus between aggression and passing out, although it does 

 not disclose the nature of that relationship. Our next task, therefore, 

 is to investigate the nature of this connection. 



In accordance with the fundamental principle of psychic deter- 

 minism, it is proposed to start with the assumption that "passing out" 

 fulfills a wish and is a means to an end. This assumption is par- 

 ticularly convincing in the case of the Mohave, for several reasons: 



{a) The average Mohave passes out after imbibing relatively small 

 quantities of alcohol. 



(b) Hardly any male Mohave ever passes out before or during a 

 sexual orgy. 



(c) Mohave women do frequently pass out before sexual orgies, 

 because, as was shown above, the psychodynamics of the drunken 

 woman's unconscious consent to serial rape must be understood in 

 terms of her aggressive frigidity and phallic pretensions (Devereux, 

 1948 f). 



(d) An exceptionally gentle Mohave passed out during a very 

 mild altercation with his devoted, but also somewhat gruff, wife (Case 

 136). 



It is my thesis that "passing out" is a defense against the eruption 

 of ego-dystonic impulses, or against the obligation to perform some 

 unwelcome task. This is true especially when the subject has imbibed 

 only moderate amoimts of alcohol.^ 



The point of the above remark is a relatively simple one. Passing 

 out has a clearcut function m Mohave drmikenness. Wlien, due to 

 drinking and to the concomitant relaxing of his inhibitions, the indi- 

 vidual is in danger of performing some ego-dystonic action, the 

 superego, the ego ideal, and the ego forces as well, fall back upon their 

 last line of defense and bring about the phenomenon known as "pass- 



^ The following personal observation Is pertinent : A moderately Intoxicated white 

 habitual drinker looked at his watch, realized that he would have to perform an un- 

 pleasant task In exactly 90 seconds, and promptly passed out "cold." 



