ON MOHAVE CULTURAL HERO MYTHS
The Mohave Indians lived on the Colorado river, which separates California and Arizona. The Fort Mohave Indian reservation is located just across the river from Needles, California. The immense desert region to the west of the reservation is called the Mohave Desert, which includes the vast East Mojave National Scenic Area.
Books on Mohave folk tales are hard to find. The following texts is taken from a recently released booklet by Dr. John Anderson. The fourth chapter features a Mohave cultural hero story about a miraculously conceived child named Ahta-hane. This narrative was preserved by Triyere Kavasuk, from the Mohave Indian reservation. Kavasuk used Alfred Kroeber, a noted anthropologist from the University of California, as a consultant when he recorded this story somewhere between 1900 and 1910.
"As a tobacco inspired magical child, Ahtahane had the power to command the clouds to bring rain at his will. He called won rain at the time of his birth, for example, to protect him from his dangerous uncle who was his father's older brother. In spite of all his family could to to secret the baby, the uncle learned of his birth and prophesized: "The child is wise and will be a doctor. It made rain so that no one would known it was being born, but I knew it, for I am a doctor too." By this time in the story, the hero's father was dead and the uncle was a serious threat. His mother thus bore him... outside of the normal protection of the family.
... the Mohave miracle child went south to seek adventure. He overcame a series of demons, including the horsefly. After many triumphs, he went to the House of the Sun in the northeast. Here he died and was resurrected with an even better body. When all seemed lost, he was miraculously resurrected from a blood clot placed under a basket. After his resurrection, the Mohave hero challenged the man-eating demon who lives with the Sun's Daughters. The Mohave called this supernatural Kwayu meaning metor-man. In passages remarkably similar to Pomo narratives about the Giliks the Mohave miracle boy defeated his adversary in battle. Meteor-man made the mistake of trying to overcome the boy with tobacck smoke, but failed (because he didn't know that tobacco was the boy's favorite plant).
Next the Sun challenged the miracle child, but proved incapable of deceiving him. The Sun became frightened and fled from the boy. But the miracle child pursued and captured the Sun who was subsequently metamorphosed into the contemporary sun of the existing world. Before this cosmic transformation, the hero called out: "You thought I was a little boy and did not know anything, but I am wise." (page 18)
Kroeber encouraged the general public to dismiss Mohave folk lore, for example, as inferior to white American lore. It was not even as advanced in his opinion as that of other native peoples of California. "If Mohave civilization had been advanced enough to allow of their finding some clear central theme to hold together the welter of details and names," he complained, "their great tales would no doubt seem impressive to us."
With these denegrating words, Kreober revealed his general insensitivity to native California culture. Unfortunately generations of white anthropologitss followed Kroeber, in misleading the California public about the signifance of Mohave folk lore. This resulted in an under appreciation of their oral literature, including narratives like the T. Kavasuk story..." (Side box, page 19)
"Kroeber comes closest to appreciating the richness of Mohave culture in his commentary on their visionary literature. In a number of related writings, he argued that vision dreams were the very foundation of Mohave life. "There are no people whose activities are more shaped by this psychic state, or what they believe to be such, and none whose civilization is so completely, so deliberately, reflected in their myths"
A typical Mohave narrative, according to Kroeber's model, describes a journey of a cultural hero or two brothers, beginning with their births and ending with their transformation into an animal or a landmark. This characterization is accurate in some respects, but fails to mention the pivotal role played by vision dreams in these Mohave narratives and their fundamental importance to plot development. Such omissions prevent Kroeber from fully appreciting the significance of Atahane's ability to 'dream' his future, while still in his mother's womb. The hero's soul (shadow) could act upon the living, even before it was born. Kroeber describes such unborn souls as dwelling at Avikwame or playing at Aha'av'ulpo." (Side box, page 20).
"Kroeber does not hide his cultural bias against the Mohave. This is evident throughout his writings, but his attitude against Mohave spiritual healers is especially negative. He classifies them as 'shaman' and proclaims that "Shamanism is deeply stained by the beliefs that pervade all Mohave thought."
Kroeber (and many later American anthropologists who publicly expressed admiration for his work) often made statements of this type, denigrating native Californian religons in casual asides which were deeply offensive to the native peoples among whom they worked. To "stain" something means to soil, to bring shame upon, to dishonor it. Clearly, in using this term Kroeber intended to condemn Mohave spiritual healing as a shameful tradition (compared presumably to his Christian upbringing).
Careful readers of Kroeber need to be aware of the constant appearances of such cultural judgments in his writings. Making such judgments is necessary in studies of ethnology and can serve a positive purpose if it is done in an open discussion between people of different beliefs. But Kroeber and his colleagues were not on equal footing with the California Indians they studied. They were from a privileged social circle, while the Mohave intelligensia being interviewed by them were typically low income ad without an equal voice in American society. As a result, I believe that Kroeber paid a bitter price for his destain, which was the withdrawal of full cooperation from his 'informants.'
... Kroeber's writings about the Mohave seem tainted by an underlying frustration. I get the feeling that he was subconsciously frustrated over his inability to make full sense of the cultural materials he gathered among the Mohave. He appears to had been offended, moreover, by their stand-offishness and this brought out the worst in him. Thus his Mohave writings suffer more than usual from his long-standing obsession with physical objects and technology as a basic standard for judging native achievements.... Kroeber's attachment to the technological fallacy was not focused on the Mohave but was generalized throughout his writings. Thus he equally condemned the Yuman (southern neighbors of the Mohave) as inferior because they elevated dreaming as thoroughly and consistently as the Mohave." (footnote 69, page 32).
Tales For the Christmas Season is a 44 page booklet, staple bound, soft cover. It compares Kavasuk's narrative to related Chumash cultural hero stories, in the context of the Christmas holiday season. If you would like to order a personal copy or a book for your local library, send $7.30 to American Designs Publishing, Box 546, Kootenai Idaho, 83840.
Related Links
The Tejon Indians
The Chumash Indians
The Yokuts
Other books by J. Anderson