Seven Mohave Myths

Appendix I: Mohave Directional Circuits

These seven stories contain mentions of eight or nine directional circuits, as per the list. Four of these circuits are sunwise; five, if a half-circuit be included, run counter-sunwise. Three begin with north; three with west; one with south; one with east; one with southwest. None of the circuits has color associations; such do occur in other tales, but they seem to be as variable as the directions and starting points are variable here.

Myth	Paragraph	Footnote	Direction	Begin	End	Reference
Cane	81	71	Counter	N	E	Dive to become beautiful (Ct. n. 72)
Nyohaiva	34	65	Counter	S	W	Create wand magically
Raven	4	10	Sunwise	W	S	Create gourd magically
Raven	30	27	Counter	E	S	Walk before transforming
Deer	5	13	Counter	W	N	Look about
Deer	22	39	Sunwise	W	S	4 actual mountains cited
Mastamho	37	58	Sunwise	SW	SE	4 kinds of seeds planted
Mastamho	75	105	Counter	N	S	Half circuit, withdrawal
Mastamho	85	127	Sunwise	N	W	Dancers’ lines face

There are also cases of the directions being named in opposite pairs instead of in a circuit. Thus in Cane, ^I, 7b, 11b, 15, 17b, girls are obtained successively from W, E (as wives for the younger brother), N, S (for the older). The cages of the girls’ birds are twisted, successively, of red and white, red and blue, (unstated), and red and blue cloth. In Mastamho, paragraphs 49-50, the direction names are taught in the order: N, S, W, E.

It is evident that the Mohave like the formalism of four times, of cardinal directions, and often of a circuit; but that, especially as compared with Hopi, Zuni, and Navaho, they are untrammeled as to turn, start, end, color, or other associations. This is evidently because they wholly lack strict rituals such as these other southwestern tribes have developed so abundantly with manipulations, altars, cult objects, schematized songs, fetishes, and priests.