PSYCHOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES AS A FUNCTION OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

Wallace]

MODAL PERSONALITY

OF

TUSCARORA

INDIANS

107

structureofthe Iroquois (of

which

theTuscaroraareonetribe)

would on

examination closely resemble that of the Berens River Ojibwa.

Both

Dr.

Fenton and

Dr.Hallowellpredicted that acertainuniformity (butnot completeidentity)

would

be discovered,

and

Dr.

Fenton

intro- duced

some

recollections ofpersonal experience intohis

own

remarks, tending to

show

the existence of

common

personality traits, particu- larly,aninhibitionof aggression

which was

verysimilartothat of the

Ojibwa

(Hallowell, 1946; Fenton, 1948). This study has indicated that a

common

core of personalitytraits is

common

to both peoples.

But

it

would

seem that the differences are

somewhat more

extensive than

had

beenanticipated, althoughinadirection

adumbrated by

Dr.

Fenton. Thesedifferencesaremanifestly congruent withthe obvious

108 BUREAU

OF

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[Bull. 150 for himself, so to speak.^^

In

thefall, the separate families trek into thebushto theirwintercamps,

where

they remain untiltheicebreaks in the spring.

In summertime,

several families

may

set

up

their separate

summer camps

on the shores of the

same

lake,

and

dancing

and

conjuring, as well as a timid desire for social intercourse,

may

temporarilyproduceawiderunity.

But

thesocialstructureissimple

and

the individual depends comparatively little

upon

it for support.

The

Tuscarora culture in contrastis cooperative, even organismic.

The community

is geographically circumscribed

and

is

permanent

the year round; face-to-face relationships with

hundreds

of people are normal.

The

individual depends

upon

his

membership

in social institutions toprovide

him

with satisfactions. Families do not live alone; they are part of a

community. The

National

Land

is

com- munally owned,

not split

up

into private hunting territories.

The

rule is, "If

you

help me, I will help you," rather than, "I can take care of myself." Agriculture

and wage work imply

constant

and

necessarysocial interaction.

On

the other hand, Tuscarora agriculture

and wage work

permit a

much

higher standard of living (by

Western norms)

with con- siderably

more

leisure time, especially for the

men;

this

was

true in the old days as well as now.

The

economic surplus produced

by

agriculture (a feminine responsibility)

made

possible for the

men

the familiar Iroquoian pattern of

male

exploitation of the

"forest" world, inhunting, war, the furtrade,

and

diplomatic nego- tiation.

He

could get along without a too-strict regimentation of hisemotionalreactions,

by

useof the stereotype

and

thecliche,

and

of the forest world, both of

which

provided avenues for the expression of affect.

The

Ojibwa,

on

the other hand,

was

faced with a con- tinually pressing

environment which

necessitated careful

and

con- tinuous attention to details of the subsistence economy,

which

de-

manded

close cooperation

by

family groups.

Unable

to

wear

the rose-colored glasses of cliche

and

stereotype, unable to leave his comrades, he

had

to face the realities; therefore, he

was more

cir-

cumspect

and

guarded.

At some

time in the not too remote past, the Tuscarora

and

the

Ojibwa

probably

were

very similar culturally. If one does not try to weight items

by

their importance, there is very little in

Ojibwa

that cannot be duplicated, even if in attenuated form, at Tuscarora.

Eelics of the aboriginal material culture, the mythology, thesib sys- tem, ethics, games, the guardian-spirit concept,

dreams

as auguries, witchcraft . . . thelist isendless

and

convincing ofa pastclose sim- ilarity.

But

the Tuscarora have

added

the whole village-agricul- w_The individualism of the Ojibwa may bereflected in the fact that they seem to be, as agroup, less homogeneous in personality (only 28.4 percent of the Ojibwarecords fall into the Ojibwa modal class, as compared with the 37.2 percent of Tuscarora records whichfallintoth«Tuscaroramodalclass).

Wallace]

MODAL PERSONALITY OF TUSCARORA

_INDIANS

109

tural-political superstructure,

which

has completely

changed

the weightingof culturalitems.

For

instance,informantswill tell about the guardian spirit in formal terms

which

are very close to those recorded for Ojibwa; but

no

one really counts very

much on

the guardian spirit,

and most

people get along very well without one.

Why depend on

a guardian spirit

when

one can

depend on

people?

Dreams

likewise are auguriesat Tuscarora; butthe auguries are dis-

regarded in favor of

group

decision. People hunt, but not for a living;the land, orafactoryjob,brings

them

theirfood.

The

cultural differences, in their summation,

have

a

meaning

for personality

which

isprecisely inagreement withtheRorschach mate-

rial.

The Ojibwa

culture does not provide regularized stereotypes of

dependency and

hostility;

and

the personality structure displays a high capacity for self-dependence, self-reliance, self-control

—

indeed, the

Ojibwa

personality's only effective

means

of handling its

own

impulses is rigidly to confine thought

and

behavior to isolated, mechanical, but pressing details of daily existence

which

promise

minimal

satisfactions.

The

Tuscarora culture provides extensive if stereotyped techniques for interpersonal

dependency and

frequent interaction; these stereotypes, although

an

expression of underlying anxiety, permit relating the self to other people in a dependent or hostileway.

It

must

be

remembered

that these general statements apply only tothe

modal

personality structure.

Each

society produces personali- ties

which would

presumablybe

more

representative of the otherthan oftheirown.

There

areTuscarora

whose

Rorschachslooksliketypi- cal

Ojibwa

records;

and

vice versa.

There

are also various deviant personality types ineachsociety,

who manage

toget along verywell, although sometimes

by

playing a rather specialized role. Further- more, each society's behavior patterns are

much more

variable than ethnographic

summaries

indicate;

and

while a certain

mode

of be- havior

may

notseem representative

enough

to the careful ethnogra- pherto justify itsinclusion asan alternativecultural trait, it

may

be used regularly

by an

individual.

One

^{further point}

may

be made. It

may

be suggested as pos- sible that the differences evident between Tuscarora

and Ojibwa modal

personality are a function, not of their separatecultures, but ofdiffering levels ofacculturation.

The argument

generally implies that both aboriginal Indian societies were similar in personality, al-

though

different in culture,

and

that the differences are

due

to varying levels of acculturation.

The

implication is not easy to de- fend, since it assumes a lack of correlation between personality

and

cultureinthe aboriginalstate,butaveryclose correlationasaccultur- ation proceeds.

On

the otherhand,ifthe

modal

typeswereoriginally radicallydifferent,underacculturationtothe

same

culture,personality

110 BUREAU

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[Bcli-.150 structure should

become more

^similar.

While White

culture in the Berens River district is undoubtedly different in detail, particularly in detailsof material^culture,

from

theneighborhoodofNiagaraFalls, N. Y., these

two White

subcultures are probably

more

alike thanthe aboriginal cultures of the Tuscarora

and

Ojibwa.

The

differences

now

obtainingbetween Tuscarora

and

Ojibwa,therefore,areprobably

due

to the remaining elements of aboriginal patterns, rather than to

newly

introduced

White

patterns.

Both

the writer

and

Dr. Hal- lowellhave, furthermore, produced evidenceto

show

thatthe person- ality structure in aboriginal times

was

in

many

respects very similar tothat revealed

by

theRorschachtoday. (Hallowell, 1946; Wallace, 1951).

In conclusion,

we may remind

ourselves that the problems of per- sonality

and

culture are almost terrifying in their complexity.

The

national characters of

two

small societies

have

been here analyzed

and compared

^{; the task}has required almost as

much

conceptual for- mulation asmanipulationof actual data.

The

^writer hopes that the techniquesadoptedherewillbe

found

useful

by

othei's,

and

thatitwill be

commended

asaworkable

manner

ofapproachto

some

problemsof national characterstudies.

But

heisonlytoo acutely

aware

that,even within the confines of Tuscarora society, only a beginning has been made.

Among

other things, a fuller ethnography,

and

a case-by- case analysis of all Tuscarora psychological materials are needed.

He

hopesthat

some day

he, or others, will be able to complete these tasksinthestudyofTuscaroranational character.

Wallace]

MODAL PERSONALITY

OF

TUSCARORA

INDIANS 111

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