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We have here the companion volume of The Navaho reviewed on p. 259 of Volume XVI of this QUARTERLY. The authors tell us in the preface that this book is the result of the coöperative efforts of a staff of field workers and an advisory committee. The authors discuss many aspects of Navaho life and psychology with
a wealth of detail hitherto unknown for any primitive (or half-primitive) tribe.
That North American Indian tribes use the cradleboard, the average white person would regard as a psychological trauma, but the authors have much to say in its defense. After explaining its practical importance, they write:
'In addition there are important psychological advantages to cradling. Birth must be an unpleasant experience to the child as well as to the mother… The abrupt newness of this transition tends to be cushioned by the cradle. The cradle, like the womb, is a place where the movement is restricted, where support is always present and where changes resulting from movement or temperature fluctuation are minimized in their effect.' However on the next page the authors qualify this statement and comment on what may be looked upon as the traumatic character of the cradle. 'Perhaps the best judge of the cradling is the baby himself. There is evidence that during the first six months the protection of the cradle appeals strongly to the infant. Young babies will often try to be put back into their cradles and many of them do not sleep satisfactorily anywhere else. After about the sixth month, however, the infant apparently begins to feel the confinement a frustration, and will wail to be released.' Therefore we must regard the cradle as also traumatic. Perhaps it explains certain aspects of Navaho psychology, notably their passivity which in certain situations is an 'ironical obedience' to the cradleboard. These traits are described by the authors as personal withdrawal. 'Just as the Navaho child in a strange situation will sit tight (making no effort to g