Iicha'AA

Iich’aa is a Navajo culture-specific syndrome which is characterized by violent rage which may involve a murderous frenzy. Other symptoms include anxiety, convulsions, and loss of self-control. This term is translated as “moth craziness” and is supposedly due to the growth of a moth in the space within the skull. This psychosomatic illness is believed to be caused by incestuous behavior. The cure is “Mothway”, a ceremony which makes the affected individual vomit the moth.