Wild Man Syndrome: A Behavioral Disorder, A Mental Illness, or Self Expression? (Blog 3) 9/23/11

Source: http://www.jstor.org/stable/669077 (Wild Man Behavior in New Guinea Highlands Community)

Relation to the text: Robbins pgs. 49-50

Many Cultures exhibit unique explanations for abnormalities in day to day behavior. What ours might say is the root of a psychological problem, another may explain with witchcraft, or genetic disorders. Believing what is true, and which science is most accurate, is really a matter of which culture and consensus you ascribe your beliefs to. Also, what we may consider abnormal or disruptive behavior, another culture could see as a form of self-expression. Susto, the South American belief that depression is linked to a soul beaing torn from the body (Robbins pg.48), is an example of differing interpretations of behavioral disorders. To elaborate the ambiguous nature of uncontrolled illnesses, self-perpetuated disorders, and self-expression, I will highlight the case of the Gururumba Wild Man Syndrome.

The Gururumba tribe of New Guinea have a strange problem, one that associates itself mostly to young men. Every so often a person will rob various households of objects that hold little value, take them into the forest for several days, and then return amnesiac of it all. They call this "ahaDe idzi Be" meaning "to be a wild pig". Essentially there is no cure, other than for the wild phase to end, generally after the "wild man" leaves the forest and returns to civilization.  The cause is unknown, though a psychologist or neurologist from the States might say something about a neurotransmitter deficiency due to a noticeable decrease in mental activity and cognition.  But is the root of this problem related to a person's mental well-being, or is it a question of self-expression? The concept of a "wild" man is a man who's broken away from his societal roots. So perhaps "Wild Man" syndrome is something more along the lines of self-expression, about a growing discontentment with a society as a whole. New Guinea is still a struggling country, policed by foreign peace officers. Perhaps there is enough negativity there to spark outbursts of wild activity.We have the same thing in America, but we have many names for our Wild Men. Transients, anarchists, drug-abusers. Anyone who seeks to break away from their box is, by our definition, wild. College students, are, in many ways wild men and women in their own respect. They spend their weekdays in contemporary society, studying, testing, and socializing, but when the weekend comes they break out of their societal chains and partake in less-than-contemporary activities. My point is: Illnesses can be interpreted differently from many different standpoints, as the definition and constitution of what an illness is, is entirely subjective.