Jiukiukwe

The Jiukiukwe Indians are a fictional primitive tribe invented by Richard Mitchell for his book Less Than Words Can Say. They are intended to provide one example, in CONTRAST to the Manhassetites, of his thesis on how the structure of a language shapes and is shaped by our view of the world. He introduces the tribe as follows:

The Jiukiukwe Indians live in some swamps near the headwaters of the Orinoco. They are the most primitive people on the face of the earth, and their homeland is so isolated and dismal and totally lacking in anything of value that they will never be discovered by civilized men.

He goes on to describe them as utterly lacking in technology, even the most basic tools such as fire and knots, yet having a complex language with a rich vocabulary for the important subjects of their isolated existence. In their language ACTIVE voice is typically used only for the actions of animals and inanimate objects, because "doing is properly the business of the things in the world around them." The Jiukiukwe refer to themselves in passive voice, as their perception is that they are, "it not always an unaffected bystander, at least no more than accidentally related to what happens in the world."

Because of the nature of their language, Mitchell posits, the Jiukiukwe are destined to never develop even rudimentary technology since doing so means recognizing that they are in fact doers of DEEDS to the world. The one benefit they gain from this is a lack of warfare, envy and competitiveness because these arise from, "the willful deeds of agents."

In contrast the Manhassetites serve to represent modern society and how our language shapes a distinctly different world view, one in which people are The Primary shapers of the events of the world.