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d'Elaine Johnson {The Art of Myth & Lore}
921 - Whale Calling
The Nootka chief of the Pacific led a powerful ritual called the "whale calling ceremony". It consisted of vigils and chants at a secret shrine where the chief and closest kinsmen gathered around the image of a whale.
After such a ritual, if a whale drifted upon the shore, it was believed that this was induced through magic. The whale was welcomed with all the ceremony proper to an honored guest.
H. 87" W. 39 1/4"
Woodcock, George. Peoples of the Coast: The Indians of the Pacific Northwest. Indiana University Press, 1977. p. 120.
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