d'Elaine Johnson {The Art of Myth & Lore}

921 -  Whale Calling                                          

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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. 

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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. 

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                                 H. 87" W. 39 1/4"

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Woodcock, George.  Peoples of the Coast: The Indians of the Pacific Northwest.  Indiana University Press, 1977.  p. 120.