Masks worn in the taming of the hamatsa vary widely in size. At just over one foot in length, this crooked beak mask is among the smaller masks. It may be an example of a type called heyhliwey, a small forehead mask worn by the hamatsa himself or his female attendant during his last, tame dance. However, because the jaw is hinged and controlled with a cord suggests that it was intended to be used in the humsumala or cannibal mask dance. The short snout, simple painting, and the form of the nostril are characteristic of hamatsa masks made around the turn of the century. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Tall, completely sculptured poles were almost entirely a development of the early twentieth century. Before that time most Kwakwaka'wakw totemic monuments were either interior house posts or single figures of birds, animals, and mythical beings perched on the house gables or on tall, plain masts. This carving of an eagle is of the latter kind. The outspread wings are separate attached pieces, as is characteristic of many large Kwakwaka'wakw sculputured figures. From the character of this painting and of the sculptural form, the piece can be attributed to Arthur Shaughnessy, a prominent carver and contemporary of artists Mungo Martin and Willie Seaweed. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This painted face mask may be used in the Gyidakhanis dance. The eyesockets are painted green, and there is formline painting on the cheeks and forehead. The eyebrows, eyes, and mustache are black and nostrils and lips red. Part of the background is painted white. The lips are rounded and slightly open, suggesting an animation in keeping with the movements of the dance. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Two pieces of mountain goat horn have been joined with a single copper rivet to form this old spoon. The figures carved on the handle appear to be a killer whale with a man's face on the dorsal fin, a raven, and a bear. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

To residents of the Northwest Coast, and particularly those in the habit of travelling the waterways of the area in small boats, no native creature is more impressive than the killer whale. It is small wonder that native mythology and art are full of references to him. This killer whale back mask has the ability of transforming itself from a single- to a double-finned creature by the manipulation of strings located inside the mask. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was one of a set of six purchased by Sidney Gerber from its native owner in Blunden Harbor, B. C. It has been repainted white over an older painting and has black eyes, eyebrows, and mustache, with traces of red around the nostrils. Masks were often repainted, either to brighten them up after use had dulled the colors or to change the character of the mask, as appears to be the case here. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Forehead masks of this type leave the dancer's face exposed. Sometimes during the dance the blanket is raised with the forearms to cover the face, allowing the mask to peer over the blanket and heightening the illusion of a bird or animal. This mask is carved of red cedar and is very light in weight. The painting is in the usual colors--black eyebrows, eye detail, and beak; red lips, nostrils, and cheek detail; green eyesockets; and white in various lines and negative areas. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This well-finished hamatsa whistle depends for its decoration upon a single color change from the natural wood mouthpiece to dark brown or black painting over the remaining surface, and sensitive shifts from sharp to rounded corners of its square cross section. The three pieces of hardwood, perhaps yew, are fastened together with four tight bindings of commercial seine twine (one of which is missing), which themselves become a part of the decoration. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

Whistles, such as this two-toned one, are secretly blown during the Tseyka to signal the first approach of a Hamatsa dancer who is possessed by the Cannibal Spirit. Horns were used in the Tlasula, after the disappearance of the initiate dancer, to announce his or her return in the guise of a supernatural being.