Known as Heya’tlik in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, the beings these masks represent are powerful spirits that have influence over the affairs of humans. Performances of the lightning serpent are undertaken by ‘twin’ dancers wearing nearly identical masks made as a pair. Their movements are rhythmic and swift, stepping and turning in a half-crouch that is always moving, criss-crossing the floor of the dance house. The mask is worn at a distinct upward angle, turning from side to side as if searching, turning one way and then the other in non-stop movements.

This is a prestigious dance mask, owned and performed by high-ranking families that have held this long-standing privilege for generations. This example, made of split boards, is hand-smoothed and painted in typically Nuu-chah-nulth colors, the two boards fastened together to form a narrow V. The boards are smoothed down thin to lighten the mask and facilitate the dancer’s movements. Within the mask, bundles of flexible fibers are tied in place. Once longer, these bundles have become shorter over time, their flexibility having lessened with age and wear.

Steven C. Brown