Tsonokwa (Dzunuḵ̓wa) or the Wild Woman of the Woods is a high-ranking chief crest that is often hand held by an orator speaking for the chief, and using the mask to represent the captured knowledge of the forest and to voice the intentions of the chief hosting the potlatch. For this same reason, she is frequently represented as a prominent bottom figure on totem poles and large-scale feast dishes. Tsonokwa is also described as a large cumbersome, child stealing monster that dwells in the forest and would look for stray children on the periphery of the village. The masks can be the size of a human face to be handheld, or oversized to represent the scale of Tsonokwa as a large forest dwelling creature during ceremonies.

Gary Wyatt