Long ago when spirits roamed the earth in human form, four hunters trekked deep into the forest in search of mountain goats. Pausing to rest in an abandoned hut, they heard an eerie whistling sound. Suddenly a giant strode in, the terrifying Cannibal-at-the-North-End-of-the-World, his red eyes gleamed hungrily. At his heels, with a great flapping wings, came his flock of carnivorous birds: Hokhokw, who cracked open skulls to eat people's brains; Raven, who plucked out eyes; and Crooked Beak of Heaven, who drove men mad. Together they represented the darkest forces of uncontrolled human desire.

The hunters barely escaped with their lives. But in fleeing, they took with them the secrets of the cannibal's power, including his masks, whistles, cedar-bark apron, dances, and sacred songs. Back in their village, they reenacted their ordeal-to the horror and delight of their countrymen. So began the annual rite of the Hamatsa Dance, the most venerated of Kwakiutl winter ceremonies.

Only the highest ranking Kwakiutls joined the Hamasta Society, but other dance groups played equally vital roles. The Grizzly Bears kept order at potlatches, enforcing protocol and punishing ceremonial lapses. So did the droopy-nosed Nutlamatls, or Fool Dancers-who also created their own special mayhem, darting about among the guests, upsetting furniture and tossing stones. Some figures embodied both good and evil. the two-headed serpent Sisiutl brought wealth and power to her favorites yet with a single glace could turn enemies into stone. Open-mouthed, wild-maned Dzonokwa ate babies but also made people rich. Each powerful being harked back to some ancestral myth, and as they danced the ancient rites, the untamed passions of man and nature came slowly under control.