The island is the spiritual center of the Wiyot universe. Tuluwat Island in the middle of Humboldt Bay on July 11, 2023. The singing and dancing continued through sunset. “ is trying to bring balance to our world, which is out of balance.” “They would jump on the ground and shake the ground so the bad spirits would go away and leave the good spirits,” Seidner said. The baby’s father, a Wiyot leader known as Captain Jim, likely led the ceremony that day, starting with a dance to heal and balance out the world. Their skirts sang as the abalone and clam shells adorning them rattled together.
They put on deer hides and headbands decorated with porcupine quills and eagle feathers. 25, the sixth day of the ceremony, Wiyot dancers woke up before sunrise.