A naknok mask represents a spirit with supernatural powers. The spirit can be recognized by certain physical and personal features. Some spirits are foreigners: white people or members of other tribes. The dancer is portraying the spirit that is transferring its name to the new owner. In the dramatic dance the spirit reveals its power: he can bring the dead to life or cause the heavens to crack open. Woodcarvers make special masks and marionettes with movable parts for this dance. Also special dance houses are built, half of a dance house rests on a movable foundation. At the moment when the 'heavens crack open' this movable part is pulled away and the dance house opens up, to the audience's amazement and dismay. The woodcarvers and builders of the dance houses are organized in a secret society, Gitsonk. Its members enjoy a high status.