While whaling provided the Nuu-chah-nulth nations with an important source of food and blubber - which could be rendered into oil - it also played an important role in social life as well. The chief would lead a whale hunting party that was made up of other prominent members of the community. The traditional whaling practices of the fourteen different Nuu-chah-nulth nations vary as each community has their own distinct traditions, ceremonies, and rituals. Some simplified examples of Nuu-chah-nulth whaling traditions include ceremonial bathing, abstinence, prayer, and ceremony which were to be performed before and after the hunt. These rituals were performed by the chief leading the hunt as well as his wife; the ceremonies were seen as a key factor in determining the outcome of the hunt. Social status didn’t just affect who was allowed to join the whaling hunt, it also affected the distribution of the whales’ meat and the blubber.