The ritual in order to become a chief has been studied by 18th-century Spaniards. They have stated that a selection starts from many candidates and each is injured by a comb created from the spines of a sea fish, long wounds being dug into their skin from the top of their head to the soles of their feet and then tied to a pole for several days to either emerge thin or emaciated and close to death. While this description can indeed be a ritual to choose a chief, a diary of Fray Gaspar Jose De Solis states that he suspects these rituals could simply be a puberty rite or an initiation ritual to a brotherhood.