"Tomols" were so useful as to give rise to a new class in Chumash society: a guild known as the 'Brotherhood of the Canoe' which was "responsible for the construction of each new tomol, its boat-building knowledge handed down through the generation from senior craftsman to apprentice." Only male members of leading families were allowed to own "tomol". Grizzly or black bearskin identified the owners. When carefully maintained, the boats could last for decades and were passed down from one generation to the next.