This ceremony was called the Mourning Ceremony , which was held every two or three years. Ceremonies were also held for weddings, initiation of chiefs and for the coming of ages of boys and girls. Minor ceremonies were held for gathering of acorns and deer hunting. The mourning ceremony usually lasted a week . The Chumash Indians had special regalia to wear for ceremonial occasions.
Headdresses are among the best known of all California dance regalia.
Some headbands were decorated with shell beads as well. Initiation ceremonies were very important to the Chumash. The Initiation Ceremony was a rite of passage to initiate boys and girls at the age of twelve or thirteen years of age into adulthood. The young people were instructed on all the skills of their gender and taught the behaviors and attitudes that were appropriate. The vision quest was undertaken with the assistance of a shaman.