Calnis is a supernatural being of the Pomo who dwells in human form at the eastern end of the world, the counterpart of the healer Guksu of the south, alongside whom he appears in the guksu ceremonies (Barrett 1917; Loeb 1926). Unlike the curative Guksu, to whom the doctors prayed, Calnis was reckoned testy: he pursued people and tripped them up. His impersonators in the dance painted themselves entirely black, carried a black staff, and wore a cape of feathers over the face, in contrast to the red-striped, long-nosed guksu dancers (Barrett 1917; Loeb 1932).
Barrett, S. A. (1917). Ceremonies of the Pomo Indians. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 12(10): 397–441. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Loeb, Edwin M. (1926). Pomo Folkways. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 19(2): 149–405. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Loeb, Edwin M. (1932). The Western Kuksu Cult. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 33(1): 1–137. Berkeley: University of California Press.