Cakalele dance is a traditional, mystical war dance from Northern and Central Maluku, usually performed by about 30 male and female dancers. The males dance with big machetes on their right hands and long-shaped shields, or salawaku's, on their left; while the females holding handkerchiefs, or lenso's, on both hands. Some times the dancers are in trance, possessed by so-called "spirits of the ancestors". Today it is mostly performed for welcoming honored guests.