Tshimshian legend tells of five different villages of Salmon people. This corresponds with the five different varieties of Salmon. The villages were spread around the edge of the ocean. In the early spring, one village at a time, the people would transform into Salmon. They would then swim across the ocean and up the rivers to spawn. The bones of the first Salmon caught every year by native people are either burned, as on the far Northwest Coast, or buried so that the Salmon Spirit will return. Salmon bones are believed to find their way back to the villages of the Salmon People where the first Salmon will become whole again. The renewal ceremony would be celebrated each year in a never-ending life cycle. This assures a plentiful supply of Salmon for the future. Salmon Spirit symbolizes fertility, immortality and wealth.