A Mayan Ceremony

I was invited to a Mayan ceremony/ritual by the owner of my school. My teacher and I both went and it was the first time for both of us. It was quite the experience. First, we hiked a little ways through the hills to find a stone altar. There were about 20 people with us and these altars which are made specifically for different types of Mayan ceremonies. They decorated the altar which also had a cross, with flowers, and food including chocolate, bread and a type of traditional rice drink. Next they formed a large circle with pieces of wood and some type of material that would burn. The circle was filled with some food, gum, they sprinkled sugar, placed more chocolate and bread on top to form a small pile. Around the outside were different colors of flowers representing different elements of the earth. The final thing before they set it all on fire was the lamb. Yep, I witnessed my first animal sacrifice. I won't go into detail, but it was alive when they started, cut into pieces, placed on the pile and finally burned with the rest of the things. While the large fire was burning there were lots of types of prayers and petitions and the lady who I came with had to walk/dance around the fire 13 times. It was a ceremony for her because she was being given the gift/job of becoming a shaman of sorts. At one point she had to hold the head of the sheep and later its heart, but I'm not sure what meaning this part had. People threw different colored candles into the fire, sugar, alcohol all representing a different type of petition I think as the leader instructed/prayed. The ceremony lasted about 3 hours total until everything had burned and then we had a snack afterwards. It was definitely a new experience for me and something I didn't not expect, but I was glad I had the opportunity. Chalk it up to a new cultural experience. Mayan Ritual. Check.