Guide Rudy Neal entering Actun Tunichil Muknal ("Cave of the Stone Sepulcher), one of the many sacred Maya caves in western Belize where priests performed ritual sacrifices. The Maya underworld is known as Xibalba and has nine layers with nine gods ruling each layer. The newly dead need to pass tests at each layer before rising to the astral heavens through the stalactites (believed to be the sacred roots of the ceiba trees). |