The initiation ceremony into a Palo praise house is known as a rayamiento ("cutting"). The ceremony is usually timed to occur on the night of a waxing moon, performed when the moon reaches its fullest light, due to a belief that the moon's potential grows in tandem with that of the dead. It will take place in the el Cuarto de religión ("the room of religion"), also known as el Cuarto ("the room"). The rayamiento ceremony involves an animal sacrifice; two cockerels are required, although sometimes additional animals will be killed to feed the nganga.
