Initiation rite explained to Seeran anthropologist by a Bayais elder

It is a place of honour.

At dawn walk north without cease. By sunfall you will see the blue tomb shining in the distance. The stairs coil out over the river. You cannot miss them. Descend.

It is a place of honor. But you cannot stay the night: If you do, the burial ground will swallow you. If you are to survive into manhood, you must perform the ritual quickly. You must reach the bottom of the stairs. You must reach the sleeping chamber of the little sun. Do not look inside the hole and risk disturbing His slumber. Someday He will be reborn and usurp the big sun. But not yet.

You will see dust swirling and glowing throughout the room. These are your great grandfathers who protect you from the invaders of the south. Honor them with your spit. Say the words asking for their blessing (I cannot tell you these, they are sacred to our village). Then you must leave quickly. Do not tarry. Know that when the little sun awakens, He will bring them back to life. 

Your judgment has begun. When you return home, you will enter the sickness of judgment. You will struggle in the spirit world for weeks. If you are not worthy, the sickness of judgment will eat your body from the inside out. Then your soul will be trapped in the spirit world until the little sun’s return. But if you survive, you will enter manhood. Your ancestors will have judged you well. 

Before the long winter, we know the boys of the village swallowed pills to help them find the underworld. Now we do not need the pills. Now we have the true underworld. 

This ends my series of myths (most of which are from the novel I’m writing). The next set will be silly stories. I hope you enjoy!