A few splashes of tequila, a hesitant rooster, a little incense and some prayers rounded out the preparations for what will likely be the signature act of the inaugural Richmond Folk Festival.

Sunrise along the James River was the setting Thursday as a small crowd gathered to watch two members of Tezcatlipoca Voladores, a Mayan Indian group, go through the ritual of blessing a 90-foot pole before it was mounted in the ground for their Folk Festival act.

The high-flying group performs an ancient Mayan ritual known as the sundance, in which some of them leap from the top of the pole and swing slowly to the ground in circles with ropes tied to their ankles. Another stays atop the pole, perched on a wooden platform of slightly more than 1 square foot, and dances.

If that sounds daunting -- it is.

"You've got to keep your balance," Apolinar Simbron said with a shrug and a smile.

Simbron, who has been dancing atop poles for 35 of his 47 years, was one of two members of the group to conduct Thursday's ceremony.

Before contractors positioned the pole in a 12-foot hole at the southwestern tip of NewMarket Corp.'s property along Second Street in downtown Richmond, just down the hill from the Virginia War Memorial, Simbron and David Garcia used a length of cord to lower a cackling rooster into the opening.

The rooster was in the hole just long enough for the men to sprinkle some El Toro tequila onto the soil -- honoring the Mayan tradition of trying to make sure the hole would have enough food and drink to keep the dancers and fliers safe.

The two men then placed the rooster and some tequila on several spots along the pole, once again in a bid to guarantee their safety.

Garcia played a song on a bamboo flute while Simbron burned some incense, with the smoke rising to protect the spirits of the airborne performers.

In a few minutes, the ceremony was over, and the rooster, which festival organizers had purchased for $7 from a Powhatan County farm, was on its way to back to its home in the country as the pole was being cemented into place for the weekend.

Simbron had a message for anyone who might be interested in coming to see the highly acclaimed group's breathtaking performances, the first of which is scheduled for Friday night at 6:50.

"Bring your family," he said, "and bring your camera." Contact Joe Macenka at (804) 649-6804 or jmacenka@timesdispatch.com.