The food is typically offered when it is cool; it remains there for a while before humans can then eat it. The food is often placed within a "kwi", a calabash shell bowl. Once selected, the food is placed on special calabashes known as "assiettes de Guinée" which are located on the altar. Offerings not consumed by the celebrants are then often buried or left at a crossroads. Libations might be poured into the ground. Vodouists believe that the lwa then consume the essence of the food. Certain foods are also offered in the belief that they are intrinsically virtuous, such as grilled maize, peanuts, and cassava. These are sometimes sprinkled over animals that are about to be sacrificed or piled upon the "vèvè" designs on the floor of the "peristil".