The Aztec Ballgame where the Losers were Sacrificed

Summary

The Mesoamerican ball game, dating back to 1600 BC, was a significant cultural and political event among civilizations like the Mayans and Aztecs. Played with a heavy rubber ball, it was a brutal sport with various rules and scoring methods, including shooting the ball through high hoops. The game was not only a sport but also a ritual, with losing players sometimes sacrificed to the gods. Despite the Spanish conquest, the game survives today as 'ulama' or 'pok-ta-pok', reflecting the enduring legacy of Mesoamerican culture.

Takeaways

• 🏟️ The Mesoamerican ball game, known as oyamalitsli by the Aztecs and pizz by the Mayans, dates back to 1600 BC and was played by civilizations like the Mayas and Aztecs.
• 🌍 The game's origins are likely from the tropical regions of modern-day Mexico and Guatemala, where rubber trees are native.
• 🏛️ Over 1,000 archaeological remains of ball courts have been found near the main temples of ancient cities, indicating the game's civic and political importance.
• 🏐 The game was played with a heavy rubber ball, weighing up to six and a half pounds, made from latex sap mixed with the vine of a morning glory.
• 🏃‍♂️ Teams consisted of two to four players, who used their hips and posterior to keep the ball in play, with the use of hands being penalized.
• 🏁 Scoring involved keeping the ball in the air, hitting it out of bounds, or shooting it through the small rings fixed on the central walls.
• 🎭 The game was a significant civic spectacle, with courts elaborately decorated and games used for political means, such as settling disputes.
• 🔮 The ball game was deeply intertwined with religious beliefs, symbolizing combat between life and death, or good versus evil, and was associated with fertility and rebirth.
• ⚔️ In some cases, the losing team or even the winning team were sacrificed, with the game possibly held during equinoxes to honor the gods of the sun, rain, agriculture, and fertility.
• 📉 With the Spanish conquest, the game's popularity declined due to being seen as barbaric, but it has survived in indigenous communities as ulama or pok-ta-pok.

Q & A

What is the Mesoamerican ball game?

The Mesoamerican ball game is an ancient sport dating back to 1600 BC, played by most pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican civilizations, particularly the Mayas and Aztecs. It has known many variations and ritual functions over the centuries.

What are some of the names the Mesoamerican ball game has been known by?

The Aztecs called it 'oyamalitsli', the Mayans called it 'pitz', and the Spanish referred to it as 'el juego de pelota mesoamericano', meaning the Mesoamerican ball game.

What materials were used to make the heavy rubber ball used in the game?

The ball was made from a resilient rubber formed by mixing latex sap from lowland rubber trees with the vine of an American species of morning glory.

How were the ball courts typically designed?

The courts were commonly built in a capital 'I' shape, with the central alley flanked by two high walls, and were usually near the city's main temples, indicating the game's civic and political importance.

What was the significance of the ball game to Mesoamerican civilizations?

The ball game was socially, politically, and religiously important, used for various political means, including settling disputes between clans, and was a great civic spectacle.

How were the players dressed during the game, and what kind of protective gear did they use?

Players often wore deerskin loin cloths and skirts, with leather hip guards, and wooden padding for the knees, chest, and arms. Helmets were also used, depending on the era and civilization.

What were the common ways of scoring points in the game?

Scoring points could be achieved by failure to return the ball, hitting it out of bounds, making it land in the opponent's end zone, hitting certain markers on the court, or shooting the ball through the raised rings on the central walls.

What was the significance of the ball game in Mesoamerican mythology?

In Mayan mythology, the ball game was depicted as a combat between the gods of death and affliction against their earthly adversaries, symbolizing a duel between life and death, or good versus evil.

How did the Spanish conquest impact the Mesoamerican ball game?

The widespread adoption of the game suffered a gradual decline due to the Spanish conquest, as the new masters saw it as barbaric, leading to its eventual decline.

What is the modern version of the Mesoamerican ball game called, and how has it changed?

Today, the game is known as 'ulama' or 'pok-ta-pok' and has survived in various indigenous communities of Mexico. The courts are more modest, and the game's outcome is less bloody, but it has kept many of its original characteristics.