POK-TA-POK
MAYAN Isabel Barbachano, Art Historian Hacienda Chichen
www.haciendachichen.com
B E COSMIC
BALL GAME
DID YOU KNOW? The Pok-Ta-Pok Court or Ball Game Court at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico, is the largest found in Mesoamerica, the playing field measuring almost 100 meters long by 32 meters wide; the stone carvings in each side of its vast court walls have been studied by Sr. Merle Greene R. who recorded all the intricate design details in a series of Mayan Rubbings, currently found at Tulane University, and a small rubbing she donated to the Hacienda Chichen Resort’s Merle Greene Museum and Art-Gallery, located a few steps from Chichen Itza’s archeological entrance.
The Quiché Mayas book of wisdom and prophecies, the Popol Vuh, tells us of a sacrificial sacred ritual, the Pok-Ta-Pok ceremony that reenacts the Maya “creation” theme within a sacrificial ceremony of confrontation between good and evil. Throughout pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica history this ancestral Mayan sacred cosmic ceremony, or Cosmic Ballgame, has played a sacred and important role in the Maya culture, always taking the form of a sacrifice ritual and recreating the struggle between opposing forces. The Mayan ballgame celebration is recorded to have been performed since 1,000 B.CCThe outcome of this sacrificial ritual of honor was believed to involve mystical supernatural powers infusing human skills with cosmic forces, and offering human blood for the renewal of life itself. In the Maya culture, the Pok-Ta-Pok ceremony of ballgame was a cosmic ceremony associated with human sacrifice; scholars believe that human sacrifices were most often carried out on special religious times and political occasions. The practice of human sacrifice was common in pre-Hispanic Maya culture and it is believed to have served by rulers to control and empower their political gains as much as to serve as religious offerings to the Maya gods to ensure prosperity and survival. Further evidence of the ballgame's ties with human sacrifice and cosmic symbolic confrontation are found in various carvings of Chichen Itza ballgame court’s walls; such carvings are clearly depicting a ceremonial human sacrifice theme with decapitated ball player’s bodies and entwined snakes emerging from the headless neck as a symbol of blood and renewal of life. Many westerns think that the loosing players team were the ones sacrificed after the ballgame, but such notion only speaks of our current western society’s fear of death rather than the honor bestowed in other societies to giving one’s life for the good of all; thus, it is very likely that the winner had the honor of a sacrificial death as an offering to their ancient Maya gods, generally such sacrificial death was by decapitation and it is most likely to have been viewed as an honorable death - a savior and life giving offering for the entire community.
The religious aspects of the Maya ballgames or Pok-Ta-Pok ceremonies, many Maya scholars believe, were intimately related to the esoteric connection of mankind with the gods’ creative powers; the game symbolize a divine struggle of good and evil forces. It is widely accepted by scholars today that the religious function of the Maya ballgame blend ancient holy advents and commemorate special events within ancient Maya societies. As a cosmic sacrificial ceremony, the Maya ballgame Pok-Ta-Pok is closely related to ancient Maya mythology’s Hero Twins and Xibalba (the Mayan underworld home to Maya ancient gods and lords). It is important to note that most of the pre-Columbian ballgame information is tinted with western scholars and observers’ own ideas about sacrifice and human values. It is believed by some scholars that ancient Mayan ballgame ceremonies could have also had political significance, throughout Mesoamerica during the pre-Colonial times, and served as a powerful battlefield for rival groups or cities to confront each other. In such cases, the sacrifice of the Mayan ballgame players losing team makes sense and probably served as an honorable, non-military way to gain the satisfaction of conquering an enemy without engaging them in warfare. In any event, the Mayan ballgame player Team Captain that was sacrificed is unknown, but the writer of this article firmly believes that reason points to the winning Team Captain to be honored with death as a human offering to the gods; all cultures normally offer their best as sacrifices, so the Maya most likely followed this logic to please their gods, with the best of their kind facing death as an honor for their gods to be pleased.
Such Mayan clay figures and pottery paintings demonstrate how ball-game gear was worn. Ancient Mayan reliefs and stone-carvings are often found on surfaces of the ball-court walls depicting scenes of game-play and often human sacrifice; in Chichen Itza such carvings are well known and studied. These carvings and sculptures also provide some insight into the mythological religious concepts ancient Maya people associated with the Pok-Ta-Pok ceremony or ball-court game.
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The Maya Ball Game in Art Pre-Columbian Mayan ball-player’s clothing, knee paths and elbow accessories, skirts, and headdresses designs have been preserve only through art in ancient paintings, Maya stone reliefs, and Jaina Mayan clay figurines. Maya scholars have found a variety of artifacts that have been used to interpret the significance of the ballgame and its paraphernalia from archeological sites such as Chichen Itza, in the Peninsula of Yucatan, and Mayan clay figurines recovered especially from the island of Jaina, have served to indentify what a Mayan ballplayer attire or dress wear looked like and his play position in his team.
B E Pok-Ta-Pok Mythology: The Hero Twins and Xibalba The historic Mayan book Popol Vuh begins with an Earthly Gall-Game Ceremony which disturbs the Maya Underworld Xibalba Lords and Gods. The Xibalba gods and lords annoyed by the Mayan Hero Twin’s traipses challenge them to descend into Xibalba for a ball-game; they accept the invitation only to be overcome by the Xibalba gods and lords' trickery and the dangers found in the Mayan Underworld. In Mayan mythology, the Hero Twins, Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu, were the eldest sons of the original humans and creator gods. The Xibalba lords finally sacrifice the brothers and Hun Huangpu’s severed head was placed in a calabash tree, from here he impregnates a Xibalban female goddess by spitting into her hand and she gave birth to a second pair of twin sons Hunahpu and Xbalanque, also referred as Hero Twins. This second pair of Hero Twins grew to avenge their father's defeat by the Xibalba gods; they displayed their prowess in the ball-court and at the end the Hero Twins establish the supremacy of the living world over the underworld. This ballgame story of light conquering darkness, and life prevailing over death, is a vital element of ancient Mayan mythology and Creation. The Hero Twins mythological story and ancient Mayan archaeological findings show us that to ancient Maya the ballgame or Pok-Ta-Pok ceremony is intimately related to sacrifice and confrontations between opposing supernatural powers. Court Designs and Carvings Ancient Mayan ball-court typical design generally takes the form of an I-shaped field with very tall side walls with stone rings set about 20 feet high and a playing alley. The Maya ballgame courts are normally found within ancient ceremonial cities in archeological sites. Chichen Itza’s which has a well preserve Grant Ball Game Court, the largest found in Mesoamerica, decorated with stone carvings depicting gameplayers, Kukulkan or feathered serpent, and human sacrifice scenes. Mayan ball players represented in these carvings are shown wearing elaborated headpieces as well as arm and knee guards. The player’s gear varied in quality and elaborateness to show the status of the wearer. Maya ballgame players frequently are depicted as wearing palmas, elongated decorative pieces that may have served as protection for the player’s belly; some stone carvings show players wearing helmets similar to today’s modern day fencers. It is believed now that Maya people of ancient times also played the ballgame in a sporting context, not always as a cosmic ritual. The rules of the ballgame are currently unknown but Maya scholars do know, through observation of Mayan sculptures and frescos, that ancient Mayan ball players did not touch the ball with their hands but struck the rubber hard ball with their hips, elbows and heads, although some versions allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or hand-stones. The bouncing ball was made of solid rubber from native trees and weighed almost 4 kg (9 lbs) sized to approximate the central hole of the two stone rings held on the side wall; players score by getting the ball through the narrow space within the stone rings. Mayan Astronomy and the Ball Game Ancient Mayan Ball Game represents the Cosmological Duality and struggle between life and death, light and darkness, day and night. The Maya Ball Game Courts were ceremonial portals intimately related to astronomy and vital life forces where the underworld played a central ceremonial power over Cosmic order, the regeneration of life in the Universe, Mayan religious beliefs and social-political powers. The rubber ball used in this ritualistic game represented the Sun and the stone scoring rings on the east and west walls are believed to signify the Sun’s rise, sunset and equinox paths.
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© Pok-Ta-Pok Human Sacrifice Scene
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Photos by Michael Maurus www.mmaurus.com Pok-Ta-Pok Ball Court Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
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Visit Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico and marvel at the many ancient Mayan temples and pyramids of this powerful Mayan archeological site and enjoy staying at Hacienda Chichen Resort for a few days to fully experience Mayan traditions and cultural heritage. Details available at: www.haciendachichen.com
