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The ball game that was practiced in the cultures of Mesoamerica is the oldest sport known in the American continent, and its first records are about 3700 years old. Its practice in Mesoamerican cultures such as the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec constituted a ritual, political, and social activity that involved the entire community. The ball game was practiced in places that had buildings and a particular arrangement identified in many archaeological sites; today they are called ball courts. Some 1,300 ball courts have been identified throughout Mesoamerica.
The origins of the ball game
The first record of the practice of playing the ball game was found in ceramic figures recovered from the funerary complex of the El Opeño archaeological site, in the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico. These ceramic figures represented ball players and are believed to date from around 1700 BC. At the El Manatí archaeological site, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, fourteen latex balls were found that were used in the game; this site was a sacred place until 1200 BC.
The oldest ball found so far was made around the year 1400 BC, and was found at the Paso de la Amada archaeological site, in the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. This site was developed in the Early Formative period, which took place between the years 1800 and 1000 BC.
The first images in which elements of the ball game can be identified, such as the suit and its pieces, were found in San Lorenzo, one of the two main cities of the Olmecs, which took place between 1400 and 1000 BC. Ceramic figurines reproducing ballgame players were found there, carbon-14 dated between 1250 and 1150 BC.
There is agreement among archaeologists that the origin of the ball game is associated with the structuring of Mesoamerican communities into differentiated social classes. The ball game court in Paso de la Amada was built near the ruler’s house. Colossal head-shaped sculptures typical of Olmec culture sported ballcourt helmets. The ball game was a way of making social differentiation explicit.
More than a sport, the ball game was a ceremonial ritual. Through the game, community and commercial problems were also resolved, such as an inheritance or lawsuits over land possession; the game also settled political problems, sometimes replacing armed confrontations.
The ball game
Court
The ball game courts were open spaces framed by specific constructions associated with the dynamics of the game. The following image shows the ball court at Chichen Itzá, a Late Classic Mayan city located on the Yucatán Peninsula that had its heyday between the 9th and 12th centuries.
The court was made up of two parallel structures that delimited a central courtyard. In the ball court of Chichen Itzá a particular acoustic phenomenon is observed; sounds emitted on the south wall of the court can be heard on the opposite end of the wall due to reverberation of sound on the opposite wall. The side walls of the courts had inclined planes where the ball bounced, and in some cases they had stone hoops fixed to the top of one of the walls. In the Chichen Itza ball court, this ring can be seen in the central part of the left wall.
Ballcourts were usually surrounded by other buildings and facilities, most of which were probably constructed of perishable materials. The masonry constructions usually included low walls that surrounded the court and platforms from which people could watch the game.
Almost all the main Mesoamerican cities had at least one ball court. Curiously, no ball court has yet been identified in Teotihuacán, the urban center of a culture that developed in the central highlands of Mexico and had its apogee in the Classic period, between the 3rd and 7th centuries. An image associated with the ball game could be identified on the murals of Tepantitla, one of the Teotihuacán residential complexes, but no ball court was found.
Neither was a ball court found in the Mayan cities of Bonampak and Tortuguero. The ball court at Chichén Itzá is the largest found. El Tajín, a center that flourished between the Late Classic and Postclassic periods on the Gulf of Mexico coast, had 17 ball courts.
The ball
The ball for the game was made from the liquid latex extracted from the rubber tree ( Castilla elastica ) vulcanized with ground parts of a vine ( Ipomoea alba ). Each player had his own ball, the size of which could vary between that of a tennis ball and that of a soccer ball, while his weight ranged from 3 to 5 kilos.
The game
Due to the extremely long period in which the ball game was practiced and the wide variety of communities that incorporated it into their social relationships, there were also many types of ball game with different rules. The most widespread variant was the game with the hip. The game began by throwing the ball onto the court with the hand, and from then on it could only be touched with the hips and thighs. The object of the game was to get the ball into the opponent’s end zone; however, in more recent versions the ring seen in the Chichen Itza court was included. A score was achieved by passing the ball through the hoop, although this was very difficult since the hoop was at a great height and surely it was not the most usual way of obtaining a point.
There are no records describing the rules of the game; One of the sources of information about the ball game is the Popol Vuh , the “council book” or “community book” that collects Mayan legends. The book describes the Mayan worldview and customs through the stories of the myths about the origin of the world and various events related to the Mayan civilization and nature. From the stories of the Popol Vuh it can be inferred that it could be played facing two people, two couples or two teams.
Ball games were violent and dangerous, and players wore characteristic protective gear usually made of leather such as helmets, knee pads, arm and chest protectors, and gloves. In the Popol Vuh account of the legend of the twins Junajpu and Xbalamke, in which they fight in a ball game with the deities of the Mayan underworld, the Lords of Xibalba, it is said :
What those of Xibalba wanted were the game implements of Jun Junajpu and Wuqub Junajpu: their leather protectors, their belts, their arm protectors, their headdresses, their protective handkerchiefs, the attire of Jun Junajpu and Wuqub Junajpu…
In various Mesoamerican cultures, the ball game involved human sacrifice. Among the Aztecs, the losing team in the ball game could be beheaded in a religious ceremony. In the Popol Vuh, the ball game appears as a form of relationship between the underworld and the myths that represent the creation of human beings. About the death of the first twins at the hands of the Lords of Xibalba and in relation to the ball game, the Popol Wuj tells:
… As it was on the way to Xibalba where they were playing, they were heard by Jun Kame and Wuqub Kame, Lords of Xibalba: What is happening on the face of the Earth? They are jumping and running making noise. Let them bring them! Let them come play ball here, we will have to defeat them. They no longer defer to us, they do not respect us and they are not ashamed either. That they are going to pull them from up there…
And the twins Junajpu and Xbalamke, sons of Jun Junajpu, finally defeat the Lords of Xibalba in a ball game.
The ball game was also practiced informally, and could be associated with community events and celebrations. Betting on ball games was a very common social practice.
The participants of the ball game
The entire community was somehow involved in a ball game. The players themselves were likely men of noble origins or aspirations, with the winners gaining wealth and social prestige.
The construction of the ball court, as well as the organization of the game. required the participation of individuals and social groups from the community. In many cases, the ball game was associated with religious ceremonies that took place before and after the event.
All social classes participated as spectators of the event: the local people and people who came from other places, nobles and commoners, sports fans and food vendors. Betting was an important component of ball games and the bettors were both noble and commoner; there are records that the Aztecs had very strict regulations on the payment of bets and debts.
There is today a modern version of the Mesoamerican ballgame called ulama that is played in Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico. The game is played with a rubber ball that is hit only with the hip and is similar to volleyball but without the net.
Sources
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- Sam Colop, LE Popol Wuj CHOLSAMAJ, Guatemala, 2008. ISBN 978-99922-53-70-0 https://popolmayab.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/popol-wuj-kaxlan-tzij.pdf
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