The prototype of this game with a rubber ball, which requires great dexterity, arose in Mesoamerica as early as two thousand years BC. The Mayan ball game, like similar games of other peoples of Mesoamerica, contained elements of violence and cruelty - it ended with human sacrifice, for which it was started, and the playing fields were framed with stakes with human skulls. Only men participated in the game, divided into two teams, which included from one to four people. The players' task was to prevent the ball from touching the ground and to bring it to the goal, holding it with all parts of the body, with the exception of the hands and feet. The players wore special protective clothing. The ball was more often hollow; sometimes a human skull was hidden behind the rubber shell.
The ball courts consisted of two parallel stepped stands, between which there was a playing field, like a wide paved alley. Such stadiums were built in every city, and in El Tajin there were eleven of them. Apparently, there was a sports and ceremonial center here, where large-scale competitions were held.
The ball game was somewhat reminiscent of gladiator fights, when prisoners, sometimes representatives of the nobility from other cities, fought for their lives so as not to be sacrificed. The losers, tied together, were rolled down the stairs of the pyramids and fell to their deaths.
The last cities of the Maya.
Most northern cities built in the Postclassic era (950-1500) lasted less than 300 years, with the exception of Chichen Itza, which survived until the 13th century. This city shows architectural similarities with Tula, founded by the Toltecs ca. 900, suggesting that Chichen Itza served as an outpost or was an ally of the warlike Toltecs. The name of the city is derived from the Mayan words “chi” (“mouth”) and “itsa” (“wall”), but its architecture is so-called. Puuc style violates classical Mayan canons. For example, stone roofs of buildings are supported on flat beams rather than on stepped vaults. Some stone carvings depict Mayan and Toltec warriors together in battle scenes. Perhaps the Toltecs captured this city and over time turned it into a prosperous state. During the Postclassic period (1200-1450), Chichen Itza was for a time part of a political alliance with nearby Uxmal and Mayapan, known as the League of Mayapan. However, even before the arrival of the Spaniards, the League had collapsed, and Chichen Itza, like the cities of the classical era, was swallowed up by the jungle.
I propose to turn on our time machine and go along the paths of the past - into the history of this most beloved sports game in the world - football. Grandfather Carl Jung was right when he discovered his collective unconscious, this deep layer in the subconscious of every person, in which the knowledge of almost all of humanity is embedded and recorded. And in that knowledge, among the terabytes of the most varied information, in large and bold letters, in particular, the word “FOOTBALL” is written, as well as “NEED A GOAL!”, “REFEREE TO SOAP” and further down the list.
From the blog
(Although it is recorded mainly in the subconscious of men, it also happens to some girls). And football is not only the most popular sports game in the world, but also one of the oldest. (Not even a game, but an image, one of the archetypes of the collective unconscious of all humanity). This is confirmed by the fact that in one form or another, football arose in different cultures and civilizations that seemed to have no contact with each other; avid football players were the ancient Chinese, Romans and Greeks, Mayan Indians, Eskimos and a huge number of very different peoples .
In some places, the emergence of football had a religious background, and was covered with a beautiful blanket woven from myths and legends. Let's say, among the ancient Greeks, according to one of the myths, the first soccer ball was presented by the beautiful goddess of love Aphrodite (aka Venus) to her son Cupid (this is the comrade with the bow and arrows of love). Therefore, when Cupid played football (instead of fulfilling his direct duties - to aim human hearts with arrows of love), love was replaced by football, receded into the background, indeed, what kind of love is there when football is on!
Indian football player depicted on a Mayan vase, 650, from the blog Among the Mayans, the ritual game of ball is mentioned in their sacred epic, the Popol Vuh. There we are talking about the adventures of two divine twin heroes, who, in particular, have to play ball (i.e. football) with the evil gods of death. And which they, of course, win (although I forgot by what score). The ball with which the twin brothers played football symbolized, no matter what, the Earth, our beloved and dear planet. The Mayans reenacted their epic with a real game of football. Although it was not exactly football in the modern sense, moreover, their football was not just a sports game, but a real religious mystery.
The Mayan Indians played ritual football with a rubber ball, and as a goal it was necessary to hit this ring attached to the wall.
From the blog Which was quite difficult to do, because, as in modern football, they were forbidden to take the ball with their hands, they could only use their legs (and other parts of the body besides the hands). But, nevertheless, the Indian football players tried and gave their all, because they had a very powerful motivation - the team that lost was sacrificed in its entirety to the gods. (Yes, yes, I lost - and immediately got an ax on my head).
From the blog The ancient Chinese also loved to play football; they called this game “tsuju” (translated from Chinese as “push the ball”) and according to the official historical version, it was the Chinese who were the first to kick the ball - tsuju originated in the 2nd century BC n. e.
The Chinese emperor watches his courtiers play cuju football, from the blog Players had to use their feet to throw a small ball into the opponent's net. The game of cuju was part of the mandatory physical training of Chinese warriors.
Among the Eskimos, the ball game was called “tungantaak” and was played with the onset of the first frost (apparently to keep warm). The players were divided into two teams, and the goal of the game was simply to prevent the opposing team from gaining possession of the ball.
The Roman legionnaires, who at one time conquered most of Europe and a large part of Asia and Africa, also loved to play football, which they called “harpastrum”, in between campaigns and battles with the barbarians. Unlike modern football, in ancient Roman football you could also take the ball with your hands, and the main goal was to carry the ball into the opponent’s territory. Thus, ancient Roman harpastrum football was more similar to modern rugby or American football and was distinguished by considerable cruelty (and the Roman legionnaires were never good boys). The Roman legionaries stationed in Britain introduced harpastrum to the local Celtic inhabitants, who liked this game so much that it immediately became their favorite, and in 270 AD. e. in the town of Derby, the first international football match between the teams of the Romans and local Britons even took place, in which the Romans were defeated...
The mysticism and horrors of ancient football
The ruins of ancient Aztec and Mayan stadiums, where hundreds and thousands of fans gathered to watch ancient football, have survived to this day. In total, up to 1,300 such structures have survived, some in excellent condition, much better than the ruins of the ancient Roman coliseums. The dimensions of the largest of these stadiums in Chichen Itza reach 96.5 × 30 meters. Sites for human sacrifices and special structures where the skulls of sacrificed “football players” were displayed were also located directly at the stadiums.
Ancient stadium in Mexico, Monte Alban, Bobak Ha'Eri, 2005 “Despite numerous evidence, we know very little about the ritual significance of the ball game,” notes the portal arzamas.academy. - It probably represented a battle to which a sacred meaning could be attributed. The teams could represent two opposing elements, such as fire and water, or two opposing worlds, such as the lower world and the upper world. Mayan hieroglyphic inscriptions mention that ball players acted as deities... Since the classical period (1st millennium AD), there has been evidence of a connection between the game of ball and human sacrifice. In different areas of America, the ritual of sacrifice was different. Most often the victims were beheaded. This feature of the game was most pronounced in classical Veracruz and in the Mayan culture, which left the most complete images of sacrifices. Among the latter are frescoes on the walls of stadiums and a stone slab depicting a beheaded player. Another type of ball game known to the Mayans was associated with war. Captured prisoners had their arms and legs twisted behind their backs and thus rolled into a ball, which was thrown down the steps. The triumphant king stood below, receiving this serve and inflicting a decisive blow on the vanquished.”
It is curious that at first the Indians sacrificed the captain of the winning (!) team, not the losing one - they cut out his heart and burned it. The rules were changed by a local ruler under the funny nickname “18 rabbits”. He considered it unfair that the winner was executed and ordered the captain of the losing team to be sacrificed instead.
The Aztecs and Mayans played ritual death football or basketball called “tok-a-tok.” Many historians believe that it was this game, brought by the conquistadors from the New World, that became the progenitor of many ball sports. Then, apparently, the first American championships in basketball and football took place. These ancient championships were usually held in cities. The specially built field for this game was a quadrangular courtyard about 50 meters long and about 18 meters wide, the field was surrounded on all sides by high stepped walls. They looked like small stands on which the Mayan or Aztec nobility apparently sat. A sort of VIP stands.
The Mayans, like the Aztecs, played a game called tok-a-tok. It is she who is considered by many to be the progenitor of, if not football, then basketball, that’s for sure. The ball was a rubber ball made from natural rubber from the Hevea tree. The weight of the Mayan ball sometimes reached two kilograms, although its diameter was no more than twenty-five centimeters. Unlike the game of football, in “talk-a-tok” it was strictly forbidden to touch the ball with your feet, and even with your hands. They dribbled the ball around the playing field with quick body movements. The ball was pushed with the shoulders, hit with the knees, thrown with the head and elbows. A kind of acrobatic basketball. In addition, on each of the four inclined smooth walls, somewhere at a height of four meters, there were built-in stone rings through which the players had to throw the ball. Moreover, at the same time, prevent the enemy team from doing this.
From the blog Players often collided at high speeds. That is why they wore special equipment. There was a wooden shield on the chest, and strips of thick leather were wrapped around the arms and legs. Reminds me of American football or rugby, doesn't it? So how many sports games did "talk-a-talk" give rise to? But still, it was most likely football! Tok-a-tok was not just played for fun. The game served for rituals and predictions. And the worst thing is for human sacrifices. The captain of the losing team was sacrificed. And in very dry years, even a whole team. But the ancestors of this game were most likely not the Mayans or Aztecs, but apparently the Olmecs. Both the Mayan and Aztec civilizations inherited it, along with the terrible ritual of sacrifice. And maybe this also became the psychological reason for the death of these once great civilizations.
Dida S., Priymak E., Styuflyaev M. ::: Mesoamerican ball game: sport and ritual
The Mayans played ball throughout their history, from at least the Middle Preclassic period until the Spanish conquest. It is quite natural that traditions could not remain unchanged for such a long time, and if in the classical period of the Mayan civilization (III-X centuries) the game flourished in the lowlands, then by the 16th century it was preserved mainly in the southern mountainous region, in the kingdoms of the Quiche and Kaqchikels. However, the very fact that it is a sport This competition was widely represented in different regions and experienced large-scale historical transformations, including the famous collapse of the civilization of the classical period, testifying to its enormous significance for Mayan culture.
As we have already said, in the minds of the ancient Mayans, playing ball was not at all simple fun or a means of maintaining physical fitness. It had a very great ritual significance and was associated with the themes of death and resurrection. Unfortunately, although scenes of ball games are abundantly represented on ceremonial painted ceramics of the classical period, both the game itself and the mythology associated with it are described extremely sparingly in hieroglyphic texts. Therefore, the key source that sheds light on the deep religious symbolism of the game currently remains the Maya-Kiche epic Popol Vuh, written down after the Conquest using the Latin alphabet. The mythological part of the epic tells how two brothers, Hun-Hunahpu and Vucub-Hunahpu, played ball on a court near the entrance to Xibalba (the underworld). The noise made by the game annoyed the lords of Xibalba, who decided to kill the players and take possession of their equipment - leather knee pads, collars, gloves, hats and masks. To do this, they sent their owl envoys to the brothers with an invitation to come to Xibalba to play ball. Hun-Hunahpu and Vucub-Hunahpu agreed to fulfill the will of the rulers, but before setting off on the journey to Xibalba, they returned home to say goodbye to their mother and hid their rubber ball in a recess in the roof of the house. Only after this did the brothers, together with the owls sent to them, go to Xibalba. There they were killed by the lords of the underworld and buried in a place called Pukbal Chah. The head of Hun-Hun-Ahpu was hung by the lords of Xibalba on a tree, which immediately became covered with pumpkin fruits. The daughter of one of the rulers named Shkik approached the tree and extended her hand to the skull of Hun-Hun-Ahpu. At that moment, the skull dropped a few drops of saliva directly into the girl’s palm, giving her its offspring in such a miraculous way. When the lords of Xibalba learned about the pregnancy, they wanted to execute Shqik for fornication, but the girl escaped death and found shelter in the house of her mother Hun-Hunahpu. Soon she gave birth to two twins, Hunahpa and Xbalanque. When the brothers grew up, they began to work in the corn field, but they did not want to be farmers at all. One day they discovered on the roof of the house the ball-playing equipment that Hunhunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu had hidden before going to Xibalba. The overjoyed brothers returned to the playground where their father and uncle were playing and began to play. Hearing the noise coming, the lords of Xibalba became worried and again ordered their messengers to go after the players and bring them to the kingdom of the dead. The twin heroes actually went to the underworld, and, having overcome numerous obstacles and trials there, played ball with the lords of Xibalba and defeated them. The angry lords of the underworld killed the brothers and threw their bones to the river bottom, but the young men miraculously resurrected. Returning to the court of the rulers in the guise of two wandering old magicians, they killed them all by deception and conquered Xibalba. Its inhabitants were no longer allowed to play ball, but instead had to spend their time making clay pots and pans and stones for grinding corn. Then the brothers found the bodies of their father and uncle in Pukbal Chah, resurrected them, and themselves ascended to heaven as the Sun and Moon.
Thus, in the Popol Vuh, the game of ball is presented as a competition between the forces of life and death, associated with the seasonal cycle of dying and resurrecting nature. It should be noted right away that the question of whether its plot corresponds to the Mayan mythology of the classical period is quite complex. Although the Popol Vuh is often called the "Mayan Bible", it never had a general Mayan meaning, this book reflects primarily the myths and traditions of the Quiché people, it arose centuries after the collapse of the civilization of the classical period, in a completely different geographical region and in special historical conditions. However, in the inscriptions and iconography of the first millennium one can find numerous interesting parallels with the K'iche epic. In the classical period, the game was also perceived as a battle, as evidenced by the remarkable fact that the stadiums in Yaxchilan, Tonin and Copán were in ancient times called the “Site of Three Victories” in memory of the beheading of the three gods of the underworld, which supposedly took place on the same site in in the distant past, apparently after their defeat in the game. The most complete version of the myth is preserved in Hieroglyphic Staircase 2 from Yaxchilan. On the three steps of this monument there are depicted successive successors on the throne of the “Sacred Pa'chansky Lord" Yashuun-Bahlam IV, his father Itzamkokaah-Bahlam III and grandfather Yashuun-Bahlam III. They play with balls, inside of which are depicted the bodies of bound captives. In this case, there is an obvious desire to connect the mythical story of victories over the deities of death with real military triumphs Pa'chan kings.
The above example clearly reflects the connection between the game of ball and war and human sacrifice. Markers at the stadium in Tonina are decorated with images of bound prisoners. The relief of the "Great Stadium" in Chichen Itza shows the scene of the beheading of a player. It has been suggested that the beginning or end of the game was accompanied by the sacrifice of enemies captured in the war. However, there is no evidence that the Mayans sacrificed the defeated participants in the match, as is often written about in popular literature and the media.
Classic Mayan hieroglyphs associated with the ball game:
Despite the popularity of the game, unfortunately, not a single description of it has yet been found in hieroglyphic inscriptions. Spanish authors report on the ball game, but their stories reflect the realities of the late era; in addition, they spoke about the Central Mexican version of the competition, which differed in a number of significant features from the Mayan version. Researchers can get some idea about the ball game of the Classic Maya thanks to numerous images on vases and stone monuments, as well as finds of figurines of players made of ceramics. Even such laconic sources can sometimes serve as the basis for putting forward interesting and unexpected hypotheses. For example, the famous American Mayanist M. Ko suggested that the Mayans of the classical period were aware of several varieties of the ball game. One is a standard team game, widespread throughout Mesoamerica, with a solid rubber ball on a special court shaped like the Latin letter I. Another version of the sport, Ko believes, is represented on painted Mayan pottery. There, the game often takes place not on a regular court, but opposite a ladder or perhaps a stepped platform. At the same time, in the images on the vessels, special attention is drawn to a huge rubber ball, reaching a diameter of 80 cm or more. Since a solid projectile of this size would have been prohibitively heavy, Ko theorized that the Mayans played with hollow, inflatable rubber balls similar to the modern volleyball.
If the hieroglyphic inscriptions say little about the course of the game itself, then they allow historians to trace the close connection of the ball game with politics, war and diplomacy much more clearly and fully than in the case of many other Mesoamerican cultures. During the Classic period, Mayan kings often included the epithet "ball player" in their titles, hence participation in the sacred game was one way of legitimizing their power. There are known cases when kings celebrated their military successes with the construction of new stadiums, for example, “The Holy Lord Popo'» K'inich-Baaknal-Chaakhk consecrated a ball court in Tonin after a series of victories over Baakalem(Palenque). Sometimes a powerful king, through a ritual ball game, provided magical support to the warring allies. So, on May 4, 627, the king TO’ antu’ (Karakol) ...n-O'hl-K'inich II defeated the army Sa’ ala(Naranjo) in the area Tsam. On the same day his overlord, "Sacred Kanulsky Lord” Tachoom-Uk’ab-K’ahk’, played ball on the “court of three victories”. Considering the game's traditional association with war, this does not seem to be a mere coincidence. Apparently, it was believed that by holding a ritual-sports event, a powerful Kanulsky the king helped his ally win. On the other hand, joint participation in a ball game could serve as a tool for establishing diplomatic ties and strengthening allied relations. There are known cases when rulers competed with each other not on the battlefield, but on the sports field. For example, a colorful vessel (number K2803 in the D. Kerr database) that belonged to the ruler of the kingdom has survived to this day Hishwitz(Zapote-Bobal). It shows two teams of ball players, one of which is led by the king Ik'a'(Motul de San Jose). The motives for which one king ordered the play of another king to be depicted on his vessel are unclear. Perhaps the lord Ik'a' visited Hishwitz on a visit, during which he took part in the game. Be that as it may, hieroglyphic inscriptions record cases where vassals confirmed their loyalty to the overlord ruler through such sports competitions. For example, the kings of Saknikte’(La Corona) often played ball with their overlords, the "Sacred Kanulsky Lords."
The most striking evidence of an elite version of the ball game are stadiums, and in Mayan cities archaeologists constantly find ruins of buildings of this type. In hieroglyphic writing, a special sign was used to designate the stadium, which looked like a court with a ball in the center between two walls. The capitals of most large and a number of medium-sized kingdoms had their own stadiums. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of such structures in Tikal, Calakmul, Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras, Tonin, Copan and many other sites. Some stadiums have functioned and been rebuilt several times over many centuries. For example, in the site of Pakbitun (Belize), the stadium appeared in the Late Preclassic period and existed for about a thousand years. The stadium in Copan is well known, the construction of which dates back to the first quarter of the 5th century. It was rebuilt three times and used until the complete decline of the city in the first half of the 9th century. In many large cities, there were several ball courts at the same time. For example, two stadiums are known in Piedras Negras in the late classical period, and three in Tikal. They are located in different parts of the settlement, at a certain distance from each other. Sometimes it happened that some ambitious ruler was not satisfied with the modest size of the stadium in his capital. For example, at the turn of the 7th-8th centuries, a small site already existed in Tonin, but, as noted above, after a series of impressive military victories, the local ruler K'inich-Baaknal-Chaakhk increased his prestige with the construction of a new grandiose stadium. The connection between the growing political power of the kingdom and the construction of the stadium can also be traced in Ceibal. Until the 9th century, while Ceibal was in the shadow of the Southern Kukulya(Dos Pilas), there was no ball court there. But at the end of the classical period, local kings begin to claim the role of hegemons, and a stadium appears in the city.
Stadium in Copan
The so-called “Great Stadium” in Chichen Itza, the largest in Mesoamerica, deserves special mention. Its I-shaped playground is 138 meters long and 40 meters wide. The height of the vertical walls into which the stone rings were mounted reached 8 meters. It is almost impossible to play on a court of this size, so it has been suggested that the “Grand Stadium” was created solely as a model of the world and was not used for sports matches, especially since at least twelve other ordinary courts are known in Chichen Itza alone.
“Big Stadium” in Chichen Itza (Photo: D. Ivanov, Yekaterinburg, 2014)
As mentioned above, in the Popol Vuh the stadiums are closely connected with the underworld: one site is located at the entrance to Xibalba, and the second in the kingdom of the dead itself. The facts available to researchers allow us to conclude that similar ideas were widespread in the classical period. In particular, it was noted that in many settlements the ball courts are located at the lowest points of the city. Some inscriptions mention a mythological ball game that took place in the area Ik’ ...cash(“Black hole”), identified with the underworld. The Mayans probably perceived the stadium as a kind of portal to the underworld, connecting the space of the living and the dead. This interpretation is supported, among other things, by the images of ball players on the walls of the cave at Nach Tunich, as well as the orientation of the “Great Stadium” at Chichen Itza to the sacred cenote (karst well). It should be recalled that in the ideas of the ancient Mayans, caves and cenotes were considered places leading to the underworld.
Central marker from the stadium at Copan, showing the local ruler Washaklahuun-Ubaah-K'aviil playing ball against the twin hero Huun-Ahab, the predecessor of Hunahpu of the Popol Vuh.
If you look at the game from this point of view, it becomes clear why in the classical period the Mayan kings and the highest nobility virtually monopolized the right to participate in this sporting competition (at least when it comes to official games in large stadiums). By playing ball, the king, thereby becoming like the maize god Ishiim, defeated the forces of death hostile to man. Undoubtedly, such triumphs strengthened the sacred status of the king, the “ball player,” and increased his authority in the eyes of his subjects.
Let us add that, apparently, playing ball is not the only form of ritual and sports competition that was known to the ancient Mayans. Another popular, although little studied until recently, sport was ritual wrestling. The tradition of holding ritual fights timed to coincide with the beginning of the rainy season is well known in other regions of Mesoamerica and has even survived to this day. Modern researchers consider it to be one of the forms of the rain-making ceremony, in which the blows struck by fighters to each other are likened to thunder, and the spilled blood is like raindrops. Figures of fighting men wearing protective masks, gloves, breastplates and loincloths were found at the ancient Mayan site of Lubaantun (Belize). In addition, ritual duels are represented on several painted vases from the classical period. So, in the scene on the K700 vessel, two groups of fighters fought against each other in a fierce battle. They strike opponents with small round shell-like objects, knocking one participant to the ground and possibly killing them. Of particular interest is the alabaster bowl K7749, which depicts a duel between two men wearing only loincloths. They are armed with long and sharp bones, with which they try to wound their opponents, and from the side, two more men in exquisite suits are closely watching the battle, seemingly offering the “gladiators” new bones to continue the fight. Judging by the appearance of the fighters, these are prisoners captured in the war. In the owner's inscription on the vessel, the owner of the bowl is named as a ballplayer and the son of a ballplayer. Perhaps this is evidence of the close connection between both competitions; in some cases, ritual fights could be held in stadiums as one of the rituals accompanying the ball game. For more information about the ball game in the context of Mayan political history, see: Martin S., Grube N. Chronicle... P. 92, 130, 182, 205; Miller M., Martin S. Courtly Art of Ancient Maya. – London - New York: Thames and Hudson, 2004. – P. 91.
Tokovinin A. A. Ball game among the peoples of Mesoamerica.
Colas R., Voss A. A Game of Life and Death... P. 190.
Colas R., Voss A. A Game of Life and Death... P. 191.
Miller M., Martin S. Courtly Art... P. 63-64.
Taube K., Zender M. American Gladiators: Ritual Boxing in Ancient Mesoamerica // Blood and Beauty: Organized Violence in the Art and Archeology of Mesoamerica and Central America / Ed. by H. Orr and R. Koontz. – Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archeology Press, 2009. – P. 161-220.
“My plans did not include a story about Mayan ball sports. However, the very fact that entertainment, competition, wrestling and competition were not alien to the ancient people is worthy of mention. Despite the fact that the Mayan people had such an extraordinary writing system, almost no mention remains of the everyday, everyday life of ordinary people. No business records or calculations, property documents... Perhaps the records were made on material not intended for such long-term storage. The memory of the rulers has been preserved for centuries and millennia. On steles, monuments, architectural structures, in tombs, on the walls of buildings - their names and dates of reign were carved in stone. Many drawings are dedicated to their lives, as well as battles and victories. Great skill and remarkable strength were required from artists, sculptors, and architects to create masterpieces.
Stela 1. Nakbe Himbap. Stela 1
Stela 11, CopanVase with the names of 19 rulers of Calakmul.Writing rabbit. Detail of a ceramic vase.
Nevertheless, household items, beautiful trinkets, jugs, cups for drinking cocoa were always decorated with ornaments or designs. The art of the ancient people was at its best. This is why artifacts brought from the New World were very popular in the 16th century. However, this is a great interesting topic. Anyone interested can contact the source." (Blog author N.A.)
Excerpts from the book: David Drew. "Mayan. Mysteries of a great civilization."
http://coollib.com/b/251529/read
And now let's return to the discoveries of our heroes made in Uxmal. There, Stephens and Catherwood discovered a strange place - a field in which there were two parallel walls, 20 meters apart from each other. Attached to each wall at some distance from the ground was a stone hoop, reminiscent of, as they would say now, a basketball hoop. Travelers rightly assumed that this field with strange walls and rings on them served as a “platform for some kind of mass game.” The same site, only of more impressive size, was available in Chichen Itza. Stephens called this complex the "Gymnasium". In the notes of the Spanish chronicler Herrera, researchers found a description of a ball game - tlachtli,- which was practiced by the Aztecs during the Spanish Conquest:
This ball is made of rubber, which is produced by a tree growing in hot countries. They hit him with any part of the body... sometimes they hit him with their hips, which was considered the highest degree of agility and dexterity. The place where the game took place was a long narrow field, always plastered and level. On the side walls they attached flat stones that looked like millstones. In the center of each stone was a hole the same size as the ball, and whoever hit the ball in this hole won the game.
Thus, Stephens' assumptions were confirmed.
ball player
…
The ball court is another interesting attraction in Copan. There are similar fields in other cities, but the stadium in Copan is the most impressive and spacious among all, and it became such under the 18th Rabbit.
Kopan. Ball court
Stephens was the first to connect a certain structure at Chichen Itza, which he called the “gymnasium,” with the ball game described by Spanish chroniclers during the Conquest. The Spaniards, if they had experience playing ball, were only those who lived in Extremadura and, in their free time, kicked an inflated pig bladder in the outskirts of their town or village. The spectacle that they observed during the ritual Aztec celebrations surprised them a lot. The powerful bodies of the players, real stadiums with stands, crowds of spectators - all this could not help but amaze the uninvited guests. It got to the point that Cortez sent a whole group of Mexican players to Europe in 1528. In general, ball was played everywhere in Mesoamerica, although the rules varied from place to place. The oldest stadium was discovered on the Pacific coast of Chiapas and dates back to approximately 1800 BC. e. This game was cultivated by the Olmecs, and several fairly dense rubber balls have been preserved since then. Actually, the very name “Olmec” was given to this people by the Aztecs, which translated from the Huatl language means “people from the land of rubber.” By the way, the Olmecs, paying tribute to Tenochtitlan, sent there annually, among other things, 16 thousand rubber balls.
Stamp from the Copan ball court. The player on the left in protective armor is one of the twin heroes. His rival is the god of the underworld
There were really many options and varieties of ball games, as well as structurally different stadiums. Among the Aztecs, the playing field in plan resembled the letter “I”: the central alley, 8 to 10 meters wide and up to 40 meters long, was limited on the sides by two parallel walls and at the ends turned into wide playing areas. As chroniclers note, two opposing teams could have no more than 4 people at a time.
The rules were that the ball had to be supported in the air by hitting it with the knees, elbows or hands; It was prohibited to use other parts of the arms and legs. It was allowed to use ball bounces off the wall. The ball, with a diameter of 15 to 20 centimeters, made from a single piece of rubber (rubber), was unusually heavy, so players wearing only loincloths often suffered various injuries. However, they had additional means of protection: gloves, knee pads, corset belts made of animal skins, wooden shields, or pads stuffed with plant fiber. Sometimes a "yoke" was attached to the player's belt so that he could withstand particularly strong blows; Even stone “collars” are known, but they are so heavy that they were hardly used for playing - rather, for ritual purposes.
Unfortunately, the Spaniards did not leave any comments about the rules of the game or scoring, but, analyzing the information collected bit by bit, we come to the conclusion that the players of the opposing teams tried at all costs to push the ball through the stone ring hanging on each of the side walls. The inner diameter of the ring was slightly larger than the diameter of the ball, so to create such a miracle required both luck and skill. The team that managed to throw the ball into the hoop was immediately declared the winner, and the player a real hero. Scientists agree that even just hitting the ball with the ball brought some points. Additional points were awarded if one of the teams drove the ball into the playing field of the opposing team.
The team that dropped the ball on the ground was penalized with points or immediately declared a loser. The Spaniards watched the fans with no less interest than the progress of the game. The spectators screamed, jumped up from their seats, and made bets among themselves. At the end of the match, fans of the losing team sometimes went home without clothes, lost their property and gave themselves into slavery to the winning side. The Spaniards usually prohibited such bets for reasons of safety for the fans themselves, and simply considering this custom to be barbaric. But the Spaniards were especially struck by the fact that the team that lost with a shameful score could have been beheaded in its entirety right after the end of the match.
During the classical period, the rules and conditions of playing ball differed significantly in different cities. On bas-reliefs and ceramics of that time, “sports” scenes show that the ball could have a much larger diameter (scientists do not rule out that this is an artistic technique of exaggeration), and the fields were smaller.
The largest ball court in the Mayan world is considered to be the stadium in Copan. In ancient times, the nobility watched the competition, sitting on the steps of the pyramids adjacent to the playing field. Ordinary people crowded under the walls of the stadium, listening to the “commentator”. The latter tried to guess the course of the match, listening to the players' remarks and the sounds of the ball bouncing off the players' knees and elbows, as well as from the walls. Sometimes the commentator was shouted from the pyramids, explaining the true state of affairs on the field.
Until recently, it was believed that tlachtli - the Aztec ball game - had nothing in common with what was practiced among the Mayans: supposedly the latter played softer, more gracefully, and, of course, there was no question of post-match reprisals. However, bas-relief texts and drawings clearly indicate that in the Mayan world, the game of ball was of a sacred nature and was a central element in the entire religious life of society, even among the nobility. So the consequences of an unsuccessful game for Mayan athletes could be as sad as for the Aztecs. There is some connection here with the gladiatorial fights of Ancient Rome, where sacrifice with the obligatory killing of the loser was also part of the general ritual.
As ritual objects, ball stadiums were built in the middle of the main square of the city, which emphasized the importance of this action in the socio-religious and cultural life of the people. In Copan, for example, the playing field forms a "bridge" between the Acropolis - the sacred abode of the kings - and the public complexes and squares on the northern side of the city. This area was completely rebuilt by the 18-Rabbit and received a whole scattering of amazing monuments and steles as its main decoration.
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Palenque. Inner courtyard of the ball court, left side.
Palenque. Bas-relief depicting prisoners tied with their own loincloths.
The Olmecs are the inventors of the game. Almost all Mayan cities had ball courts. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of “stadiums” in Tikal (Guatemala), Copan (Honduras), Chichen Itza (Yucatan Peninsula), Oaxaca (Southern Mexico) and other places. During periods of hostilities, the Indians arranged truces in order to play a sacred game.
It is believed that the game pok-ta-pok was invented by the Olmecs, the creators of the most ancient civilization, traces of which were found in Mexico. Two playing fields may have been located in the Olmec ritual center of La Venta, which existed in 1000-400 BC. BC. And from the Olmecs the ball game was learned throughout Central and Southern Mexico, as well as in the northern regions of Central America.
Features of the game. The game could involve two teams or two players. They took turns serving the ball so that the opponent could not return it without making a mistake. You could touch the ball with your hips, elbows, and buttocks. The players threw the ball from one end of the field to the other, trying to get into the hoop. The winner was the one who scored a certain number of points.
You could immediately win the game if you managed to throw the ball through the ring, the hole of which was slightly larger in size than the ball. The ring was attached vertically to the wall of the site at a height of about two meters from the ground, sometimes higher.
The game was of a ritual nature. The movement of the ball symbolized the movement of the sun and stars across the sky, and the opposing teams staged a symbolic struggle between day and night, the gods of Heaven and the Underworld (the kingdom of the dead).
Often the game ended with a beheading ritual, which is probably related to the cult of fertility. Some believe that the captain of the losing “team” turned into a victim, others - the captain of the winning “team”, since the gods had to give the best, including the strongest, most dexterous, beautiful people. Perhaps all the losers were beheaded. It is also suggested that the role of the victim could be played by prisoners of war who had the honor of participating in the game. It was believed that the sacrificed person, after winning the game, went to heaven, bypassing the horrors of the nine underworlds.
Balls and "tracksuits". The balls the Indians played with were different from modern ones. They were made of rubber and were not hollow inside and therefore weighed a lot - 2 kg, if not 3 kg. Often in Mayan reliefs and drawings the balls turn out to be very large in size - only two to three times smaller than the players themselves. So the Indians emphasized that the ball was the main “character” of the game.
The participant in the game had to use a helmet, knee pads, and put on a leather hip belt weighing 30 kg. The use of such defenses made the game even more difficult. In many Mayan cities, during excavations, clay figurines were found depicting players - massive men dressed in strong helmets, voluminous belts and other protective equipment reflecting a blow or throwing a ball.
Indian "stadiums". In shape they resembled the Latin letters I or T. They seemed to symbolize the Universe, pointing to the four parts of the world. The game itself took place in the longitudinal part of the structure. The “playing field” was enclosed by vertical or inclined walls, from which the ball bounced without hitting the spectators. As mentioned, there was a vertical stone ring in the middle of the wall. Sometimes a removable wooden ring was used. Spectators could be seated on platforms around the site.
"Stadiums" were part of ritual complexes. They included pyramids, temples (often mortuary ones), sites for human sacrifices, tzompantli - special structures where the skulls of those sacrificed were kept (sometimes called “walls of skulls” or “places of skulls”).
The location of the “stadiums” did not depend on the terrain or the placement of other buildings. For the Indians, it was important that the sites were oriented either along a north-south axis or along a west-east axis. In the first case, the platforms seemed to point to the north, where, according to the beliefs of some Indian peoples of the region, the kingdom of the dead was located. In the second case (east-west line), the orientation of the “stadiums” indicated the connection of the game with the solar cult.
The largest play area. Archaeologists have discovered a “stadium” in the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza (Yucatan), which was built in 864. Tourists visiting the ruins of the ancient city are impressed by the size of this structure. The field is 146 m long and 36 m wide. It is bordered by two long walls. On the walls at a height of 10 m there are rings into which the players had to throw the ball. The playing field is oriented along a north-south line with a slight deviation to the east (to the sacred well of the Itza people). At the base of the walls there are low stone ledges. On the ledges there are relief images of human sacrifices. Ancient engravers showed two "teams" consisting of seven players each, with one player holding in his hand the head of an opponent from the other team.
Four churches were erected on the territory of the “sports” complex. Their walls were decorated with frescoes telling about the military glory of the Mayans. Some images were directly related to the game.
Experts draw attention to the unique feature of this complex of structures. Being in the so-called Northern Temple and Southern Temple, two people could talk to each other without straining their voices, and their conversation was not audible to other people except those who stood in close proximity to the talkers. The reasons for the occurrence of such an acoustic effect are unknown; it is impossible to say whether the Mayans created a “stone telephone” or the effect was a gift of nature.
Architectural complex in Guatemala. Particularly popular among tourists visiting Central America is the architectural complex of the ancient city of Zuculeu, whose inhabitants were conquered by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Like the Mayans, who settled in the Yucatan during the classical period, the inhabitants of Zuculeu decorated their “sports” court with images of the gods to whom the game was dedicated. Modern visitors to the Indian city find that the stadium in provincial Zuculeu was four times larger than the stadium in the older, more famous and more populous Mayan urban center of Tikal.
Apparently, the ritual complex in the small mountain town had special significance. The playground symbolized a narrow passage into the underworld, through which the sun disappears into the night. Rivals fought for the right to bring the sun out of the underworld. They acted in the same way as the heroes of the epic work of the Maya of Guatemala, the sacred book of the Popol Vuh.
An ancient game today. The favorite game of the Mayans and peoples close to them in culture can still be observed today. Some travel companies attract attention by promising visitors the opportunity to see this rare sight. True, these days no one performs the complex rituals that accompanied the competition in the past, and does not sacrifice players to the gods.