Each Maya city had at least one huge ball court
similar to the stadiums we have today.
Tiers of bleacher seating surrounded each open air ball
court. Ball courts and the games played within them were important
to the Maya people. People poured in from the surrounding areas each
time a game was played in a nearby city. Games were always played
during the religious festivals held every 20 days.
Honoring
the Gods: Ball courts were usually positioned at the foot
of a temple. Ball games had religious meanings. Games were played to
honor the Hero Twins and other Maya gods and goddesses.
The
Game: Courts had a large playing area. There was a
stone hoop mounted in the wall at one end. The Mayas used the ball
courts to play a ball game they called pok-a-tok. It was a very rough
sport.
Pok-a-tok is a mix of
soccer, basketball, and kick ball.
It was played with a solid hard rubber ball. You could not hit
the ball with your hands. It had to be hit with the hips, shoulders,
or arms. The object of the game was to hit the rubber ball through the
stone ring that was attached to the wall at one end of the court. Ball
players wore protective clothing when playing.
Winners:
When playing games among themselves, or against other Maya cities, the
winning team got to keep the jewelry of the losing team.
Losers:
Some games were played with captives, people from other
Indian tribes that Maya warriors had captured. These games were of
great interest to the Maya people. Poorly
fed, exhausted, beaten captives made up one team, and professional
Maya ball players made up the other. The beaten captives always lost
these games. After they lost, they were sacrificed.
Mesoamerica Ball
Game
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