The ball game played by all indians in Mesoamerica was called Pitzil. The Olmecs invented the game around as early as 1000 B.C. The ball was made of rubber and the ball courts varied in different cultures. There are an enormous amount of ball courts in Mesoamerica, and in Mexico alone there have been found more than 600 ball courts. .
Ball Court in Monte Alban
Basketball, Football or Something Else?
Pitzil was a kind of a mixture between football and basketball. It was so important that only the elite was allowed to play. Depending on the needs, the game could be ritual, political, religious or sportive. The Mayans believed that the game would ensure that the sun would rise in the morning, the rains would come on time and that all the heavenly elements would fall into place and sink into the underworld at night.
The ritual game depicted the most important Gods playing with the sun and the moon, always fighting between good and bad. The hard rubber ball weighed about three kilograms and it symbolised the sun, the stars and blood. There is a connection in the symbolism to the national anthem of the Mayans, Popol Vuh, as it tells about the twin brothers who rose into the sky, one becoming the sun and the other becoming the moon.
The Heavy Ball Caused Wounds
The royal ball court in Cancuen, in which three ball court markers were found. Panel 3 was found close by.
The ball court was shaped like the letter H or I. It is believed that the teams were represented by 1 to 15 players. The ball was not to be touched by hands or feet and it often caused severe injury to the players.
The Kings played with a 'Beach Ball'
The game played by kings was easier and it was played on a royal ball court. On the court they placed three ball court markers. The markers symbolised today´s photographs and depicted important events and agreements. The ball seems to have been much larger than in the 'professional' game, and researchers believe that it might have been air filled. The size of the ball is known as the hieroglyphs state that the ball was five or even eleven hands wide.
Partly restored royal ball court.
And Sauna after the Game
After each game important ceremonies and sacrifices took place and the ball was burned. The story also tells that the teams had a sauna together and that at the end the captain of the winning - or the losing - team was sacrificed. To be sacrificed at the end of a game was a great honour because it led straight to the highest level in the heavens, the thirteenth.
