Pok-a-tok: The terrible Mayan ball sacrifice game

Football is always a king sport that captivates millions of hearts in the world. Before the football matches like today, the ancient Mayans also held similar football matches. The difference is that in their football matches, players must fight not only win-lose but also between life and death.

Ancient Mayans were said to be the first to play football today.Pok-a-tok , this sport is seen as a form of entertainment and shows the religious beliefs of the community.

The Maya built soccer fields throughout the territory, and today the ancient football fields still exist on the Gulf of Mexico coast. Historically there have been about 3000 ancient ball games taking place, and every match is a unique sacrificial ritual of Mayan people.

Ball field

Chichen Itza yard

The football field was built in the I shape, symbolizing the wealth and prosperity of the Maya empire. Chichen Itza Arena is the largest and most famous Mayan stadium with a larger size than today's football field and includes meticulously carved walls depicting the evolution of ball matches as well as the following sacrifices. match. The size of the football field is also quite diverse. Chichen Itza's largest yard is 96.5m long and 30m wide, while Tikal football field is only 16m long and 5m wide.

Discus subject

The two sides of the yard have two steep walls erected to prevent the balloons from going out as well as increasing the bounce of the ball. The football field is usually paved with plaster or stone. On the walls, there are 3 circular discs with stone holes for making a goal, a few meters from the yard. Players must try to put the ball over the disk to win.

Ball

The ball used in the game is a kind of rubber ball with high bouncing made from an indigenous tree - rubber tree. The balls are hollowed out to be lighter and bounce better. Some balls have a human skull inside and are wrapped in rubber bands. The skull is used to symbolize the life and death of the ball game.

Mayan football

The size of the ball can range from as small as a baseball to bigger than a watermelon - that's about 3.6kg. With such size, the players must be very careful when the balloons arrive to avoid injuries and fractures. It can be seen that, even without sacrificing rituals, the ball game is also quite cruel to the players because they always face a high risk of injury and may lose their lives if the ball hits dangerous areas. .

Player plays the ball

Only nobles can participate in the game, and the number of players also varies in different regions. When playing football, players wear Yuguito to protect their knees, wrists and help touch the ball better. In addition, the players wear Yoke around their waist, a leather object to protect the body and support the ball and Manoplas (hand stone) to polish.

Costumes playing Mayan balls

Players must ensure to keep the ball in the air by using hips, people, legs or arms. Touching with feet or hands is not acceptable. They have to hit the ball on the wall or into another player to keep the ball and create a chance to score.

If a player scores a goal, he will have the right to take a precious jewelry from the audience on the field. But with the losing team, the tragic outcome awaiting them ahead - that is death.

Sacrificing ceremony after the game

For the losing team, the captain will be the one who will suffer the penalty of using his death to sacrifice to the gods. For the Maya, sacrifice is always necessary to maintain prosperity for the nation and the power of the nation. The paintings on the Chichen Itza yard also depict the player's death.

The drawing depicts the sacrifice of the player after losing

This is probably the heaviest punishment that ever existed in a sport, but if viewed positively, the Maya see this as a common religious ritual, and the sacrifice always feels honored to have. You can serve the gods and bring prosperity to your people.