The game tlachtli

Most of these have never been excavated so no one knows for sure exactly how old they are. All of the ball courts had high parallel walls that bordered two opposite sides.

There was a ring of stone hanging from each wall. Points were scored when the ball was passed through the rings. We know from pictorial evidence that there were two teams with seven players on each side, including a captain.

Players wore a short skirt, with feathered crests on the back, knee protectors, sandals, and a cap or feathers. Each teams uniform had its own individual markings. The game started when a referee through the ball out in the middle of the court. If the ball touched the ground the game was started over.

The players moved the ball by bouncing it off the walls until they could take a shot at the small circular ring. Each player had a flat wooden plate in the shape of a serpent in their right hand and a wooden club in his belt. Numerous historians have researched Tlachli and concluded that it was played without the use of hands. This type of game was especially true of the ancient Aztecs, who played a version of tlachtli called olamaliztli.

Kelly mentions that players wrapped sections of automobile tire under the chimali for additional protection. The fourth piece is called bota and is a slice of leather that some players use under the gamuza to absorb the impact. When not in use, the fajado is neatly wrapped and hung from the rafters of the house in a manner that appears to be identical to that described for the Aztecs by Fray Diego Duran in his 16th century Historia de las Indias or in the Popol Vuh for the Hero Twins.

Ulama is played on a field, called a taste , approximately feet long and feet wide. The taste is divided into two halves by a line called the analco , a term that appears in colonial chronicles. In Los Llanitos, this line is marked by two stones set into the ground on each side of the taste. Parallel lines running the length of the taste mark the boundaries on each side. Finally, the end lines are known as chichis. The size of teams can vary but is generally between three and five. Play begins with one side throwing a high serve male arriba across the analco or by rolling the ball across male abajo.

The type of service changes according to the score. The first team to score eight rayas wins. The rules of Ulama are complex, and it took us a good amount of time to understand them. Once you have gained one point, you keep it. In Ulama the score is not linear, but oscillatory, and works as a type of teetertotter where the points rayas of the teams go up and down.

This scoring behavior is consistent with Mesoamerican ideology, for the game was in its origins a ritual practice in which there was a representation of the dynamics of the cosmos and the movement of the celestial bodies. The Mesoamericans believed that life in the universe was held by the balancing action of contrary and complementary forces, which needed to be in perpetual movement. The oscillation in the Ulama score symbolizes that duality between contrary and complementary forces, such as light-darkness, day-night, high-low, heat-cold, life-death or fertility-drought.

This brief overview belies the complexity of the game. A majority of the players actually do not know all of the rules. Several players stated that the rules are so complex that one has to play the game for many years to understand all of them. Because the rules are not formalized, there are many differences of opinion about the rules, and during our discussions in Los Llanitos intergenerational differences were common.

There also seem to be regional differences as well. In an exhibition game we observed, an argument broke out between teams from Los Llanitos and Escuinapa over the form of the serve used to start the game. Because the rules are so complex that not all of the players might understand them, the role of the veedor or juez is important. The veedor , generally an older or a former player, is the referee who has the final say, according to the players.

In games between communities, there should be a veedor from each side, and they only become involved if the two sides do not agree on a play or point. There seem to be formalized rules on how disputes are brought to the veedor. In the game we observed between Los Llanitos and Escuinapa, a player from Escuinapa brought an issue to the veedor.

While the point was still being considered, a second player from the same team made a comment to the veedor. Such a rule prevents the veedor from being surrounded and outnumbered by disputing players. Age appears to be an issue of importance in disputes. In another disagreement between the same teams, an old player from Escuinapa assumed the role of veedor because his team had not brought one. Although a player, he appeared to overrule the veedor from Los Llanitos because he was older.

In response, the team from Los Llanitos attempted to have a year-old former player from La Savila settle the argument. In the past, the veedores may have had more control. Both Kelly and our year-old informant confirm that inter-community competition was often in the hands of organizers who supported the players and supervised their practice. Ulama de Cadera is found in the south of Sinaloa. In this version of the ball game, teams tend to be made of five or more and in this case, the traditional hip is used to move the ball.

Another version of the game, Ulama de Palo, is different in that the players wield a wooden racket. This particular game was a relic of the past until it was revived in the s. Modern day Pok-ta-pok players in action. By Bryan Hilliard.

March 16, April 22, Berkowitz, M. The Mesoamerican Ball Game. He has traveled Read More. It's a great game and I am truly interested. My favorite teacher Mrs. Miller is making me do a wonderful movie about it. Thank you for your comment. I am doing a project on the differences in the Mayan and Aztec versions of the game.

I would love it if I could interview you to get more information on the game. I understand if you don't want to do the interview, but I would appreciate any response. It would be nice to see how some of today's international pro footballers would cope with even ten minutes of this! No rolling around clutching shins if you might have your head whipped off! Ancient Origins has been quoted by:. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings.

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Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. Skip to main content. Updated 28 April, - Bryan Hill. Read Later Print. References "The Mesoamerican Ball Game. Login or Register in order to comment. Trevor Torola wrote on 7 April, - Caleb Douglas wrote on 19 April, - Hello Liz, Thanks for the response and I sent an email to you. Sincerely, Caleb Douglas.