Murder in the Court, Mayan Soccetball
Posted on | April 4, 2008 | No Comments
Murder in the Court – Mayan Soccetball
Sudden death takes on a whole new meaning when you visit the Mayan soccetball court ruins in Chichén Itzá. Those fun loving Mayans ran up and down the 545 feet by 273 feet tlachco (pronounced tlachco), or court, playing a combination of soccer and basketball in which points were scored by flinging a small rubber ball, weighing approximately 3 pounds, through 20-foot high stone rings inset on opposite sloping walls.
The stone hoops, positioned sideways like a teacup handle, suggest basketball; the manner of play, with12-man teams forbidden to use their hands to score, suggests soccer. Some say the players weren’t allowed to use their feet, either. A single goal could take days. Scholars theorize that some players died of exhaustion before a goal was ever scored. Post-game celebrations suggest a new level of “kill the bum.” Point scored; game over; someone must die. Sources differ on the who, but not the what:
Winners Lose
Mysterious Places posits: It is not hard to imagine a Mayan King sitting here presiding over the games. Legends say that the winning captain would present his head to the losing captain, who then decapitates him. While this may seem a strange reward, the Mayans believed this to be the ultimate honor. The winning captain getting a direct ticket to heaven instead of going through the 13 steps that the Mayan’s believed they had to go through in order to reach heaven.
Losers Lose
After the invasion of the Toltecs, the Ball Court took on a more somber note, with the losing team often being sacrificed.
Spectators Lose
In Mayan times (300 – 900 AD), a player who scored a goal could claim the property of any spectator that he could catch.
Hard to play devil’s advocate and argue against the death theorists. Friezes carved into the court’s side walls showcase one player, sword in hand, holding a recently removed head up by the hair while blood pours from the severed neck. The body kneels opposite, blood spurting up out of that half of the neck as well.In a lengthy and fascinating article appearing on
Eclectica.org, C.E. Chaffin ruminates on one scholar’s thoughts: Dr. Gonzalez speculates that perhaps the losing team was so exhausted that death was a mercy, and the winners fared little better, facing a long recuperation.
I prefer to believe that there were rest periods, but how the crowds were entertained during these intermissions without dancing girls in spandex and acrobats in gorilla costumes dunking from a trampoline raises another question.
Forget about Charles Barkley’soutbursts; the Mayans make Latrell Sprewell look like the pale skinny guy on the beach shaking sand out of his shorts.Imagine Daddy Stern trying to incorporate the ancient Mayans expansion franchise into his global NBA village. Who would play for (or against) the Mayans?
Here is my imaginary Mayan NBA team:
Steve Nash and Allen Iverson for their soccer-like footwork.
LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Shaq for sheer muscles needed in both scoring and racing away with smaller teammates on your back immediately afterward.
Every 52 years, in Mayan tradition, the world begins again and the past is forgotten. Every 82 games, in NBA tradition, the best of the best compete for a golden trophy; if you win, your poor past performances are forgiven.
Players wore heavy padding around their hips, a pad on their left knee, a sandal on their left foot, and various headdresses and jewelry. Today, players with padding around their hips are asked to increase their workout schedule; shoe contracts cover right and left feet; headbands are common unless you play in the windy city.
The Mayan hoop was considered a portal to another world, if a ball passed through it passed to the gods. Today, a ball handoff to LB or Kobe is a pass directly to the basketball gods.
Written by: Carolyn Hastings
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