The Mayan Ball Game

The ball game was very sacred to the Mayans. It was an extension of their religion. The game may have been a reenactment of the Mayan myth of the Hero Twins. In the myth, the Hero Twins had to battle the gods of death from the underworld by playing a ball game. In the story the Twins win and they rise into the heavens to be the sun and the moon. The ball is believed to represent the moon and the sun and the court represents the earth. The ball was kept in the air, just as the sun and the moon were always in the sky. Many warriors and Kings played the game fiercely. In some cases the loser would be killed, and would have their heads displayed in front of the court.

The game would be played in an I shaped court, approximately 25 feet wide, by 75 feet long. The ball was six inches in diameter and made out of rubber. The players would wear an arm protector and a hip protector while playing to protect themselves from the ball.

The game was a combination of basketball, volley ball, and soccer. Two teams of two to eleven players would play the game. They would try and get a rubber ball through a small hoop that was about twenty-seven feet off of the ground. The players would have to keep the ball in motion using parts of their bodies like hips, thighs and forearms, but the use of hands and feet was not allowed.

The ball was very hard to get through the hoop. Because of this, when a player successfully got the ball through a hoop, the spectators would have to give him their clothing and jewelry. As a result, once the ball went through the hoop the spectators would run away to avoid giving the player a reward.

An example of the Mayan Ball Game being played is in the animated movie The Road to El Dorado. While no one knows for sure how the game was played this is as good an example as we will ever see.

Ball Player	Ball Court

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