The Ball Court
at Chichén Itzá
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Some researchers believe that the ball
game was invented in Teotihuacan and from there it spread
to other villages in Mesoamerica. Chichén Itzá's
Ball Court is the largest and one of the most beautiful.
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The Juego de Pelota (Ball Court) at Chichén
Itzá is surrounded by sloping walls, vertical on the
inside but tilted from top to bottom on the outside. Each of
the northern, southern and eastern sides support temples which
were probably used for rituals on the days when the sacred games
were played. The size, some 90 meters long, and design of the
complex supports the theory of the arrival and development of
the Itzá and the influence of their religious ideas.
Click here here
to see an illustration of the ball court at Chichén Itzá.
Upon entering the ball court, visitors are struck
by the excellent accoustics of the stadium and its surrounding
temples. The panels along the side walls are decorated with
scenes from the ball game and its players. One of the scenes,
the beheading of a player in center field witnessed by the players
of both teams, is one of the most dramatic examples of Maya
art. 
The scene not only illustrates the horror faced by the
players but also the sacred importance of the game. At one time
it was believed that the losers were destined to die but new
theories have been proposed by researchers. Some think that
the captain of the winning team was sacrificed since his team's
triumph made him a fitting offering to the gods.
An essential part of the
Juego de Pelota are the two stone scoring rings decorated
with serpents which are found on opposite walls of the ball
field. Nobody knows exactly how the game was played but is believed
that for a team to score, the players of that team had to pass
a hard rubber ball through the openings of the rings without
using their hands. Although played for sport and for wagers
the ball game had a definite religious significance. In the
Maya creation story, the Popol Vuh, the divine twin heros
play this same game for their lives against the lords of the
underworld.
Ball courts are found in many Maya cities in
the Yucatán but none are as large or well reconstructed
as the one at Chichén Itzá.
[Based on Let's Learn about
Chichén-Itzá , Chichén-Itzá:
The City of the Wise Men of the Water. by Roman Chan and
All About the Mayas. by C. Dorese. published by Producción
Editorial Dante (Mérida, Mexico). All available in paperback
and highly recommended.]
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