Pok-Ta-Pok:The Ancient Maya ball game

Pok-ta-pok is a name of a ball game played by Mayan people since at least 1650 BCE. It was a game of honorable sacrifice.

I recently visited Chichen Itza, a pre-Columbian city built by the Mayan people situated in Mexico. Amongst many other historical architectures, the magnificent giant ballroom court stood out for me for its unique ritual of death over life.

Let’s talk about the rules of the game, however there are various versions of the Pok-ta-pok and also lots of guess work involved in discovering the rules from the ancient history. The version that I heard from the lady tour guide at Chichen Itza goes as per below:

1. Pok-ta-pok was played between two teams and both teams had one captain with more than 1 assistant player.

2. The players used a rubber ball same as the size of today’s basketball but definitely heavier.

3. The players were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or legs. They used their head, shoulder, elbow, knee and hip to pass through the ball from a small hoop in the center of the court wall. There were some protective gears also which they used to cover their arms and knees. Sometimes the game continued even for days to reach a result.

4. Finally the captain of the winning team sacrificed to the god of death which brought honor to him. At Chichen Itza there is a skull wall which depicts the skull of the winners of the ball game.

Such was the eagerness to meet early the god of death and bring honor that they practiced this game since their childhood. A practice ballroom was built for this purpose, one of them is situated in Coba, Mexico.

I enjoyed my visit to Chichen Itza, Coba and Tulum thoroughly. I am really thrilled to experience the amazing ancient history and rituals associated with the Mayan civilization. So, if you are also planning a vacation to Cancun, Mexico don’t limit yourself within the luxury and comfort of all- inclusive resorts, I highly recommend you to witness the history of Mayan civilization through the architecture of these beautiful sites. Meanwhile enjoy some glimpse of the sites below.