In Belize, Maya Descendants Are Reviving An Ancient, Sacred Ballgame

In Belize, Maya Descendants Are Reviving An Ancient, Sacred Ballgame

One of the first things we learn about the Maya is that they played a curious ball and court game, and that these courts can be found in all the major Mayan archaeological sites.

From the former Maya stronghold of Belize comes the story of the slow revival of this ancient ball game—perhaps the oldest of its kind, and of the pride and ethnic joy that comes along with it.

Pok-ta-pok is billed as the world’s oldest team ballgame, and today is the national sport of Belize. They were the reigning world champions three times in a row before Mexico unseated them in 2023.

No one knows for certain how long pok-ta-pok has been played. Some scholars believe it originated with the Olmec culture, but it has been played among the Maya for probably 2,000 years. Thousands of ball courts have been found across Mesoamerica, including Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, all bearing similar features of a long court with tapered sides ending in stone walls and two vertical-standing hoops mounted to the sides of the walls.

It was played with a ball, probably weighing around 9 pounds, made from the congealed sap of the Panama rubber tree, and various versions of the game saw players strike the ball with their hips, or potentially also the forearms.

Carved reliefs on the side of the Great Ball Court in the Mexican Mayan city of Chichen Itza suggest it was played with teams of men. Courts bore stone markers on the floors or walls that archaeologists believe were part of the scoring system, though the ball was likely kept in continuous play, with a well timed and angled strike from one player holding the power to send the ball soaring 90 feet across the court.

When Spanish Catholic missionaries witnessed pok-ta-pok in the 1600s, they were equally awed and offended, but fortunately it was their accounts that give us some details about the game.

Points were scored by striking the ball through the ring, moving it into the opponent’s “end zone,” or hitting stone markers. On important occasions, certain players would have almost certainly been ritually murdered at the end as a nod to a Mayan creation myth where a pair of twins defeat the lord of the underworld in a ball game, according to Smithsonian.

The modern version of the game is often called “Pelota Maya” in Spanish, and was played in secret by Mayan communities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. This state eventually gave an exhibition of the game at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Since then, it’s gradually grown into an internationally federated sport, with national teams competing from Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Panama, and nine Mexican states. Additionally, Las Vegas, East Los Angeles, and Yuma, Arizona, along with the San Bernadino Valley in the US have teams.

The game is played on a 200 by 13 feet court, A fajado or leather and suede loincloth, is worn around the waist with extra padding on the dominant hip bone used to strike the ball.

If a poor hip strike causes the bounce to fade, players still use their hips to strike the ball by scooting themselves along the ground. Penalties are incurred for performing this maneuver and accidently sitting on the ball, as well as allowing the ball to strike other parts of their body.

Scoring a hoop goal during the game results in 10 tens, while in a semifinal or final match of a tournament, a hoop goal results in an automatic victory. A hoop goal is particularly difficult since the hoop is about the same size as the ball itself.

Belize’s talent pool is about 40 athletes deep, from youth teams to senior and women’s teams as well.

WATCH a an exhibition match below…