Belize Just Became The New World Champions Of A Once Deadly Ancient Maya Ball Game
The Lodge at Chaa Creek salutes Belize's Ek' Balam, aka The Black Jaguars in Mayan, for bringing home the Pok Ta Pok World Cup following gruelling regional competition in this ancient Maya ball game - one in which the losers were ritually executed back in the sport's heyday.
SAN IGNACIO, Belize, May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Belize's World Cup victory in the ancient Maya life-or-death ballgame of Pok Ta Pok is a win for both the country and Maya people everywhere, according to The Lodge at Chaa Creek.
Brion Young of Chaa Creek's Belize Natural History Centre said renewed interest in the world's longest continually played sport is drawing welcome attention to Maya culture past and present.
Belize's Ek' Balam - "Black Jaguars" in Mayan - competed against nine teams from El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama to win a decisive victory at the Pok Ta Pok World Championship that culminated in El Salvador on the 5th of May 2019.
Pok Ta Pok is a gruelling, hard fought game played by two teams moving a solid rubber ball down a long field using only their hips and thighs. Considered to be the world's longest continually played ball sport, it was prominent in ancient Olmec, Aztec and Maya cultures to settle disputes between rulers and city-states, and as a popular recreational sport.
Over 1,300 ball courts, some as large as modern day professional football fields, have been identified, suggesting the Mesoamerican ball game was played from as far south as Paraguay and north to Arizona. In Sinaloa and other parts of Mexico a variation known as Ulama has been played for centuries.
In ancient times, the captains of losing teams would sometimes be beheaded in ritual sacrifices, but the modern version is much more forgiving, Mr Young said.
"Passions still run high, but these days the losing team is allowed to live," he said.
With the sport's resurgence, combined with new discoveries of ancient temples, metropolises, and vast suburbs previously hidden under dense jungle canopy, Mayanists and researchers are "having a field day," he said.
"The Maya were one of the ancient world's most advanced civilisations, having, in isolation, discovered writing, papermaking, higher mathematics, astronomy and medical procedures that included brain and heart surgery. They possessed amazing scientific knowledge and developed complex astronomical calculations that continue to astound scientists today," Mr Young said,
"Unfortunately, most of that knowledge was lost when Spanish Conquistadores burnt the Maya's vast libraries to wipe out what they considered to be the work of the devil," he added.
Renewed interest in Maya studies may lead to new discoveries about this fascinating, enigmatic civilisation, Mr Young believes. A resurgence in Pok Ta Pok also strengthens cultural identity for today's Maya, who make up some 12% of Belize's population and an estimated 40% of neighbouring Guatemala's.
"Visitors to Belize marvel at the ancient Maya temples and remnants of huge cities we have here, and when they ask, 'what happened to all the Maya?' they're surprised when we say, 'The naturalist guide leading this morning's bird watching? The driver of the van that picked you up at the airport? Your tour guide at Xunantunich? The woman at the front desk? They're all Maya.'"
"So all this interest is great for raising awareness about both the ancient and contemporary Maya of Belize," Mr Young said.
Recent research using new technologies in Belize, Guatemala and other countries is uncovering new discoveries that are also generating excitement, he explained.
LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, can penetrate dense forest canopies to reveal structures that have been hidden for centuries. Much like Radar uses radio waves or Sonar's sound waves, LiDAR sends laser pulses that bounce back data to create 3D images of structures and objects.
A recent LiDAR aerial survey of rainforests near Tikal, Guatemala, just across the border from Chaa Creek, uncovered over 60,000 homes, palaces, burial chambers, causeways and other previously unknown structures.
"Everything is pointing to the fact that these ancient Maya cities were even larger and more sophisticated than we thought. For example, we knew that the ancient metropolis of Caracol in Belize was much larger and more populous than present day Belize City and still contains the tallest building in the country, and now LiDAR is showing that it was even more majestic than we thought.
"At Chaa Creek, situated in the heartland of the ancient Maya between Caracol and Tikal, we earlier recorded over 70 ancient Maya archaeological sites and a ceremonial temple right within our 400-acre private nature reserve. We also conduct a wide range of Maya cultural tours and expeditions, village visits and expeditions to all major temples, ceremonial caves and archaeological sites.
"Being literally surrounded by ancient Pok Ta Pok ball courts at nearby Xunantunich, Pacbitun and other ancient Maya temple and archaeological sites, we're especially interested in the growth of Pok Ta Pok, and looking forward to seeing even more competition in Belize and throughout the region.
"And with a fair number of Maya among our 160 Belizean staff members, there's a good chance of a Chaa Creek Pok Ta Pok team competing in the future," Mr Young said.
The Lodge at Chaa Creek is a multi-award winning eco resort set within a 400-acre private nature reserve along the banks of the Macal River in Belize. It was recognised by National Geographic with first place honours at the 2017 World Legacy Awards held in Berlin.
SOURCE The Lodge at Chaa Creek
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