notes and reflections

The Purapechan Indian ruins (450-600AD) on the outskirts of the town of Tingambato, about midway between Patzcuaro and Uruapan, contain a step-pyramid, the tumbled walls of dwellings and meeting rooms, a tomb and altars but what interested me most was the ballfield. I had been dimly aware that ancient Mexican cultures played a form of ball but had no idea what it was.

The game was invented by the Olmecs who were the world´s first to discover rubber, some claim about 3,000 years ago. (In fact, their name, "Olmec" in Aztec, means the rubber people.) One report I read said they invented raincoats and I imagine they were hard at work on automobile tires when someone came up with the rubber ball. One can almost imagine the conversation that resulted.  "Hey, look at this thing.  It bounces a little.  I bet we could invent a game kind of like basketball." "Cool."

And so they did. They called the game Tlachtli and it was played by two teams in a walled, sunken court with a stone hoop mounted sideways. The ball could be played off the stone walls of the court but could not touch the ground, nor could it be touched by hands or feet.  This made scoring so extremely hard that the first team to score, won. The ball, too, was hard since it was made of natural rubber and was quite capable of shattering bones if it came off the wall with sufficient velocity. Despite this, the game spread and was adopted by the Mayans, Aztecs, Toltecs, Mixtecs and others, including the Purapechans.  With the Aztecs the game was played exclusively by prisoners of war and the losing side was sacrificed.  (A real incentive to win.)  A different account I read claimed in another more accepting Indian culture, only the losing coach was beheaded, for which the losing players were deeply grateful.  This is a practice apparently studied and adopterd by US football team owners who fire their coaches after a losing season or two.

In addition to the pure fun everyone was having, there were religious significations to the game and it was watched closely by priests for omens probably relating to weather, crops or relations with other Indian groups.  ("Cripes, he missed that one completely.  It may not rain for months!")

The Purapechan population in the present-day state of Michoacan was large and the language is still spoken.  The game, too, continues to exist although much changed and primarily for the benefit of tourists.  The ball is softer and the only thing sacrificed at the end is the reputation of the losing team.