African Olmec Basketball - Did Ancient African Warriors Invent The Ball Game?

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African Olmec Basketball - Did Ancient African Warriors Invent The Ball Game?
The original Maya ballgame called pitz was basically part of Maya political, religious, and social life. Played with a rubber ball running in size from that of a softball to a soccer ball, competitors would need to attempt to bounce the ball without using their hands by means of stone hoops attached to the sides of the ball court. The entire ball court itself was obviously a focal point of Maya cities and towns and additionally showed the city's wealth not to mention power. The main playing stadium was in the design of an I with high platforms on either side of the court allowing for large numbers of viewers. Moveable stone court markers called hacha ordinarily depicting animals or skulls were placed around the arena. Murals illustrating captives, fighters, Creation myths, and transfers of political power from one ruler to the next were actually painted surrounding the ball court. The very ballgame gave neighboring urban centers a replacement for war regarding resolving disputes.

Ballplayers put on protective equipment during the competition to prevent bodily injury by the hard rubber ball that sometimes weighed approximately 20 lbs. To protect ribs and the torso participants would wear a yoke of leather material or wood around their waists. Natural stone hachas were sometimes coupled to the front of the yoke right after the match for ceremonial activities. They also put on padding around knees and even arms, and large stylized animal headdresses that may have represented what they believed to be their particular animal counterparts or way. Handstones known as manopla were held to hit the ball with extra force, and may have been useful to start the ball in play.

The spiritual story most related to the ballgame is that of the Maize Gods and the Hero Twins from the Quich Maya book of creation, the Popol Vuh. As the tale goes, the Maize Gods were avid ballplayers that were killed and buried on the court by the Lords of Xibalba (the Underworld) for annoying them with the noise of the match. The head of one of the Maize gods was hung from a tree in the Underworld, and as a daughter of the Lord of the Underworld passes, it spit into her palm, unbelievably impregnating her. The daughter bore twin sons, the Hero Twins, who avenge their very own father and uncle's deaths by way of resurrecting them on the ballcourt. The Hero Twins go on to make it through the ordeals of Hell directed at them by the death gods, although the reborn Maize Gods remain on the ballcourt intended for humans to honor. The Maya therefore believed that that it was necessary to play the match for their own survival. The ballgame presented an opportunity to show devoutness to the gods by sacrificing captured kings and high lords, and the losing opponents of the match.

Popol Vuh

Much of Maya culture revolved around the text of the Popol Vuh, or Book of Counsel. The writing takes note of the creation of humans through the Heart of Sky along with the Sovereign Plumed Serpent in a series of attempts, making use of materials which includes clay, wood, and then finally maize. The most significant gods included Itzmna, lord of life; Ali Kin, the sun god; Ah Puch, god of death; Chac, god of water and rain; Yumkax, the corn god; and Ixchel, goddess of the moon, pregnancy, and of abundance. The Maya trusted there were a total of 13 heavens above earth and 9 underworlds down below it. A god ruled every one of these skies and lower worlds. The Maya respected all of these many gods discussed within the Popol Vuh with sacrificial ceremonies in which food, pottery, animals, and even humans were offered.