Every Friday they portray a typical Mayan ritual ball game. Its called Pok-ta-Pok. Its played in the central square in front of the central cathedral.
The center square in Merida Yucatan has vendors and events pretty much all weekend.
The rules of the game are simple enough. Win!
However, you cant use your arms or legs to score. You can only use your midsection.
Currently, its unclear if the winner was sacrificed to the gods or if the losers were sacrificed. Theories vary on why that is.
They play three different types of games. They first play the original game that everyone is pretty much aware of. The head shaman blesses everyone before and praises the winners afterwards.
The next phase of the game begins shortly after. Each member of each team lines up and tries to score.
The best part is at the end. In order to please to god of the sun they light this rubber ball on fire and change the rules of the game.
Now they can use their hands. Its amazing to watch. It’s like watching a volleyball match with a ball of fire. We are such sadistic assholes, us humans. Everyone was intensely watching. To be honest, it was riveting. I LOVED IT!
During the game, street vendors come up to you offering Chicharrones (Pork grinds) and sodas for you to drink. It’s a good time, I recommend it. It’s also free!
I will definitely be making a youtube video of this… I got tons of video footage.
A Video of my Merida Yucatan Trip
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