The Game of Life and Death

*AT Xcaret Park`s Ball Court

**Xbalanqué and Hunahpú face the Lords of Xibalbá

By Alejandra Flores

One of the most colorful and brilliant re-creations of Mesoamerica`s pre-Hispanic sport par excellence, the Ball Game, will take place every evening from October 30th through November 2nd at Xcaret Park`s Ball Court during the 3rd Life and Death Traditions Festival, Xcaret 2008.

The jaws of death that lead to Xibalbá, the World of the Dead, open when the battle is about to begin. The players arrive and, with the rhythmic precision of their movements, tell us part of the story of  the Popol Vuh.

Staged by artists from Xcaret Park`s area of Games and Traditional Music, this re-creation, directed by Andrés Campos, will give nationals and foreigners alike a better understanding of the Mayan vision of the cosmos, where the battle between opposites is eternal.

The colossal twins Ixbalanqué and Hunahpú, will be there, ready to defend this vital balance.  The Lords of Xibalbá, the dark beings, will also heed the call to battle.  Both teams will wear their ritualistic uniform: holding their loincloths, a belt of woven deerskin to protect the hips, along with thigh, ankle and elbow coverings.

As the wind, the conch shell sounds; the teponaztle imitates the sound of beating hearts. The ritual of life and death begins.  The flaming rubber ball slices through the air and the players move toward it, one by one.  This is the battle between day and night, good and evil, the light and darkness.  Life and death in each strike with the hip, in each bounce of the ball, in each syncopated step of the alert bodies.

For the player, the ball has a life of its own; it is the sun that dies and is reborn again on the horizon.  Each time the stone ring receives and releases the fire ball, each time the ball reaches the center of the court, each time it flies again through the air, we understand why the game fulfils its ritualistic destiny in each dynamic moment:  the cosmos is in movement thanks to the eternal duel of duality.

If you still haven`t seen this singular ceremony of life and death, it`s time to come to the 3rd Life and Death Traditions Festival, Xcaret 2008.