Pok Ta Pok in Belize: The Ancient Maya Ball Game

Today, Belize is home to one of the world’s oldest team sports, revived in Mesoamerica — Pok Ta Pok! Pok Ta Pok is deeply rooted in Maya cosmology and spirituality. It represents the balance between humanity and the cosmos, the struggle between light and darkness, life and death, discipline and unity. It is a display of cultural identity and the legacy of ancestral traditions. 

If you have watched the fictional animated film “The Road to El Dorado,” you may somewhat have an idea of what this game is. However, it’s definitely more than human sacrifice! The Maya played Pok Ta Pok to settle hereditary issues, avoid war, and make political decisions between major cities. Though human sacrifice did take place in ancient Maya culture, there’s no ironclad evidence that the losing team was sacrificed after every game. There’s surely none happening in present-day Pok Ta Pok matches! Aside from its political purposes, Pok Ta Pok was played for special festivals and important rituals. It was a spectator sport. You can take a step back in time on a visit to Xunantunich, Lamanai, Cahal Pech, Lubaantun, Nim Li Punit, or Caracol to explore the remnants of ball courts.

Unfortunately, Maya language, spirituality, and traditions were impacted due to colonization. For instance, Spanish conquistadors banned the game in Mexico in the 16th century as they perceived it as demonic. Colonization, coupled with the civilization’s decline, resulted in Pok Ta Pok eventually phasing out across Mesoamerica. 

How to play Pok Ta Pok

Basketball is played with the hands, football/soccer with the feet, tennis with a racket, and baseball with a bat. What do you use in Pok Ta Pok? Players use only their hips to pass an eight- to nine-pound rubber ball! 

Before the game begins, a Maya shaman cleanses the players to honor the four corners of the universe, the heavens, the gods, and Mother Earth. The team is adorned with body art and protective waist attire, and the captain wears the largest headdress.

Then, players face each other across a line dividing the court into two halves. Each team has four players on the court and plays two thirteen-minute rounds, with a seven-minute break between seasons. The numbers thirteen and seven are sacred in Maya cosmology. Thirteen represents the energies of the divine cycle of the Maya calendar, the Tzolk’in, and it symbolizes the thirteen sacred layers of the heavens.

In modern Pok Ta Pok, there are various ways to score and lose points.

• A point is lost if the ball touches the hand, chest, or back.
• Two points are lost if it touches the leg.
• Three points are deducted if the player presses the ball on the ground with their rear end.
• Five points are gained by passing the ball to the back court/end zone of the opposing team.

Points lost by a team are awarded to the opposing team in accordance with the ancient Maya practice of adding and subtracting scores. In a highly anticipated moment, games normally end with passing the powerful rubber ball through the vertical hoop!

Pok Ta Pok in Belize and Mundo Maya

In 2015, Ms. Felicita Cantun, Yucatec Maya leader and educator, breathed new life into the ancient legend in Belize. She collaborated with help from Merida to form a team in her community of Yo Creek Village, Orange Walk District. That same year, Ms. Felicita founded Belize’s first Pok Ta Pok team, Ek Balam, meaning ‘Black Jaguar’ in Yucatec Maya. Belize also participated in its first international Pok Ta Pok tournament with only two months of training and placed third. 

The international tournaments are held biennially in a Mundo Maya country. Competing countries include Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, and even the USA.

Over the years, new teams have been formed as Belize becomes a force to be reckoned with in the sacred sport. The country had a striking three-time victory between 2017 and 2021. In 2022, Ms. Felicita created new teams, including K’iinich Ahau, another senior men’s team, and Ix-K’iinich Ahau, Belize’s first women’s team.

Belize’s impressive Pok Ta Pok track record:

• 2015 in Mexico – Third Place
• 2017 in Guatemala – First Place
• 2019 in El Salvador – First Place
• 2021 in Mexico – First Place
• 2023 in Belize – Introduction of women’s teams to the tournament.
  • Men’s team – Second Place
  • Women’s team – Third Place
• 2025 in Honduras
  • Men’s team – First Place
  • Women’s team – Second Place

In 2026, tournaments for U-17 (under-17) teams were introduced in Guatemala. These now take place in the year when there’s no senior competition. The Belize U-17 male team came out on top as champions, and the female team secured third place overall and first place in the individual hoop throw! 

Belize’s remarkable performance in international Pok Ta Pok shows the vigor to keep the culture alive. Outside of competition, the ritual ball game is also popular for cultural demonstrations for travelers and private events.

What was once a ball game associated with Maya mythology and sacrifice is now a burning torch of hope passed from one generation to another. Its revitalization adds other meaningful ways to preserve and live ancient Maya culture!