While this may seem a strange reward, the Mayans believed this to be the ultimate honor. The winning captain getting a direct ticket to heaven instead of going through the 13 steps that the Mayan's believed they had to go through in order to reach heaven..
Yes... I heard the same from the guides in Tikal...
However... I need to say the following...
For the Aztecs, (who they copied the game from the Mayas and Toltecas) the captain of the losing team (and probably the entire team too) would be the ones that would pay dearly with their necks.
Frankly, and with due respect to the current (and interesting) discussion of the recent discoveries in the Maya jungles, these ball games were a sign of their savage nature driven by the respective religious leaders of their time.
I retain the view that it was a case of "dumb and dumber" (that is to say... whether you get your head chopped off for either winning or losing a damned ball game, you are still dumb for allowing this to happen.
Not to mention, once again, with due respect to the millions of scholars that admire these cultures. Which they should... EXCEPT for the fact that they were still bloodthirsty semi-savages.
I am not showing disrespect as I too admire their knowledge in medicine, astronomy and architecture. Indeed, in some instances, (i.e. astronomy and even medicine), the Aztecs and Mayas were more advanced than their conquerors, who if it had not been for Critical Colon, they would have stayed in Europe -gig- The Europeans believed the world to be some sort of square block, whereas the Mayas knew better.
However... unfortunately, they suffered from an all too familiar religious bambo wambo which instilled fear in the heart and mind of the ignorant who would allow themselves to be conned into thinking that dying was an "honor" by an elite of religious leaders. These sacerdotal criminals had the blood thirst of your ordinary 20th century serial killer, who would go to the extent of preparing young princes up to age 21, at which point they would slice their chests open in public, (while they were still alive, only well drugged with the "sacred" peyote (more sacred bulls*t), and extract their hearts while still beating...
Well... I could go on saying what I really think of such practice... However, with today's over-sensitivity, I am liable to hurt someone's feelings hence I will stop here.
I will however say that I do not approve of the equally savage behavior that followed as the Spaniards used their military superiority (primarily due to the horse AND most importantly, to the fact that chief conquistador Hernán Cortéz must have been a relative of Nicolo Machiavelli as he used techniques that would have made uncle Nico proud, at the time when uncle Nico was polishing his kind-hearted theories. -gg-
Cortéz and his acolytes made friends with the many tribes that surrounded the Aztecs and only then was he able to overcome the mighty Aztecs.... Then the Spaniards proceeded to rule with an iron fist and took advantage of the local's already instilled fear of the gods, allowing the honorable institution of the inquisition make pale by comparison those human sacrifices of the Aztecs and Mayas.
And so my point is ?
Simple... Yes, it is wonderful to learn about the Mayas and the Aztecs (and Incas in Perú) and about the undiscovered legacies (probably most abundant in the Mayan Jungle)... But we must keep proper perspective that these bloodthirsty killings were exactly that. Killings that were "justified" in their own eyes only because of their ignorance, which allowed their religious leaders to massacre many of their own under the false pretense of a "better life in the beyond"...
As Greystone would say:
"Death with honor"
or
--pass the peyote while they slice me open please
Yes, I know I am a double heretic for not respecting neither religion, nor the traditional view of respecting these particular traditions (!)... I just like to call a green parrot when I see one.
Reference (unfortunately in Spanish only)
En Tenochtitlán, antiguo México, el juego de pelota se hallaba ubicado en el terreno sagrado, frente a los astilleros de cráneos de los que habían sido sacrificados en el templo principal; al lado, limitaba el templo dedicado a los Caballeros-Aguilas. Los sacrificios constituían un rito muy especial para los aztecas. La muerte simbolizaba un honor, por medio de la cual el azteca se integraba a su Dios. Por ello, una forma de que un equipo honrara su derrota era precisamente con la inmolación.
record-international.com
Translation --by me (of the bolded part)
The sacrifices constituted a very special celebration for the Aztecs. Death symbolized an honor, by which the Aztec would integrate himself with his god. Because of this, a way for the losing team to honor their defeat was precisely with their inmolation
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Excuse my Latin but that is a crock of cacahuates.
..... and that is all I have to say about that...
Forrest, Forrest Gump.
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Here is the translation by Google (it contains some silly mistakes)
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