Chichen Itza

Yesterday Michelle and I decided it was time for some culture: we did not come here just to party (although you generally won't hear us complaining if an excuse to party arises). One three hour bus ride later and we were at the gates of one of the most masterfully constructed temple sites in Mesoamerica. The Mayan cult of Kukulcan revolves around serpents and sacrifice and the temple site, complete with a wall of carvings of decapitated heads, reveals their beliefs at every turn.
Mayan architects and thousands of people working for favor from the Gods constructed the temples. Built approximately 1000 years ago the main attraction is El Castillo (The Castle). It represents the Mayan calender, with the number of stairs and levels making up the 365 days of the Gregorian year and the Mayan's female calendar of nine months. Famous for the moving serpent, it appears if you slowly walk towards the corners of the temple. In March and September, the equinox illuminates the serpent, now eerily visible on both the side of the temple and the temple's front wall.
The area that captured my imagination is the huge ball court. The Mayan "ball game" was only played during special events for the culture, such as equinoxes or a significant birth. The teams are made up of seven men, the captain being the spot of highest honor. The captain is the only one allowed to score, giving him the chance at becoming a semi-God. The game was played in a huge flat courtyard with fifty foot high 90 degree stone walls on two sides. The acoustics in this court are incredible. Clap once and it booms out around you. The court was constructed with these acoustics in mind so the rulers sitting in elaborate houses at each end could communicate. Spectators stood on top of each wall for games that could last for days at a time. The game is over when a captain can manipulate a ten pound rubber ball, using his hips or a racket, through a small hoop at the top of the wall. Impossibly high, there is a ledge players would jump on top of while they kept the ball bouncing and away from the opposing team. The captain only needs to score once, then he is crowned champion.
And his reward for winning this ardous ball game? He is given the honor of a beheading, performed by the losing team's captain. His skull is then placed on a stake on a wall behind the ball court and once nature has plucked the skull clean it is returned to his family, who are then able to relish that they are related to a semi-God who has sacrificed his life for a higher cause. The wall upon which the skulls would sit is there today and it is coverd with carvings of the dead captains skulls.
I was incredulous hearing the history of the Mayans, a people who would readily sacrifice their life if they thought the Gods were unhappy with them. Our tour guide Carlos explained to me that I must think like a Mayan to understand. There is no hell for the Mayans: people are born through the sun and must return through the ground to rise up to the Gods and sacrifice is one way to speed up this process while bringing prosperity to the people they leave on earth.