Greetings Archaeo-Nauts!
Today's blog is about the sacred game of the Aztecs referred to as "Patolli" the oldest game in mesoamerica played by the Mexica people, according to legend this game was played during different times in history by the Teotihuacanos
(200 a.C. - 1000 d.C.),Toltecas (750 - 1000 d.C), the Mayas (1100 - 1300 d.C.) and the azteca (1168 - 1521 d.C )
The patolli wasn't just a game it was a ritual with spiritual significance, by invoking the presence of the god Xochipilli ( prince of flowers and psychedelic plants ) before playing players would offer copal incense, precios stones and other holy items to the god Macuilxochitl, Also referred as the god of five flowers.
Players would bet everything they had until they were bare naked, sometimes even betting their own houses and or their own or families freedom as slaves, it was one of the most important games played in mesoamerica.
When Cortes arrived he witness moctezuma play the game with his noble class after the Spanish conquest the game was completely ban because it was believed to be witchcraft and if anyone was caught playing the game would then had their hands burned or killed..
The game has finally revived in this very own new age of awakening and we can freely express our wish to play this beautiful ancestral game played by our ancestors and connect with our true origins once again..
The game it's displayed in one of the few remaining Aztec codex found in the
The Codex of Bernardino de Sahagún and in the Codex Magliabechiano,
So lets get technical and see the rules of the game!!
The board was a square made of guano type grass the pieces were rocks colored on blue and red and the dice was made of beans with carved dots, the goal of the game was to advance towards the final of the crosses and winning all other pieces of the opponent.
It's believed up to 4 people were able to play with minimum of 6 rocks each, to win extra points the players had to reach one of the 8 triangles located by the end of each corner of the cross, if the player reached this triangle the opponent had to give him 2 extra throws..
This 8 triangles are referred to as crossroads which in Mexica mythology were extremely important due that in here you could loose your animal guardians or Nagual, actually in this crossroads ancient Mexica wound roll around by doing this their animal spirit will then find them again..
The game is extremely complicated in nature, you had to score the exact number of dice numbers if your dice score was higher then you would loose your trow, the game has 52 cell blocks which actually religiously this is a sacred number to the ancient mesoamerican people, 52 the holy number legend comes from the omnipotent god Quetzalcoatl as he left his people he told then to await for him during the 52 year cycle which coincidentally the Spanish arrived in this cycle therefore confusing them as the return of the gods.
Also the voladores de papantla tie their knee to a rope on top of a large pole flying and spinning over 52 times commemorating the holy number of Quetzalcoatl!
Back to the game logistics, if you landed in one of the triangles near the end of the cross you had to pay your opponent one piece.
Above the game it's the place where the god Macuilxochitl, watched the game if a trow of Dice returned blank holes then you should offer your items to the god at the end of the game the final winner would then receive all this gifts stored by the god with a special blessing..
The game mythology passed on for millennia across mesoamerica and currently the board was found on a Maya site named Dzibilnocac, in campeche dating as far as 600-900 d.C.
Clearly this game was played by all cultures in mesoamerica now here is where it gets interesting there is a game in India and Pakistan that goes back thousands of years ago perhaps around the time of teotihuacan.
The game is the Pachisi as its known today, the game resembles extreme similarities in game play and on the layout of the design of the game, the question is where did this ancient game originated in mexico or india or as far as lemuria when all this cultures shared a common origin, the mystery perhaps will never be known but the important thing is now days this game is back and with this the history that was sadly deleted from our ancestors of mexico..
I looked everywhere for the game board but here not been able to find the board if anyone here knows where to find a copy please do let me know!!
The good thing is I was able to find an iPhone app of the game you can install for free in the App Store!
Till next time
Mucho Amor y Luz!
Guillermo Alarcón
June 5 2013
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