Ball game court (El juego de pelota)

The Maya ballgame traces its origins to the myth of the twins, recounted in the "Popol Vuh," the famous collection of mythical, legendary, and historical stories of the K'iche' people of Guatemala. For the Maya, the ballcourt was a place of transition between life and death and a kind of battle between the living and the rulers of the underworld or the place of the dead. In Ek' Balam, the ballcourt, located between the North and South plazas, contains decorated friezes, offerings, and other ceremonial and decorative elements. In part of the frieze of one of the rooms in the ballgame zone, decorative elements in the form of stucco were found, using blue and red paints. In the decorative scene of the frieze, one can see a human figure on a throne, richly dressed and holding a bird. Similarly, two painted lids with inscriptions were found on the ballcourt, indicating that they belonged to Tzibam Tum, probably the ajaw of Ek' Balam. Ajaw designated any of the leading noble classes; it was not limited to one person, and its meaning was variously translated as "leader," "ruler," "lord," or "chief," depending on the specific individual.