Legends from Mexico Quetzalcoatl - A Tale of the ballgame

4. Quetzalcoatl, the priest, gathered the
children around the fire. He told them a
story of the old, old days of his ancestors,
Quetzalcoatl, the god. He told them first
that Quezalcoatl often took the form of a
feathered serpent or bird-snake and that
he once fought with Tlaloc to determine
who was the mightiest of all gods.
This is the story that he told…

5. Dicen que (they say
that) long ago there
were a great quarrel
between Tlaloc, the
rain god, and
Quetzalcoatl, the
feathered serpent.
“I am the strongest of
the gods,” thundered
Tlaloc.
“No,” said
Quetzalcoatl in a most
reasonable manner, “I
am the mightiest of
them all.”

6. “I will prove to
you how strong I
am,” Tlaloc
boomed back in
his loudest
voice. “I will
bring thunder
and lightning
and rain in the
most dreadful
storm the
people of the
earth have ever
seen.”

7. “It is not right
to harm the
people of the
earth,” said
Quetzalcoatl
in a quiet
voice. “Surely
we can think
of another
way to prove
who is the
mightiest.”

8. “All right then,” Tlaloc
answered. “Instead of
sending a storm, you
and I will go to war.”
No, Tlaloc!”
Quetzalcoatl said
firmly. “Let us
challenge each other
to a show of strength.”
“What do you mean?”
challenged Tlaloc. “My
army will show my
strength. We will have
a great battle. You will
be conquered,
Quetzalcoatl.”

9. “We can
settle this
without
fighting,
Tlaloc,”
Quetzalcoatl
offered. “We
will play a
game. A
game with a
rubber ball.”

10. So
Quetzalcoatl
and Tlaloc
agreed that
the winner
of the ball
game would
be declared
the mightiest
of the gods.

11. The people of the
earth went about
building a huge ball
court made of stone.
They polished the
floor, decorated the
walls, and painted a
line across the center
of the court. They
built many seats for
the spectators.
In the middle of each
wall, they fixed two
large stones facing
one another across
the open court. And in
the center of each
stone was a hole
barely large enough
for a small ball to pass
through.

12. Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc agreed on the rules.
 They would play the game from sunrise to sunset.
The god who had the most points when the sun went
down would be the winner.
A god would score a point if the ball crossed the
centerline and touched the other god’s court.
A god could not use his hands to touch the ball.
If a god were skillful enough to get a ball through the
stone hoop, he would immediately be declared the
winner.

14. At long last, it
was the day
of the game.
It was early
morning and
already many
lords and
nobles were
seated in the
stands.

16. Quetzalcoatl and
Tlaloc each dressed
in their protective
playing gear. They
put on heavy
deerskin belts. They
wore leather gloves
to protect their
hands and leather
pads to protect their
knees.
The gods each
formed a team on
opposite sides of the
court to stop the
hard rubber ball
from going out of
bounds.

17. Tlaloc and
Quetzalcoatl
faced each
other in the
center of the
court. When
the ball was
tossed in the
air,
Quetzalcoatl
rushed forward
and hit it with
his hip.

18. Tlaloc raced to the
ball and returned
it with his knee.
The ball hit the
ground on
Quetzalcoatl’s side
of the court.
Tlaloc had scored
a point. The two
gods ran back and
forth and up and
down.
The ball struck
Tlaloc and almost
knocked him over.
Two of his team
members rushed
to his side.

19. Quetzalcoatl
was hit and
knocked
against the
wall.

20. The game
went on
and on all
day long.
People
cheered
and
people
groaned.

21. The sun was about
to travel to the
underworld of
darkness. Tlaloc
had scored fifty-
two points.
Quetzalcoatl had
fifty.
Tlaloc sent one
final, powerful ball
lying straight at
Quetzalcoatl.
Quetzalcoatl
quickly stepped
aside and slammed
the ball with his
strong, right knee.

22. The ball rose
magnificently
into the air
and sailed
directly
through the
stone hoop.
The crowd
gasped, then
roared.
Quetzalcoatl
had won the
game.

23. Tlaloc and his
team bowed to
Quetzalcoatl.
“You are the
mightiest of the
gods,
Quetzalcoatl,”
they said. “We
will now give
you the greatest
prize of all. You
may have our
gift of maíz (corn).

24. Quetzalcoatl
thought about this
for a moment,
then said, “As the
mightiest of the
gods, I don’t want
to take corn away
from your people
and make them
hungry. I’ll take
instead green jade
from the
mountains and
quetzal feathers
from the rare bird
in the jungle cloud
forests.”

25. Tlaloc was surprised,
but very happy to
grant what he
considered to be
Quetzalcoatl’s foolish
wish. Tlaloc kept the
maíz, gloating all the
while. “The green
leaves of corn are
much more precious
than jade or the green
feathers of the quetzal
bird. And the ripe
kernels of corn will
satisfy many hungry
people. I will grind the
maíz for my tamales
and wrap them in the
corn leaves. I have
kept the real prize!”

26. The people of
the earth are
still wondering
who really won
the best prize
that day. If
they start to
quarrel, will
they settle
their
differences
with a ball
game?

27. Preguntas de comprensión:
Prepárate conversar de estas preguntas
1. ¿Por qué jugaron el partido?
2. Describe la cancha (court) del partido.
3. ¿Cuáles fueron las reglas?
4. ¿Quién ganó? ¿Cuántos puntos tuvo antes
de ganar?
5. ¿Qué recibió por premio? ¿Qué aceptó
como premio?

28. Additional Aztec aspects to investigate
in more depth….
• gods
– Tlaloc
– Quetzalcoatl
– others
• tlatchli
– Ball court
– Rules/objective
– Who played
– hoop
• Jade
• Obsidion
• Corn
• Feathers