A Contemporary Poktapok Ballcourt for an Authentic Tourism Experience
In tonight’s episode of Belize on Reel, we take you to Jardin Pachamama located on the Yo Creek/San Lazaro Road in Orange Walk. It is the location for a contemporary poktapok ballcourt; the ball game was played by ancient Mayas to settle disputes. This history and the efforts to preserve it is part of a strategy to increase tourism activities in the area known as the Holpatin Corridor in northern Belize. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The Maya people are part of Belize’s diverse ethnic makeup. They are found across the country, primarily in southern Belize, out west in Cayo and up north in Orange Walk and Corozal.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“As a kid growing up, a lot of times we used to be kinda shamed to accept that we are of Maya descent. My grandfather only spoke in Maya so I didn’t really understand. I only knew a word or two, but that was about it. And so, what Miss Fel Cantun and her family are doing I think is something commendable. And I want to thank also the B.T.B. to come in and to give her the necessary support for us to try to revive the Maya culture, the Maya language and even the Pok-ta-Pok.”
In the village of Yo Creek, a group of Yucatec Mayans are working hand-in-hand with several stakeholders to keep their tangible and intangible cultural heritage alive. And today, the ancestral sport of poktapok, for which Belize is a three-time consecutive international champion, took center stage at the launch of the first-ever contemporary court in the region.
Felicita Cantun
Felicita Cantun, President, Belize Association of Ancestral Sports Poktapok
“We have some, but in our archaeological places. So this is the first one here; in fact, the first one ever in the whole of Mundo Maya. Today, you are going to witness just a demonstration of the Pok-ta-Pok. Pok-ta-Pok was a game played by my ancestors, the Mayas, more than five hundred years ago. So this went dormant because it was prohibited. My ancestors used to play this game to settle disputes. So instead of going to war, they played a game. And today, you are going to witness just a demonstration, not a real, real game. So this is a game between the good and the bad, between the light and darkness.”
The Ts’unun’un Poktapok Ballcourt is nestled in the heart of the Jardin Pachamama on the Yo Creek/San Lazaro Road, in Orange Walk District. Today’s launch is part of a bigger tourism development plan for the area.
Josue Carballo
Josue Carballo, Director of Industry Development, B.T.B.
“The intention to grow this area for tourism in the aspect of what is termed as the Holpatin Trail – the Holpatin Corridor that begins from Orange Walk Town leading by road right up to Lamanai. What better way to start that off by commemorating in a very significant and physical way – our champions. We know that Belize, in one of the events that we have become world champions is pok-ta-pok. So the idea of this court is to be used for local, regional and hopefully for international competition. Our Mayas used to actually live in the jungle. They had their sites which were more for religious purposes, but they used to live in this setting. And this is the cultural experience we would want to offer to locals to appreciate and to engulf into it, but also for our international tourists.”
B.T.B.’s Director of Industry Development Josue Carballo gives insight on the authentic cultural experiences that domestic and international tourists can engage in along the Holpatin Corridor.
Josue Carballo
“An inventory of things to do here, starting from the Cuellos site which is the oldest site in the Mayan world. Coming from here in Yo Creek, very traditional, very Mestizo/Maya in their cultures and their ways and then going forward, there is a mini museum in San Lazaro. There is a medicinal herbal center in August Pine Ridge, honey making in Trinidad and the list goes on of things that can happen, but it is about taking it one stop at a time, putting that package together which both our tour operators can buy into so that they can drive traffic and then eventually the increase of maybe hotels/accommodations in the region.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
