The hi(story) behind the Tentlan Game

I hope that this will enlighten some of you... Please find here a couple of post about the facts, history and Mayan and Aztec inspiration of the game. 1. The Dwarf Pyramid or Pyramid of the Magician : The name of the structure is derived from folk legends told by the indigenous Mayan people. The age of these tales is unknown, as is the Pre-Columbian name of the structure. The tale existed in varied accounts concerning the construction of the Pyramid of the Magician. According to one account, a magician-god named Itzamna was single-handedly supposed to have erected the pyramid in one night, using his might and magic. Another tale holds that when a certain gong was to sound, the city of Uxmal was destined to fall to a boy “not born of woman”. The gong was struck, one day, by a dwarf that was born unto no mother, but rather hatched from an egg by a childless, old woman (according to a tourist guide in Uxmal, this egg was an iguana egg, and the woman a witch). The sound of the gong struck fear into the city’s ruler and the dwarf was ordered to be executed. The ruler reconsidered the death sentence, though, and promised that the dwarf’s life would be spared if he could perform three seemingly impossible tasks. One of the tasks was to build a massive pyramid, taller than any building in the city, in a single night. The dwarf ultimately completed all the tasks, including the construction of the pyramid. The dwarf was hailed as the new ruler of Uxmal and the structure was dedicated to him.

A slightly different version of this tale is recounted by Hans Li in The Ancient Ones: Legend tells that this temple-pyramid was built by a powerful dwarf magician, who was hatched from an egg by his mother. Under a threat by an Uxmal king he was ordered to build this temple within a fortnight, or else lose his life (82).
In other surviving versions, the old woman is portrayed as a witch or sorceress and the dwarf is a boy who magically reaches adulthood overnight.

The official legend as told to John Lloyd Stephens in 1840 by a local Maya native follows:
There was an old woman who lived in a hut that was located on the exact spot where the finished pyramid now stands.

This old woman was a witch who one day went into mourning that she had no children. One day, she took an egg and wrapped it in cloth and placed it in a corner of her small hut. Every day she went to look at the egg until one day it hatched and a small creature, closely resembling a baby, came from the enchanted egg.

The old woman was delighted and called the baby her son. She provided it with a nurse and took good care of it so that within a year it was walking and talking like a man. It stopped growing after a year and the old woman was very proud of her son and told him that one day he would be a great Lord or King.One day, she told her son to go the House of the Governor and challenge the King to a trial of strength.

The dwarf didn't want to go at first but the old woman insisted and so to see the King he went. The guards let him in and he threw down his challenge to the King. The King smiled, and told the dwarf to lift a stone that weighed three arrobas 34kg (75 pounds).

At this the dwarf cried and ran back to his mother. The witch was wise, and told her son to tell the King that if the King would lift the stone first, then he would lift it also. The dwarf returned and told the King what his mother told him to say. The king lifted the stone and the dwarf did the same. The King was impressed, and a little nervous, and tested the dwarf for the rest of the day with other feats of strength. Each time the King performed an act, the dwarf was able to match it.

The King became enraged that he was being matched by a dwarf, and told the dwarf that in one night he must build a house higher than any other in the city or he would be killed. The dwarf again returned crying to his mother who told him to not lose hope, and that he should go straight to bed.

The next morning the city awoke to see the Pyramid of the Dwarf in its finished state, taller than any other building in the city.

The King saw this building from his palace and was again enraged. He summoned the dwarf and ordered one final test of strength.

The dwarf had to collect two bundles of Cogoil wood, a very strong and heavy wood, and the king would break the wood over the head of the dwarf, and after that the dwarf could have his turn to break the wood over the King's head.The dwarf again ran to his mother for help.

She told him not to worry and placed an enchanted tortilla on his head for protection. The trial was to be performed in front of all the great men of the city. The King proceeded to break the whole of his bundle over the dwarf’s head, one stick at a time.

The King failed to injure the dwarf and then tried to bow out of his challenge.

In full view of the town’s great men, though, he knew he had no choice but to go ahead and let the dwarf have his turn.The second stick of the dwarf’s bundle broke the Kings skull into pieces and he fell dead at the foot of the dwarf, who was hailed as the new King (Ranney 80-1).

Source : Wikipedia

The Temazcal is still used today and a well-known part of the culture of meso-american indians, and in this form, the sweat lodge, they, too, are enjoying renewed popularity.

2. Temazcal A temazcal [temasˈkal] is a type of sweat lodge which originated with pre-Hispanic Indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. The word temazcal comes from the Nahuatl word temāzcalli [temaːsˈkalːi] ("house of heat")[citation needed], or possibly from the Aztec teme (to bathe) and calli(house).[1] Temazcal in English is also written as temezcal, temascal, or temescal.In ancient Mesoamerica it was used as part of a curative ceremony thought to purify the body after exertion such as after a battle or a ceremonial ball game. It was also used for healing the sick, improving health, and for women to give birth. It continues to be used today in Indigenous cultures of Mexico and Central America that were part of the ancient Mesoamerican region for spiritual and health reasons. It is currently being recovered by all sectors of society in Mexico and Central America and is used as a cleansing of mind, body and spirit.

The temazcal is usually a permanent structure, unlike sweat lodges in other regions. It is usually constructed from volcanic rock and cement and is usually a circular dome, although rectangular ones have been found at certain archeological sites and this shape is also used. To produce the heat, volcanic stones are heated. Volcanic stones are safe because they do not explode from the temperature. They are then placed in a pit located in the center or near a wall of the temazcal.

Codex Magliabecchi pg 065 Aztec steam bath temezcalli by Berkeley, University of California, 1903 - Codex Magliabecchi, XIII, 11, 3.

Source : Partially : Wikipedia

Obsidian is still used today, mostly in ornemental crafting but also provide the sharpest blade of only about 3 nanometers think.

3. Obsidian Mine

Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans' use of obsidian was extensive and sophisticated; including carved and worked obsidian for toolsand decorative objects. Mesoamericans also made a type of sword with obsidian blades mounted in a wooden body. Called amacuahuitl, the weapon was capable of inflicting terrible injuries, combining the sharp cutting edge of an obsidian blade with the ragged cut of a serrated weapon.

Native American people traded obsidian throughout the Americas. Each volcano and in some cases each volcanic eruption produces a distinguishable type of obsidian, making it possible for archaeologists to trace the origins of a particular artifact.

In Chile obsidian tools from Chaitén Volcano have been found as far away as in Chan-Chan 400 km north of the volcano and also in sites 400 km south of it...

Partial Source : Wikipedia

4. Itzamna Temple

Itzamna was an important deity of the Maya pantheon. He was the son of Hunab, the creator; is represented in the guise of a kindly old man with sunken cheeks, aquiline and prominent nose. Itzamna was the god of the Sky, Night and Day. In the latter two functions, it was closely related to Kinich Ahau, the sun god, "the lord of the Eye of the Sun", which is particularly loved in Izamal in northern Yucatan, Ix Chel and the Moon Goddess which he was probably the husband.

He had invented writing, books, and established religious ceremonies. He gave the name to the various regions of Yucatan. He taught medicine to healers. It was a benevolent deity who was worshiped by the rather wealthy classes of society.Itzamna was the object of worship at the beginning of each year: Mayan sacrificed him a dog or a man. The sacrifice was thrown from the top of a pyramid. Once on the ground, it tore his heart to make an offering to the god.

The god Itzamná is also connected with the sacred World Tree, which for the Maya linked together the sky, earth and the underworld, known to the Maya as Xibalba. One of the manifestations of Itzamna is the Bird of Heaven, a bird often portrayed standing on top of the World Tree. This bird is usually identified with Vucub Caquix, the mythical monster killed by the hero twins Hunapuh and Xbalanque (One Hunter and Jaguar Deer) in the Popol Vuh.

Source : About.com / Wikipedia.

Thanks M0H0... gave me some motivation to continue... I promise more today....

5. Quipu house

Quipus, sometimes known as khipus were recording devices historically used in the region of AndeanSouth America. A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings made from cotton or camelid fiber. For the Inca, the system aided in collecting data and keeping records, ranging from monitoring tax obligations, properly collecting census records, calendrical information, and military organisation.

The cords contained numeric and other values encoded by knots in a base tenpositional system. A quipu could have only a few or up to 2,000 cords. The configuration of the quipus have also been "compared to string mops." Archaeological evidence has also shown a use of finely carved wood as a supplemental, and perhaps more sturdy, base on which the color-coordinated cords would be attached. A relatively small number have survived.

Objects that can be identified unambiguously as quipus first appear in the archaeological record in the first millennium CE. They subsequently played a key part in the administration of Tahuantinsuyu, the empire controlled by the Incan ethnic group, which flourished across the Andes from c. 1450 to 1532 CE. As the region was subsumed under the invading Spanish Empire, the use of the quipu faded from use, to be replaced by European writing systems. However, in several villages, quipu continued to be important items for the local community, albeit for ritual rather than recording use. It is unclear as to where and how many intact quipus still exist, as many have been stored away in mausoleums, 'along with the dead.

Source : Wikipedia / Athahualpa's Weblog / https://hands.unm.edu/2000-6-1.html

6. Tzolk'in Wheel

The tzolk'in calendar combines a cycle of twenty named days with another cycle of thirteen numbers (the trecena), to produce 260 unique days (i.e., 20 × 13 = 260). Each successive named day was numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. There were 20 individual named days, as shown in the table below:

You know now why the wheel in the game have exactly 20 positions.

Source : Wikipedia