攸關生死－美索亞美利加球賽

A Matter of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame

10.29818/SS.201312_(23).0001

陳小雀(Hsiao-Chuan Chen)

球賽 ； 《波波烏》 ； 活人獻祭 ； 致幻植物 ； 美索亞美利加 ； ballgame ； Popol Vuh ； human sacrifice ； hallucinogenic plants ； Mesoamerica

運動文化研究

23期（2013 / 12 / 01）

7 - 33

繁體中文

球賽對大部分的文明而言，應是最早的體育項目之一；然而，球賽在美索亞美利加（Mesoamérica）卻超越寓教於樂的功能，古印地安人視之為儀式，為之披上神秘的宗教面紗。從神話中發現，美索亞美利加各族群無不擔憂宇宙停止運行，害怕日蝕和月蝕現象，也畏懼其他的天災，因而藉球賽助一切回歸正常。球員於是模仿神明在太初中創造宇宙，將己身置於神聖情境中協助天體運行，祈求風調雨順、連年豐稔。亦即，球賽具有神秘力量，為宇宙運行的助力，是萬物重生的要素，係解救部落的希望，也是英雄淬鍊的媒介。因此，美索亞美利加人民視橡皮球為神物，而球賽也成為攸關社稷存亡的宗教信仰。結合了宗教信仰與天文探索，美索亞美利加人民賦予球賽無窮的涵義，描摹了蒼穹間的生死之戰、善惡之爭、日月之鬥。本文以「神話學」、「人類學」和「象徵學」等理論為研究基礎，解析美索亞美利加球賽的象徵意義，旁及球賽、活人獻祭與致幻植物（plantas alucinógenasa）之間的關係。

For most civilizations, ballgames represent the oldest of sports and physical education activities; nevertheless, the function of such ballgames in Mesoamerica went well beyond game or pleasure. The ancient indigenous populations of Mesoamerica considered ballgames to have important ritual aspects. From the recorded mythology of the time, we find that ancient Mesoamerican tribes worried very much about potential natural disasters, such as the stopping of rotation of the heavens, lunar and solar eclipses, etc. These tribes believed that ballgames could help the cosmos returned to normalcy. Assuming the roles of gods, players typically placed themselves in a divine atmosphere so as to create the universe from chaos; to reset the cosmic order, and to pray for a bumper harvest and prosperity. The ballgame possessed magic power that could aid in the rotation of the heavens, the essential element for the rebirth, the hope for the tribes' salvation, the experiment of the hero's journey. Thus, the ancient Mesoamerican considered that the ball made of solid rubber was a divine object, and the ballgame was a religion involving the matter of life and death for the tribes. Featuring religion and astronomy, the ballgame imitated the struggle between the Sun and the Moon, between the Life and the Death, between the Universal Good and Bad. This essay, based on mythological, anthropological and symbolic theories, explores the meaning of the Mesoamerican ballgame, and also its relation to human sacrifice and hallucinogenic plants.

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