Photo Captions

Photo Captions A.) Student, César Espinosa, at Los Llanitos, one of the centers of Ulama, with only 151 inhabitants.

B.) Two young players prepare for the game by putting on their Fajados (hip protectors). C. D. & E.) The taste (ballcourt) is prepared in the morning by spreading new dirt over the playing surface. The dirt is then smoothed, leveled and compacted. All sticks, stones, and leaves are removed so the surface is perfectly clean. Finally, chalk is used to mark the boundaries of the playing surface. F.) Mario Dávila, César Espinosa and Sergio Garza talking to a 94 year old ex-player known as “el Huilo.” The boy is his grandson, also a player, shown in photo L. G.) Mario Dávila, Sergio Garza, Dr. Brady and Dr. Aguilar talk with the captain of the Los Llanitos team, Chuy Paez after the game. H.) The Los Llanitos team facing off with a visiting team from Escuinapa. I.)A. player from Escuinapa returning the stare. Up until quite recently, the ballgame was connected with warfare and many reminders of that association remain.

J.) The team from Los Llanitos preparing to attack on the male por abajo “the low serve.” K., L., M., N.) Children learn to play Ulama from an early age so that they are not afraid of the ball. Players report that when they first start playing or if they have not played for a while, their hips will be badly bruised. With time a callous forms and they do not feel a great deal of pain. The ball is heavy [4 kg (9lbs.) for the adult ball and 2½ kg (5½lbs.) for the children’s ball] and hit with considerable force. The Spanish sources from the time of the conquest report players being killed if hit by the ball in a vulnerable spot.