Our pre-Hispanic ancestors bequeathed a invaluable treasure of traditions and customs to us, same that have given a mystical and magical touch him to our Culture. One of these traditions that have been conserved it is the prehispanico game of ball that practices in the Municipality of Mazatlán and it knows itself him like the " Game of the Ulama ".

According to the Historians this game is the direct heir of the " Ullamaliztli " that was one of the sport but old expressions of Mexico Precortesiano, its antiquity goes back to 300 years before the Christian era and his it practices intimately was bound to the religiosidad, spirit and attitude single-breasted uniform jacket professed by these establishments and indigenous ethnic groups.

According to the stories and descriptions that are had of Spanish Historians of the Century XVI, the game of the Ulama was considered by the Indians like the confrontation of two opposed forces from which one of them would have to emerge triumphant, the agotante fight between the life and the death, the value and the cowardice or the constant and seducer rivalry between the night and the day serian single some examples of this continuous fight.

Some natural Spaniards impressed by the abruptness that implied to practice this game and the passion that got to cause between the contenders and spectators, since inclusively at the losing equipment he arrived himself to him to sacrifice, they got it to consider something aberrant and of diabolic roots.

This pagan misticismo with which our indigenous ancestros used to practice this game, that I throw spiritual and profane devotion that was impregnated to him, was the causes of which in the year of 1585 the high Spanish ecclesiastical authorities asked for their Missionaries who led themselves with the aid of Virreinales Governors, to prohibit is custom who they considered insolent, wild and immoral.

It is attitude that took the Spanish Conquerors was the reason by whom gradually all the " TACHTLIS " disappeared or playgrounds to which later and to the present time I am called " tastes to them "; and of to have been the main constructions of the towns at the single present time some ruins and vestiges of those fields in some ceremonial centers exist natives.

The game of the Ulama practiced in three modalities that are: with hip and forearm mallet, being this I complete the one that despite, to the prohibitions and advances of other sports of European origin, has returned to resurge in certain regions of Mexico and very specially in the State of Sinaloa situation that has allowed the perpetuación of one of the sports older than practiced in Mesoamerica.

The game of the Ulama like in the antiquity one practices in a field to which " TASTE " is denominated to him, which will have different sizes according to the modality that gambles, in the one from hip that is the one that more acceptance has and it most frequently practices to consider but the manly one by his rudeza, aesthetic and risk, the field has a dimension of 65 meters in length by 4 meters wide. This area of rectangular and extended form is divided in two equal parts by a called line " ANALCO " and their ends are marked with a denominated line " CHIVOS ".

It is used a solid rubber ball with a weight of 4 kilos and a diameter of 8 inches, the material and the components that are used for the manufacture of the ball and their process of surrounded processing is as the same game in I pull ahead of mystery; what yes it is possible to be said is that luckyly it has been possible to rescue this secret that is the one that gives to consistency and a magical touch him to the sport of the Ulama. In the game 4 players or " TAHURES " by equipment take part and who are: the " MALE " that is the one that is in charge of the serve shot with which the play starts up, the " MALERO " that is the one that as opposed to covers the front part with the field the Analco, the " CHIVERO " that is in charge to cover the later part with the area of game and finally the " TOPADOR " that is the person in charge to give answer to the serve of the Male.

The purpose of the game is to maintain the ball within the Taxte without touching it with the hands, single the part of the body can be used according to is the modality that I know this playing and it will be due to try very insistently and accurately to impel the ball so that it falls in half of the opposite field and thus to have the possibility of obtaining a point or " RAVIT ".

It is important to indicate that the hip or forearm is protected with leather strips of skin of deer and bandage, in the hip the strip is tightened by cinto or " CHIMALO " and the extension of the bandage is of 3,5 meters, this protection serves to cushion the abrupt and powerful blow that is received when going to the encounter of the duro and heavy ball. It is necessary to comment that these protections are indispensable and avoid partly that the players injure themselves; even so cases have appeared that an error of I calculate to caused that the participants hurt themselves seriously.

The game is watched and sanctioned by one or two umpires called " VEEDORES " those that are placed there in the line of Analco and order to solve and to sanction that violations to the rules of the game do not happen, to allow to new serves or the Evils in the cases that the ball leaves the Taste and to authorize changes of players whom they have to leave by injuries.

It is a pride for Mexico and the State of Sinaloa that still people worried in injecting a very concerted effort to him to the conservation and diffusion of our traditions exist, that without doubting it are the pillar that maintains our nationalism. They have caused whom an important track of our ancestros resurges and they grant to our generation the power pleasure to him to be visual witnesses of a very important and representative part of our native wealth.

One of the most important profits that it has reached the Game of the Ulama, is he to be able to occur to know other Cultures like one World-wide the older games of ball of the humanity; it was in occasion of the World-wide Championship of Fut-bowl Soccer which I take place in the City of Mexico in the year of 1970, which they were trasmitieron for the first time by television to all the Continent games of exhibition, that caused to astonishment and admiration between the viewers of all the nations.

The game of the Ulama in the forearm modality gambles in the Municipalities of Narrowness, Guasave Ahome Guamuchil, Sinaloa de Leyva and the one of hip is very popular in the South of the State in the Municipalities of Mazatlán, the Rosary and Concord.

The populations of the Municipality of Mazatlán in which the game practices are: The Quelite, the Habal, the Investigated Moor, the Llanitos, the Single Palm, Port of Canoes; Potrero de Carrasco and Villa Union. Places in which one gets used to organizing in the dates of his religious festividades friendly encounter in which equipment of different towns participates.