Danza de los Voladores

The Danza de los Voladores (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdansa ðe los βolaˈðoɾes]; "Dance of the Flyers"), or Palo Volador (pronounced [ˈpalo βolaˈðoɾ]; "flying pole"), is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual still performed today, albeit in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico.

The ritual consists of dance and the climbing of a 30-meter (98 ft 5 in) pole from which four of the five participants then launch themselves tied with ropes to descend to the ground.

[1] The ceremony was named an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in order to help the ritual survive and thrive in the modern world.

The tallest tree in the nearby forest is cut down, with the permission of the mountain god, stripped of branches and dragged to the village.

The four other "birdmen" (representing the four directions) spin around the pole to represent the recreation of the world (and the regeneration of life)[10] In the early form, instead of only five men there are six men dressed as birds with each member climbing on top and performing a dance and at the end tied ropes around their waist and who all jump in unison and descend downwards.

[11] Diego Durán, who recorded many Aztec customs at the time of the Spanish conquest, described an incident reminiscent of the Danza de los Voladores, where an Aztec prince, Ezhuahuacatl, sacrificed himself by diving from a pole 20 brazas high (probably about 120 feet, a braza being roughly a fathom, i.e. c. 6 feet).

[12] The four modern day voladores typically circle the pole 13 times each, for a total of 52 circuits, or the number of years in the Aztec "calendar round".

[13] The ritual was partially lost after the Conquest, and the Spaniards destroyed many records about it, though Juan de Torquemada preserved a remarkably detailed account.

One of the first males to train women, Jesús Arroyo Cerón, died when he fell from a pole during the Cumbre Tajín 2006 cultural festival.

The most traditional time to perform this version is on Holy Thursday at the culmination of a festival held on this day called the Huapangueada.

In Papantla, which is the community most closely associated with the ritual, the Consejo de Ancianos Totonacas (Council of Totonac Elders) has formally prohibited the inclusion of women.

[15] However, in a few communities, such as Cuetzalan and Pahuatlán in Puebla and Zozocolco de Hidalgo in Veracruz, women have been allowed to be voladores.

[8][15] Those who are allowed to take part must first complete a series of rituals designed to ask the forgiveness of the gods and Catholic saints for being a woman.

If a female volador is found to have broken the rules of sexual abstention, she is taken to an altar which is surrounded by incense burners and candles.

An image of the Archangel Michael or Saint James bears witness to the punishment, which involves a number of slaps to the face (bofetadas), with the quantity depending on the transgression and the decision of those in charge.

[9] In Guatemala the flying pole dance, called Palo volador, is still celebrated in Joyabaj (15 August), Chichicastenango (17–23 January) and Cubulco (26 July).

[9] The most traditional and lengthy version starts from the selection and cutting of the tree to be used, to the final dance after all voladores have descended from the pole.

It involves going into the forest to find a suitable tree and asking the permission or the pardon of the mountain god Quihuicolo for taking it.

The four voladores seated on the cuadro face the caporal and at the appropriate moment fall backwards to descend to the ground suspended by the wound ropes.

Celebrations of the recognition took place on October 12, 2009, in Takilhsukut Park at El Tajín and other volador sites in Mexico.

These include those associated with the taking of the pole, called a tsakáe kiwi, from the forest, an aspect of the ritual that is in danger of extinction.

Most come from the neighboring communities of Plan de Hidalgo, El Tajín, San Lorenzo and Arroyos del Arco and Oxital, and whose fathers and grandfathers are voladores.

There is a formal established group in Boca del Río that has been recognized by municipal authorities and receives support in the way of space and a permanent pole..

The goal of the group is to offer to tourists a dignified version of the ritual at the Plaza Bandera that does not forget its roots.

[33] In episode 6 of the animated series Onyx Equinox, the characters visit the Totonac city of Tajin, where people perform the dance, but can actually grow bird wings and fly.

During the song "Without Question" from the Dreamworks animated film The Road to El Dorado, Miguel takes part in the ritual.