Danza de los Voladores

The Danza de los Voladores ("Dance of the Flyers"), or Palo Volador ("Flying Pole"), is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual still performed today, albeit in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico.

It is believed to have originated with the Nahua, Huastec and Otomi peoples in central Mexico, and then spread throughout most of Mesoamerica.

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. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and drum. According to one myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. The Aztecs believed that Danza de los Voladores was the symbol of their culture.

Although the ritual did not originate with the Totonac people, today it is strongly associated with them, especially those in and around Papantla in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The ceremony was named an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in order to help the ritual survive and thrive in the modern world.

Blandine Gautier explains the importance of the ceremony.
According to Totonac myth, at least 450 years ago there was a severe drought that brought hunger to the people. The gods were withholding the rain because the people had neglected them. The ceremony was created, to appease the gods and bring back the rains.

In some versions of the story, the ritual is created by the old men of a village, who then chose five young men who were chaste.
In other versions, the five men themselves create the ritual. 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 trunk is erected with much ceremony. The youths climb the pole and four jump off while the fifth played music. The ritual pleased the rain god Xipe Totec and other gods, so the rains began again and the fertility of the earth returned.

Blandine Gautier explains the Mayan version.
In Maya mythology the creation of the world is associated with a bird deity (Itzamna) residing at the World Tree (the center of the world). Five "birdmen" at the top of a pole represent bird deities. The main dancer stands in the center and plays a flute, which represents the sound of birds singing. The four other "birdmen" (representing the four directions) spin around the pole to represent the recreation of the world (and the regeneration of life).

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. Many villages in Mexico banned this version of the practice due to injuries and even death.

The Pole.
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. The tree selection, cutting and erecting ceremony is called the tsakáe kiki. 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 tree is stripped of its branches and dragged to the ceremonial site, where a hole has been dug for the now-30-meter pole. Before erecting the pole, offerings of flowers, copal, alcohol, candles and live chickens or a live turkey are placed in the hole. These are then crushed as the pole is erected, adding to the fertility of the earth. The pole becomes a connection point between the sky and the earth and the underworld with the surface world, a representation of the world tree, and considered to be the fifth cardinal direction of the earth. The post and the dancers are then purified with alcohol sprinkled in the form of a cross and tobacco smoke.

In most cases, however, the pole used is a permanently placed one, often of steel, and this part of the ceremony does not take place.

Entering the sacred precinct.

The interpreters enter the sacred precinct in single file.

Circumambulating the pole.
The interpreters circumambulate the pole counterclockwise. This movement is counterclockwise to the movement of the sun.

Performing a dance on the floor.
The ceremony begins with a dance and song type called a “son.”

Usually the initial song played and danced to is called the “son of forgiveness.”

Starting to climb the pole.
After this, the five begin to climb the pole with the chief or “caporal” going first.

The caporal will not descend but rather will stay at the top of the pole until near the end of the ceremony.

Climbing the pole.
Three performers climb the pole while two remain below holding the ropes.

The caporal stands on the capstan.
The caporal stands on a capstan, called a manzana (apple) which is a small platform at the top of the pole. From this capstan is suspended a square frame called a cuadro (square) on which the other four voladores sit. While these four wind the ropes around the pole and tie themselves to the ends, the caporal plays the flute and drum acknowledging the four cardinal directions, beginning with the east because it is believed life came from this direction.

Climbing the pole.
The third performer reaches the top of the pole while the other two on the ground continue to hold the ropes.

Winding the ropes around the pole.
The four ropes are each wound thirteen times for a total of fifty-two, the number of years in a Mesoamerican great year.

Acknowledging the sun.
The caporal then bends fully backwards to acknowledge the sun, playing all the while. The four voladores represent the four cardinal directions as well as the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. The caporal represents the fifth sun.

Notice how the yellow ropes are now completely wrapped around the blue pole.

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

Spinning in the air.
As the ropes unwind, the voladores spin, creating a moving pyramid shape. As the other voladores descend, the caporal plays the “son of goodbye” and dances on the narrow platform.