The voladores, or flyers, dress in brilliantly colored traditional costumes, climb up a 150 foot pole, tie their ankles to ropes wound around the pole and then jump off, "flying" gracefully around and around as the ropes unwind until they reach the ground. As the voladores "fly," another performer balances at the top of the pole and plays haunting tunes on his wooden flute. The performers in this series of pictures were located next to the Anthropological museum in Mexico City.

The 'Voladores de Papantla' are Totonac Indians, and the voladores rite is a traditional act of worship (now most often performed as entertainment for tourists, as in these pictures). The voladores climb to the top of a tall pole, wind ropes around the pole, and then leap off into the air. As the ropes unwind, they descend slowly to the ground. The caporal plays a drum and flute and invokes an ancient spiritual offering in the form of a spectacular dance.

The early history of the ceremonial flight of the Voladores is shrouded in the mists of antiquity. Information about the original ritual was partially lost when the invading conquerors from Spain destroyed so many of the documents and codices of the indigenous cultures. Fortunately, enough survived through legend and oral history and in materials written by early visitors to New Spain, that anthropologists and historians have been able to document at least part of the story of this ancient religious practice and how it has evolved through time.

A Totonaca myth tells of a time when there was a great drought, and food and water grew scarce throughout the land. Five young men decided that they must send a message to Xipe Totec, God of fertility so that the rains would return and nurture the soil, and their crops would again flourish. So they went into the forest and searched for the tallest, straightest tree they could find.

When they came upon the perfect tree, they stayed with it overnight, fasting and praying for the tree's spirit to help them in their quest. The next day they blessed the tree, then felled it and carried it back to their village, never allowing it to touch the ground. Only when they decided upon the perfect location for their ritual, did they set the tree down. The men stripped the tree of its leaves and branches, dug a hole to stand it upright, then blessed the site with ritual offerings. The men adorned their bodies with feathers so that they would appear like birds to Xipe Totec, in hope of attracting the god's attention to their important request. With vines wrapped around their waists, they secured themselves to the pole and made their plea through their flight and the haunting sound of the flute and drum.