Weekend: Wrestling Match

Wrestling is the national sport in Senegal. It has its roots in traditional Senegalese culture - although it has evolved with the urbanization of the country. Traditional wrestling has been fused with urban boxing to create a more modern sport, but one that is still highly ritualistic.

The early part of the event basically serves to make the men feel more manly. Each wrestler had his own entourage with him and they would dance to the drum beats and pour holy water on him - all rituals to increase the strength of the wrestler and offer him protection. Traditionally, the wives or girlfriends of the wrestlers would also sing songs about them as inspiration (one of the many roots of rap music). There was singing, dancing, crowds going crazy. There were 5 wrestling matches, each about a minute long, but the event lasted an hour and a half.

Drum circle and dancing

We were apparently in the "foreign" section in the middle of the stadium. The fans of each team were split to our left and right. The right side (pictured here celebrating) won every single match. The sport evokes a lot of angry words and gestures :)

The wrestlers still wear the traditional outfits made of a strong cloth woven in Senegal. The objective is to get your opponent either on his back or on all fours. The instant one of these occurs, you lose. 

I don't know what to compare this sporting even to because there was soooo much going on all the time. Even during the matches, the drums were going, women were dancing - half the time I was too distracted to even watch the actual wrestling. I enjoyed the experience though. 

I have videos of a couple matches, as well as lots of videos of the music we have been experiencing, but it is impossible to upload them on the internet connections available here. They will all have to wait until I return. I've been here 2 weeks today!

Oh, and all photo credits go to Beth because her camera (and she) is awesome and I have been slacking in the picture taking department.