{"id":252154,"date":"2023-03-08T20:23:40","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T18:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/traditional-wrestling-in-senegal-much-more-than-a-sport-it-keeps-culture-alive\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T20:23:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T18:23:40","slug":"traditional-wrestling-in-senegal-much-more-than-a-sport-it-keeps-culture-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/traditional-wrestling-in-senegal-much-more-than-a-sport-it-keeps-culture-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional wrestling in Senegal – much more than a sport, it keeps culture alive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Traditional wrestling plays an important role in much of Senegalese society and is one of the country\u2019s national sports. <\/p>\n

Traditional wrestling is mostly practised in rural areas where it\u2019s not just a sport, it has a profound<\/a> social and cultural role. It\u2019s being overshadowed by a very popular, modern professional wrestling. A synthesis of boxing and traditional wrestling, these matches are massive social events.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s particularly important within the Joola<\/a> community, in southern Senegal, and the Serer community<\/a> in central Senegal. Together these communities make up about 18%<\/a> of the country\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

The practice is traditionally taught to young men in special schools during their initiation<\/a> into adulthood.<\/p>\n

All the information on how to wrestle has been passed down through oral history by griots<\/a> \u2013 traditional West African troubadour-historians \u2013 and by the elders. <\/p>\n

The young men learn about society, hierarchy, and the fundamental differences between the traditional roles of men and women. The training schools also bring together people from different communities. This means, particularly in rural areas, wrestling allows for friendly encounters between neighbouring villages. <\/p>\n

Wrestling isn\u2019t just a sport, it\u2019s a valuable social heritage that must continue. It\u2019s in decline because young wrestlers are attracted to the professional, modern forms. <\/p>\n

Importance of oral history<\/h2>\n

Because wrestling has been passed down through oral history, there\u2019s almost a total lack of written documents on it. As a specialist on wrestling, which I\u2019ve researched<\/a> at length, I want to highlight that all that we know about the history of traditional wrestling was told to us by the elders and griots.<\/p>\n

According to the elders and griots, wrestling was a means of settling conflicts between kings through wrestlers. Aside from this, it was practised as a recreational sport. <\/p>\n

Wrestling in the Serer community has some added cultural dimensions – it is also a literature, a ritual, and a festival. Wrestling is accompanied by different rhythms which change according to the wrestler himself and the participating group. It can be slow, silent, fast, jerky, fiery. It creates a story, encouragement, speaking directly to the wrestler, but also to all the participants. <\/p>\n

Chants such as \u201cThe chests scream when a great wrestler goes down, let\u2019s go, it\u2019s already dark\u201d, or \u201cI\u2019m a regular in the arena, but I won\u2019t go around looking for talismans, my strength is enough\u201d are often sung by their supporters. <\/p>\n

Wrestling is not just a sport, it has a considerable socio-educational aspect. <\/p>\n

Wrestling training schools exist for all young boys, and through it adults measured the boys\u2019 courage, their will to win and their spirit of self-sacrifice. Because of this, it brings honour to a person\u2019s village or region, and is an important form of social capital to safeguard. <\/p>\n

Socially entrenched<\/h2>\n

Traditional wrestling is more than the sole individual that wrestles. There are five key social dynamics around wrestlers: the relationship between the wrestler and his entourage; the relationship between wrestling and family relationships; the relationship between wrestling and friendship; between the elders and wrestling; and finally the contribution of wrestling to bringing people together. <\/p>\n

Traditional wrestling also matters to the community – it\u2019s an expression of ethnicity, tribe or class. Wrestling in traditional society was a sign of the vitality of a particular community. This community rallies all its forces around a single character \u2013 the wrestlers \u2013 as its representative. <\/p>\n

The relationship between the wrestler and his community is therefore key. There are three relationships in particular that stand out:<\/p>\n