Senegal elevates traditional wrestling beyond indigenous culture

Senegal elevates traditional wrestling beyond indigenous culture



Like other sports, Senegal's traditional wrestling has undergone a drastic revolution, such that the Gueyes, feared fighters in their days in the 1970s, are drowned in nostalgia today as the new generation of wrestlers smile all the way to the bank with mega bucks, from a sport that was previously played for leisure but provided little or no financial returns to the combatants.

The sport has seen a massive infusion of modernity in Senegal, especially in officiating, with a complete group of uniformed umpires, a panel of judges and the introduction of body punching to enliven the drab grab/hold techniques.

The wrestlers are still attired in the old tradition of loincloth, fully exposing their muscles with the waist and arms bedecked with an assortment of "gris-gris" charms.

But despite all the efforts at modernisation, traditional wrestling a la Senegal, still retains its mystic, with a massive dose of razzmatazz, while the marabouts still occupy a privileged position in the magical preparations to ensure victory for their wards.

Since the average fight lasts less than 10 minutes, the wrestlers and their griots (praise singers), bodyguards and supporters often over-dramatise the pre-match up, which in some cases lasts up to two hours, including the time for opening supporting bouts, to ensure that the paying crowd has value for money.

The typical preparation for a bout ranges from the enchanting to the bizarre, involving various rituals, including digging up the ground and "bathing" the wrestlers with liquid concoctions.

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The 35,000-strong crowd at the Leopold Senghor Stadium in Dakar included Senegalese First Lady Viviene Wade.

The importance of the wrestling bout was not lost on her husband President Abdoulaye Wade, who made it a point to extend his best wishes to the two wrestlers in his New Year message to the nation.

To also underscore the gripping passion of the sport, national media reports on the fight displaced the president's annual goodwill message to the nation, occupying the front pages of all the private journals the following day.

If the fight was spectacular, the build-up was emotive with corporate Senegal led by the mobile phone company Alize, deploying every arsenal to maximise advertisement revenue.

The fight organisers, Action 2000, said the contest cost a whopping 240 million CFA francs (about 680,000 dollars) to stage, and the national frenzy was such that half way into the bout, the stadium's gates were swung open to allow in thousands of fans massed outside the venue.

The actual bout was over in under seven minutes but extended pre-fight dramas were a sight to behold and more than compensated for the short duration of the main bill.

Tyson, who had once lost his title to another tough fighter, Serigne Dia, alias "Bombardier," was floored by the hard-punching Yekini.

The city of Dakar, with three million inhabitants, came to a virtual standstill during the electrifying moments of the fight, with citizens who were unable to go to the stadium, glued to their television sets either at home or around shops and open spaces with mounted TV sets to watch live broadcast of the match.

The gate fee ranged between 1,000 CFA and 15,000 CFA francs (from two to 7.5 dollars), but despite allowing thousands in free, Petit Mbaye, the chief executive officer of Action 2000, said his organisation raked in a net profit of 28 million CFA Francs (about 56,000 dollars).

A victorious Yekini pocketed 65 million CFA francs or 130,000 dollars, while Tyson got 60 million CFA francs (about 125,000 dollars).

Even by African standards and for a country with a national minimum wage of 40,000 CFA francs (about 80 dollars) a month, the Yekini-Tyson thriller was not only a national record, but has taken traditional wrestling to new heights.