La Lute

The national sport in Senegal is wrestling. I have been waiting to go to the wrestling matches for two years and Sunday evening I finally got my first chance. There is an intervillage competition going on so there has been a ton of matches this week and I just get to take my pick. When we arrived it was raining but that doesn't stop a lute.

The event began by the older men who can no longer wrestle dancing onto the field dressed in all manner of bright costumes with knives and branches. Some were wearing random helmets and carrying big sticks.

Then the village supporters come out banging these large palm sticks on the ground so it almost sound like a gun going off. They welcome the wrestlers. First the wrestlers approach the other village supporters and wrestlers by growling and some crawling on all fours showing off how mean and strong they are. Then the other village does the same thing. The men then start making trips across the field to look at the other wrestlers and discuss who they think they can beat.

The games then begin. Wrestlers from each side approach the opposing village and chose an opponent. There is a guy from each village who watches the two wrestle and if either one breaks some unwritten rules or they wrestle too long and no one wins they they pull them apart.

There was one old fat guy who wrestled this really tiny guy. The tiny guy totally destroyed him and flipped him on the ground. It was so funny. Any time there was a win by either side, the supporters would rush the field and go after the other village, cheering, singing and shouting. There are three to five different wrestling groups on the field at the same time and wrestlers walking across to chose opponents. And then the supporters running to and fro. There was so much chaos I had no idea how anyone kept a "score" but by the end of the match everyone knew which village had one. It was a mystery to me.

And of course only one picture of people sitting under umbrellas because my camera batteries ran out just as it was starting.