La Lutte Traditionnelle or "Pure" Sérère

La lutte traditionnelle (traditional fighting) or "pure" Sérère is a cultural practice that celebrates the harvest. It embodies percussion, singing and dancing. By dancing a wrestler challenges an adversary to battle; by dancing he celebrates his own victory. The singers praise the warriors and their courage to galvanize the wrestlers and to incite the audience to dance to the rhythm of percussions. These running synergies create a powerful choreography which reaches its climax during the matches.
The Sérère ethnic group is the protagonist of this ancient sport that finds its roots in mythology; legends transmitted by griots say that supernatural beings named "Kuus" (divine dwarfs) taught this practice to not circumcised young shepherds called "Gaynaakh". Legends also say that at the time of the Empire of Mali, in XI century, only men of royal blood could play it and that it had mythical origin in country Sérère.
"Pure" Sérère is mostly played on sand fields. Every region has its own style but the rules are simple and mostly the same. Battles are loyal; the two opponents have to be in constant movement. Blows are forbidden, and hitting by head, elbow as well as low hits are forbidden. No action is allowed after a fall on the soil; amulets are allowed if they are not dangerous for the adversary.
Fall and immobilization are symbolic for death; the defeated stands up again and doesn't fear any more... the adversary becomes the partner.
The practice of "Pure" Sérère creates a social network between the youths of a village with the ones of the nearby village giving an opportunity to the entire community to express its sense of hospitality (the téranga) and to narrow the distances with the neighboring villages.
"Pure" Sérère is not to be confused with the Senegalese National Wrestling or "laamb" although many Sérère champions leave la lutte traditionnelle to enter the big arena and the small screen dimension.
Location: Arene Adrien Senghor, Grand Yoff.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Lutteur
• wrestler
• wrestling
• Sereer
• laamb
• music
• dance
• percussions
• sport
• téranga
• ;Pure
• Sérère;
• Senegal
• Sénégal
• Africa;HV20
• stefania
• zamparelli;

[rubydartz]

Those guys are fantastic looking! African Gladiators. Wow! What I like about the video, as opposed to the still photos is the music and movement together. Brava!

[veroalaimo]

L'esprit de la lutte!

Bravo...

[scorpion20112]

wow beautiful bodies, how do they get those bodies? please someone answer me as i don't think they got gym there.

[Cornel960]

3:51 was isn das?

[mickfromcork]

@leroyflagg

and a total disregard for human life

[leroyflagg]

@chrstw71 Power comes from out of the barrel of a gun.

As they said in the British Empire days:

"We had the maxim gun, and they did not!"

It still applies today.

"We have the industrial-military complex, and they do not!"

[musclewrestler1]

thanks for enlightening me............ awesome video of traditional fighting

[LeoBlight]

@chrstw71 simple, guns and trickery!

[oroge]

@chrstw71 it wasn't all physical, also a lot of it was helped by their own people.

[chefawkes]

@chrstw71

not like it was a fair fight. guns > machetes

[chrstw71]

How the hell did such a physically imposing people manage to get enslaved?