Lutte sénégalaise

**Jack Rusher** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 1:15pm

This highlight video of Lutte sénégalaise ('lutte' is the French word for 'struggle' or 'fight' that's also used for 'wrestle'; it's a cognate of the Spanish word 'lucha', as in 'lucha livre', the Portuguese word 'luta', and so on) just crossed my desktop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T5iq8p1rhM

... according to this Wikipedia article it's a kind of 'fall wrestling' with strikes (mostly palm strikes from what I can tell) where victory is accorded when one player's butt, back or head touches the ground, or a player cannot continue for medical reasons. Traditionally, they play an inter-village championship after the rainy season, the winner of which is accorded social status (see: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart for a novel about an African village wrestling champion).

These guys look to be solid athletes with many skills that any wrestler would immediately recognize -- some fierce shoots and quick sprawls here. I really enjoyed watching their matches and thinking about the form of ur-wrestling that must have pre-dated all the diverse grappling styles we see today.

**test1234** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 3:10pm

those guys look kind of huge

**DdlR** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 7:46pm

That's Laamb - tough sport ...

See also Marcus Trower's excellent wrestling travelogue/manifesto "The Last Wrestlers" for a chapter on similar grappling sports in Nigeria.

**Jack Rusher** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 7:54pm

Originally Posted by DdlR

See also Marcus Trower's excellent wrestling travelogue/manifesto "The Last Wrestlers" for a chapter on similar grappling sports in Nigeria.

Added to my Amazon list, thanks.

**fes_fsa** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 7:56pm

i must do this.

*looks for spear and white woman*

**syberia** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 7:58pm

I'm a white woman... but dont spear me!!

This looks rather cool.

**DdlR** · Posted On: 10/01/2007 8:07pm

Originally Posted by jackrusher

Added to my Amazon list, thanks.

You won't regret it. I wrote a review of "the Last Wrestlers" for this board a while back - can't find the link now, the damn search function is screwing up again. Anyway, it's a great read. Trower is a professional journalist who went off on a quest to study all sorts of obscure grappling styles around the world. IMO he goes a little off the deep end with his theories about how wrestling is a sort of primal male display behavior, but he's consistently entertaining and provides a rare insight into what wrestling means to different cultures.

**DdlR** · Posted On: 10/02/2007 9:48am

Link to the "Last Wrestlers" book review - http://www.bullshido.net/forums/show...47&postcount=1

**Kokujin** · Posted On: 10/03/2007 9:40am

a) Those guys are HUGE...and I thought I was big

b) grappling IS the most basic form of human confrontation, may it be for martial purposes, social or religious purposes

c) My father supposedly was a big champion in his village in Senegal, the girls just love the winners...I keep the tradition by doing bjj and sub grappling!

d) It's a Great way to difuse village wars, tribe conflicts, etc...while giving a sense of pride to the village of the winners

Just a National Geography moment...great post, great video! Thanks