BRIEF DESCRIPTION AFRICAN TRADITIONAL WRESTLING/SENEGAL/RECREATION Senegal is officially known as the Republic of Senegal. It is one of the multicultural countries in West African. It covers a land mass of about 197,000 square kilometers and has an estimated population of about 13 million. It is bounded externally by Atlantic Ocean, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The climate is tropical; dry season and rainy season. In Senegal Wrestling is not just a fight, but a central part of cultures that encompasses both social and religious purposes. i.e. Boys prepare for manhood through wrestling, and Successful wrestlers achieve a higher status that follows them throughout their lives. Apart from this, wrestling in Africa also has connections with: ancestral worships, fertility rites, royal entertainments, societal positioning, animistic beliefs etc, amongst many other purposes. Generally, Wrestling is not new to Africa. Some authorities believe it has been part of its generational growth and civilization for ages, though, each: country, ethnic or tribe has its own unique method. Africa traditional wrestling as a blanket name for others like: folk wrestling, stick fight etc has many divisions but the most popular amongst them are: stick licking in Bajan, Surma stick fighting in Ethiopia, Nuba fighting in Sudan, Istunka in Somalia, Laamb Wrestling in Senegal, Evala in Togo, Dambe in Nigeria Nguni Stick Fighting and Musangwe [knuckle boxing] in South Africa amongst many others. Despite the variations in the names, rules and methods, some core aspect of the combat sport like: attacking the opponent, the use of physical strength, aspiration to dominate, blocking, grappling, clinching, throwing, taking downs, spinning etc are preserved in most of them with the exception of few. Historically, like all Africans, traditional wrestling is very popular amongst the Nubians. Nubians are ethnic group from northern Sudan, and southern Egypt. They inhabit the region between Wadi Halfa in the north and Aldaba in the south. The main Nubian groups from north to south are the Mahas, Halfaweyen, Sikut, and Danagla. They speak different dialects of the Nubian language. Nuba wrestling is practiced for over 3,000 years. The earliest known portrayal of Nubian wrestlers is found on a wall painting from the tomb of Tyanen, an Egyptian officer who died in 1410 B.C. It appears at least five times in Egyptian art. Asides, there are hosts of wrestling scenes that appeared in the Old Kingdom tomb of Ptahhotep (2300 B.C.) through New Kingdom in (2000-1085 B.C.). FOR FURTHER READING/VIEW, GO TO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rAk45byFbM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c2LlpsaSIo http://blackathlete.net/artman2/publish/BASN_Focus_On_ History_4/Traditional_African_Sports_and_Games_Today_Nuba_Wr_1535.shtml
