E A
ARTS
than
Diop rushes into the ring and loudly berates Pa-
tar. “Why did you hit him? You know this match
is meant to be a traditional wrestling match —
no punching!” As he walks away, though, he
whispers to Patar: “Next time, hit him harder.”
4, 3, 2, 1 — wrestle!
B
a
m
!
T
his time, realizing he’s been tricked,
Doussouba reaches for a big stick and
uses it to beat Patar. The event descends
into chaos as the fans start fighting in the
stands. The match is stopped, but a winner can be
soccer in Senegal.”
declared: the modern style. From that point on,
the dominant wrestling in Senegal is avec frappe.
Not that it mattered to Diop, who had covered his
bases. “The money had been taken home to the
promoter’s wife before the match even began,”
says Serigne Mour Diop, a Senegalese wrestling
championof wrestling avec frappe (with hitting historian, journalist and author of La Lutte Sene-
or punching), the modern, commercial version galaise. “They knew the drama that would ensue.”
of the sport that combines elements of wrestling
and bare-knuckle boxing. Patar, who is wear- La lutte Senegalaise, or laamb ji as it’s known
ing leather charms and amulets, douses him- in the Senegalese language of Wolof, has ex-
self in an oily liquid handed to him by his mar- isted since the 14th century. It was a form of
about — a potion to increase his strength, make entertainment that usually occurred after the
him invincible and assure victory. In the stadi- harvest when villages would compete against
um’s seat of honor sits a regal man in a grand each other. The wrestling competitions also
boubou — Bassirou Diagne Marème Diop. In a
few decades he’ll become Le Grand Serigne de
14 | Colossium . August 2018