Action
bout
of africa A hundred times older than the grizzliest village elder and a hundred times tougher than life in the bush, man-on-man fighting in Gambia and Senegal, West Africa, is brutal, atavistic combat. A contest without limits, fighters can win by any means that meets with the crowd’s approval Photography: Philipp Horak
OPENING ROUNDS
Philipp Horak took the photographs for this report while working as stills photographer on the film7915 km, directed by Nicholas Geyrhalter additional information: Paul FAye
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It’s known as ‘laamb’ or ‘lutte africaine’ in French, and it’s a national sport all over West Africa. Ancient, brutal, yet more popular even than football, it has existed since the times of the greatgreat-great-great-grandfathers, according to Senegalese oral tradition, although there’s no fixed date of origin. In times past, wrestling took place during village celebrations once the rainy season and the harvest were over. Amid a festival atmosphere of dance, music and feasting, wrestlers represented their village or family and battled to bring fame and honour through victory. Their feats of physicality and courage made wrestlers feted heroes – the Premier League football stars of their day – capable of drawing crowds from village squares into stadiums. Now woven tight into West African social fabric, laamb contests are held several times each year, with prize money on offer for the winners. Lutte africaine is even taught in schools as part of the sports curriculum.