Lamb, la Lutte s?n?galaise
Papa Sow, Lamb's wrestler of age 28, 96kg and 1.77 mt, lifts 140kg. He is member of Ecurie Fass generation of Parcelles, one of the oldest group of traditional fighters. Dakar, Senegal, on tuesday, April 07 2009....."Lamb, the wolof word for fight, is a very popular type of African wrestling in Senegal. This "lutte traditionelle" has been transformed into a national cult, drawing massive following next only to football. Senegalese wrestlers are among the best-known national sports figures. The senegalese fight form allows blows with the hands (frappe), the only of the West African to do so. The lutteurs wrestle in a sandy arena and attempt to win by making their opponent's knees, shoulder, or back touch the sand. Matches are festive and lively occasions, with music, dancing, and praise singing for the athletes; the actual wrestling bouts, however, are often over within a few seconds. Presently, wrestling is arranged by business-promoters who offer prizes for the winners..The sport has produced its own legends, names such as Yékini, Tyson and Bombardier (stage names) are celebrities in Senegal. In particular Mohammed Ndao, aka Tyson, the 34-year-old leader of the Boul Falé generation of Pikine, a Dakar suburb, did not only revolutionise the sport, by carving his own group identity, and upsetting the old guard, but he is also credited with insisting on commensurate remuneration for the wrestlers. A "combat" could start from 10 million CFA francs (about 20,000 US dollars) to 65 million CFA francs. (about 130,000 dollars). The phenomenal success is such that stakeholders are already talking about building a separate stadium for the sport in the country."
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