Nuba wrestling refers to traditional sports of the

Nuba peoples The Nuba people are indigenous inhabitants of southern Sudan. The Nuba are made up of 50 various indigenous ethnic groups who inhabit the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan state in Sudan, encompassing multiple distinct people that speak differ ...

in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan state, in southern

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. Nuba

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

is often accompanied by stick fighting tournaments.

Techniques

The goal of Nuba wrestling is to slam the opponent to the ground. Wrestling is relatively recreational, and serious injuries are rare. Nuba wrestling has no pinning and no submissions. Although there are strikes, these are essentially part of the grappling; in other words, this is not a boxing system, as is, for example, Hausa dambe. Therefore, Nuba wrestling is best viewed as a system of standing grappling, historically practiced naked, but in towns today practiced in T-shirts and shorts. Nuba stick fighting essentially mimics the movements of fighting with spear and shield. Little armor is worn, so injuries can be severe.

Training

Training for both wrestling and stick fighting includes practicing under the supervision of former champions, performing athletic dances, learning traditional songs, and drinking much milk, while avoiding promiscuity and beer. (Which is prohibited by Islamic Sudanese law.)

Tournaments

In rural areas, Nuba wrestling tournaments are associated with planting and harvest festivals. The purpose of the wrestling at these festivals is to build group identity and display the prowess of the group's young men. (At Nuba wrestling matches, youths represent their villages, rather than themselves.) Nuba stick fighting tournaments usually take place after harvest. This is partly, because this is the traditional war season, and partly to give thanks for a good harvest. Because stick fighting is dangerous, participants pray before bouts, and

amulets An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a pers ...

may be worn for protection. If a participant is seriously injured, then he or his family are supposed to be compensated by the other village, usually in the form of a cow or similar valuable commodity. During wrestling and stick fighting tournaments, feasts, music, dance, and storytelling about former champions are integral to the practice. Although stick fighting tournaments are not usually seen in modern cities (police take a dim view of crowds of armed young men roaming the streets), wrestling tournaments are often attended by people living in those same cities to help them retain their sense of cultural identity.

References

Text sources

* Luz, Oskar and Horst. (1966). "Proud Primitives, the Nuba People," ''National Geographic 130:5, pp. 673–699. * Riefenstahl, Leni. (1973). ''The Last of the Nuba''. New York: Harper and Row. * Rodger, George. (1955). ''Le Village des Nouba''. Paris: Delphire. * Sweeney, C. (1969). ''Jebels by Moonlight''. London: Chatto & Windus.

Film

* ''Nuba Wrestling'' by Rolf Husmann (1991)

External links

* * * {{folk wrestling Nuba peoples Folk wrestling styles Sport in Sudan African martial arts