Noo Boro

This is the Mandinkan term for wrestling. Around the new year my host family staged a wrestling match in the field just behind our compound. It was not a novel occurence, there are these village wrestling matches that draw wrestlers and residents from neighboring towns to come over, have alot of fun, and watch some wrestling. I was familiar with it because the volunteer before me was actually a wrestler. The family took him to watch a match and he told them that he wanted to try it. They didnt know he had experience as an actual wrestler, so when somebody from Sami Koto finally tried to wrestle a little with him he abruptly pinned them. They organized matches for him and he wrestled all around the Sami area. I had my two nearest volunteers come over on the Saturday night of wrestling to check the whole thing out. However, as soon as they got to town my dad said... Its gonna be tomorrow now. They stayed the night anyway, but had to leave before the actual wrestling. It finally did happen though on the next day, but the event wasnt really about the wrestling. At about 6 all the wrestlers and a group of drummers paraded around town with all the villagers following along and taking turns dancing. It was alot like posse that surrounds a boxer before a big fight, except it went all through the village and then eventually to the "ring" and then around the field for two or three times before the actual wrestling. The wrestling is pretty simple, whoever throws the other person down first wins. There is no visible schedule of matches, people just challenge each other. Then eventually there is a match, and the winner jumps up and everybody rushes him, and you know who is the champion for the evening.