BLAC Foundation Photo Gallery

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Photo Gallery Tamil Photo Gallery (gallery descriptions below) 1) Stick sparring at Thiruvallur Tournament; 2) Stick fighting demonstration in village near Madurai; 3) Block of blow to lower leg at tournament near Chennai; 4) Girl twirling fire chain with her mouth; 5) From left to right - Dr. Edward Powe, Dr. David Manuel Raj (Silambam Pioneer); and M. Shahul Hamed (Silambam Master and Creator of first Silambam DVD); 6) Twirling of fire in sitting position; 7) Mallakhamb pole acrobatics in Villupuram; 8) Mallakhamb pole acrobatics in Villupuram; 9) Mallakhamb pole pyramid in Villupuram; 10) Mallakhamb rope posture in Villupuram. 11) Silambam shoulder lock. Black Martial Arts from the African Indian Ocean Photo Gallery Traditional Black Martial Arts of the African - Indian Ocean are still alive and well. Among the best-known of these arts one finds: Moringue (Reunion) / Morengy (Madagascar) / Mrengé (Comoros) - a form of traditional boxing accompanied by music and song which is practiced by Creoles, Malagasy, and Comorians alike. This sport (of prseumed mainland African origin) is essentially a spectacular form of bare-knuckle boxing, though in some areas, both kicking and head-butting is permitted. Ringa - a form of traditional wrestling practiced by Malagasy farmers and herders. It is perhaps the safest of the combat games, though in some cases serious injury results. This is particularly true when a wrestler is lifted high in the air and slammed head first to the ground. Unlike American wrestling, one does not need to pin an opponent to win. If an adversary's shoulder or heads touches the ground, he is considered defeated. In Toamasina (eastern Madagascar), toho-body - a form of wrestling which one competitor begins the fight standing with his back facing his opponent - is practiced . Savika - a form of ceremonial Zebu bull wrestling practiced by the Betsileo youths of Madagascar. This sport requires a youth to grab the hump of an enraged bull and cling to the bucking creature for a specified length of time. Savika is typically practiced during the famadihana ritual where the bones of deceased relatives are dug from the ground and wrapped in new linen before being buried again. Malaso -The ceremonial thieving of cattle, a "sport" which incorporates many of the elements associated with combat sports including ritual, use of the magic, songs, combat, dance, and daring. Hele - a spectacular water sport in which naked or scantily clad youths leap off rocky crags into a turbulent ocean where they are carried by powerful waves either back to the very crag from which they jumped or into another crag. Mixed Genres - are Asian Martial Arts grafted on Traditional Games from Madagascar (such as daka, diamanga, ringa, and morengy) to produce new and powerful hybrid forms. This is somewhat similar to what Mestre Bimba and Mestre Sena did to Capoeira de Angola to produce Capoeira Regional and Capoeira Estilizado, respectively. Northern Nigerian Martial Arts Photo Gallery Some ancient "combat traditions" in Northern Nigeria (as is the case in the African Indian Ocean) are alive and well. A brief summary of some of the most important survivals includes: Dambe - a form of traditional boxing practiced by members of the butchers' guild and increasingly by local toughs who are not members of this guild. In dambe only one hand is "gloved" (i.e. Bound in cloth for striking purposes), the other hand being used to ward off blows. Kicking and butting with the head are also permitted (see 7 photos in gallery). Farauta - hunting expeditions in which one group snatches prey from another, In bishi ( a specially convened gathering of hunters) the combatants - armed with knives, bows and arrows, maces, clubs, and other sundry weapons - shout their taunts and praises and engage in mock (sometimes real) confrontations. Feats of magic, such as the materialization of arrows from the thin air, are said to occur at such gatherings (see 2 photos in gallery). Kokawa - a form of traditional wrestling practiced mostly by farmers. This is perhaps the safest of the combat games (though in some cases serious injury results particularly when a wrestler is lifted high into the air and slammed to the ground at the foot of a spectator). Unlike American wrestling, one does not need to pin an opponent to win. If an adversary's hand or body touches the ground, he is considered defeated. In Sokoto, there existed (in 1984) the survival of a harsher form of wrestling in which adversaries were equipped with ringlets that could slash the back of an adversary when grabbed (see photo gallery). Shanci - a spectacular and often bloody contest performed exclusively by the Maguzawa Hausa in which gallantly arrayed adversaries armed with razor sharp iron bracelets engaged in pitched combat (see 2 photos in gallery). Sharo or Shadi - a Fulani manhood contest involving mutual flogging with a long flexible stick or a short hard one. Those who cry out in pain are disgraced and are not considered worthy of marriage (see 4 photos in gallery). Tauri - a large gathering of "tough skins" ( 'yan tauri ) who (due to their use of traditional medicines) are held to be impervious to being cut by metals. They shout their praises and taunts while demonstrating their invulnerability by drawing swords or knives across various parts of the body including the tongue. If conducted in a remote area, these gatherings (commonly called gangi ) produce confrontations in which serious injury and/or loss of life is likely to occur (See photo in gallery). Other Contests - include minor combat games such as faka (back butting), kwambe (foot boxing), wowwo (communal mock war raids ) , wasan sanda (Fulani stick fighting), as well as those games of courage which do not pit man against man, but rather against the forces of nature such as: wasan wuta (testing invulnerability to burning), hawan kaho (riding the horns of a bull), wasan kura (dangerous play with hyenas), wasan mahaukata (self flagellation with swords), wasan macizai (snake dodging), and wasan kunama (permitting poisonous scorpions to roam over one's skin). Meenakshipatti Photo Gallery Photo Gallery of the Village of Meenakshipatti, Madurai District (Tamil Nadu, India ) 1) Children of Meenakshipaati pose for a photo before making a presentation. 2) A close up of photo #1 showing some of CAR Trust’s instructors. 3) Practicing silambam (stick-fighting) in front of village shrine. 4) Karate Performers salute the audience. 5) Y O G A spells Yoga. Note the V. Erulan is seen here as the “G”. 6) Playing kabaddi, a traditional Indian game that combines tag and tackling. 7) Some children receiving evening tuition. 8) Making Pongal (sweet boiled rice with special condiments) to celebrate the harvest festival. 9) Cleanliness is next to godliness 10) Children assembled in Front of CAR Headquarters. 11) More village children serviced by CAR TRUST 12) Practicing a folk-dance routine.

All Text & Images ©The BLAC Foundation 2006 unless otherwise notated.