Yékini
Encyclopedia
Senegalese wrestling
Senegalese wrestling is a type of Folk wrestling traditional performed by the Serer people and now a national sport in Senegal and parts of The Gambia, and is part of a larger West African form of traditional wrestling...
, the most prominent variant of the Lutte Traditionnelle
Lutte Traditionnelle
Lutte Traditionnelle is the name used to describe related styles of West African Folk wrestling, known as Laamb in Senegal, Boreh in The Gambia, Evala in Togo, and KoKowa / Kokawa in Hausa areas of Nigeria and Niger, or simply Lutte Traditionnelle, in Niger and Burkina Faso...
, a West African folk tradition which has become a major professional sport in the last two decades. From the Serer
Serer people
The Serer people along with the Jola people are acknowledged to be the oldest inhabitants of The Senegambia....
ethnic group, Yékini is the most successful wrestler since the professionalisation of the sport, and his appearances are major news in his home country. His 2006 fight against and defeat of Mouhamed Ndao, alias Tyson, was billed in Senegal as "the fight of the century", cementing the two as the best known exponents of the sport. As of March 2008, Yékini remains undefeated in fifteen years of professional bouts.
Yékini studied traditional "mbapatte" wrestling techniques before turning to the modern wrestling styles which include a mixture of boxing and wrestling.
External links
- Lutte, Afrik News category for Lutte Traditionnelle newspaper reports.
- African Press Agency photos from the 10 June 2007 Yekini vs Balla Beye rematch.
