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Christian Bobst Photography

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  • On April 4. 2015, Kherou Ngor prays at the grave of his grandfather - who was also a famous Senegalese wrestler - and offers cow's milk on his tombstone. He performs this ritual regularly, both to pay respect to his grandfather and to receive his blessings and strength for upcoming competitions. Mystical rituals and shamanism play a very important role in Senegalese wrestling.
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  • Dakar, November 04, 2017. Shortly before leaving his uncles house to go to a tournament, Kherou Ngor puts on his Gris-gris amulets, that will protect him from evil spirits and the voodoo-magic of his opponent at the upcoming fight at the stadium. All wrestlers in Senegal wear this kind of magical amulets. They usually have to pay a lot of money to the witchdoctors who produce those Gris-gris amulets for them. Kherou is lucky, because his uncle crafts his Gris-gris amulets for him.
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  • August 12, 2015. Wrestler Kherou Ngor (middle, playing with child) eats lunch with his uncle’s big family, who is a very respected Marabout, as shamans, wizards and clergymen are called in Senegal. Witchcraft plays a big part in the Senegalese wrestling.
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  • The wrestler Kherou Ngor trains with his boxing coach on the beach of Ngor in Dakar on August 8, 2015, "La lutte avec frappe", wrestling with boxing is the supreme discipline of Senegalese wrestling. Even some of the biggest stars of the Senegalese national sport also train on the beaches of Dakar. For the locals, those trainings are  always welcome entertainment.
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  • April 1, 2016. In Djilass, a small village in the district of Thiès, a Marabout performs a Gris-gris ritual by washing a chicken in the water in order to produce a magic potion.  All the wrestler use several magic potions which they poor over their bodies before the fights. The ones who win every fight are actually the Marabouts, which are always well paid for the talismans and magic potions by the fighters.
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  • Dakar, April 9, 2015. Aissa (23), a waitress at the „Black and White” bar on the beach of Ngor, poses for a portrait with the newspaper „Sunu Lamb“, which daily publishes exclusively Senegalese wrestling matches. Many girls are and women in Senegal are watching wrestling matches on TV, especially those who are big fans of certain wrestlers.
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  • On April 21, 2015, a tournament in the Adrien Senghor Arena is coming to an end. Because it is too hot during the day, the competitions always take place in the evening and often last until midnight. The Adrien Senghor stadium was built for wrestling matches and attracts wrestlers from all over Senegal who come to Dakar to compete and win prize money.
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  • Dakar, July 24 2016. The wrestler Lac de Guiers 2 performs a wrestler´s dance at the stadium of Demba Diop before fighting against the wrestler Yekini.
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  • Dakar, July 22, 2016. A member of Kherou Ngor's Security Equippe cheers at the Iba Mar Diop stadium, where Kherou previously knocked out wrestler Gori. Each wrestler has his own fans cheering him on. The atmosphere in the stadium is highly charged during the wrestling matches. There are often tumultuous scenes among the fans after the matches, so each wrestler has his own team of securities.
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  • The audience and press storm the arena after the final fight to celebrate the winner, as here in the Iba Mar Diop stadium in Dakar, March 29, 2015. The winner can count himself happy; nevertheless, he has just won prize money worth 7000 dollars - in Senegal a lot of money.
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  • April 20, 2012. Two wrestlers in an occasional fight at a village party in the small place Soune on April 20, 2012. Wrestling is a traditional sport in Senegal, wrestling tournaments take place even in the smallest villages on the countryside.
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  • Dakar, July 22, 2016. After his victory at the stadium Iba Mar Diop Kherou Ngor returns to his neigbourhood on the roof of a car, while his fans celebrate him frenetically.
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  • A wrestler performs a washing ritual before a regional fight in the river of the Djilass village on April 1, 2015. Wrestlers who are successfull in fights on the countryside might participate in tournbaments in the bigger cities, where one can win higher prize money.
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  • November 4, 2017. Before a tournamant Kherou Ngor’s cousin blows water over the wrestler´s head at the Cham, the shrine of the ancestors of Kherou Ngor’s family. They perform this ceremony in order to give Kherou Ngor the strenght and support of their anchestors for a fight
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  • April 1, 2015. A wrestler inhals holy smoke in Djilass, a small village in the ditrict of Thiès. He uses a cloth which he also carries on the abdomen during the fight. The inhalation of holy smoke is a part of the mystic rituals, which the wrestlers celebrate before a fight.
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  • Kherou Ngor's cousin performs a ritual for the wrestler at the Cham - a place of worship for the ancestors of the wrestler's family - on April 5, 2015. Clay pots filled with roots and water are said to contain the spirits of the ancestors. The ritual, which must be performed regularly, is intended to provide the wrestler with the support and strength of the ancestors during his matches.
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  • On two sides of a street in Dakar, groups are watching the wrestling match on television at the Senegalese Independence Day on April 4, 2015. The Senegalese people celebrate Independence Day traditionally with some major wrestling fights. Almost the entire population in Senegal, from small children to old women, follow the wrestling matches on TV or, if possible, at the stadium.
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  • Februar 25 2018 – The wrestler Cheikhou Diouf wraps a Gris-gris amulet around his forehead when entering the arena during a small tournament on the countryside in the Region of Sine Saloum.
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  • Ex-wrestler Lac de Guiers poses in front of the Mar Diop stadium on March 29, 2015. Here his fight against the wrestler Commando wrote wrestling history in Senegal. With his targeted, hard punches Lac de Guiers sent the much taller  favourite by knock out to ground. Today he’s the owner of a Wrestling school.
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  • Dakar, November 4, 2017. Kherou Ngor marches to the stadium in Ngor for a local fight, accompanied by some children of the village.
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  • Dakar, July 22, 2016. Kherou Ngor stares at his opponent, the wrestler Gori, before they start their fight at the Iba Mar Diop stadium. Around his neck he wears several wooden gris-gris amulets, which are said to have supernatural powers. Senegalese wrestlers believe that physical and spiritual powers are equally important in every fight.
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  • BB Bismi Ndoye defeats wrestler Maraka Dji at Demba Diop stadium, in a match on April 5, 2015. Every young wrestler in Senegal dreams of winning a match in the big Senegalese soccer stadiums like Demba Diop.
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  • April 11, 2015. Young men prepare themselves for a wrestling fight in Bambilor, a small village close to Dakar. The wrestlers wrap a cloth around their abdomens at which the wrestlers hold each other during the fight.
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  • October 10, 2017. Renuse Kalela shows a statue of the Senegaese wrestling Legend Yekini who was the unbeaten Champion of the arena during one decade. The sculptue is made of old cars and would be 7 meters high when assembled. The unfinished statue has been disposed in Kalela´s garden in Bambilor after Yekini lost the comback fight against Lac de Guers 2 on July 24, 2016.
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  • On  August 11, 2015, Kherou Ngor pours cow milk over his head and body. He performs this ritual in the water at the shore of Ngor, Dakar, in order to obtain the spiritual support of a ghost who lives in the stones at the shore. Cow milk and magic potions are omnipresent in the wrestling arenas of Senegal, where vodoo and gris-gris rituals are a undisposable part of the show for the audience.
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  • Over 20000 fans gather to watch the fight between wrestling champions Balla Gaye 2 and Emeu Sene at the sold out Demba Diop soccer stadium in Dakar on April 5, 2015. Each wrestler has his own fans who support him and follow him to his matches. Many of the fans hold up posters and banners with pictures of their favorite wrestler.
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  • April 8, 2015. Young wrestlers prepare themselves with Gris-gris rituals for a competition in the Ngor district in Dakar, which was organised by the Wrestler Kherou Ngor.
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  • Friends try to comfort a wrestler who does not want to get up after loosing a fight at a tournament in Djilass, on April 1, 2015. Many Wrestlers are devastated after a defeat. Some may have invested a small fortune in the magic powers of the Marabouts, in hope to win the high prize money, confident that the investment will pay off.
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  • Before a fight on November 4, 2017. Kehrou Ngor looks down on the streets of the village of Ngor in Dakar, standing on the terrace of his family's house.  After winning fights in the biggest stadiums in Dakar, he has become a star in the neighborhood. He looks back on a career with many victories and hardly any lost matches.
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  • Dakar, July 24, 2016. One day after a successful fight, Kherou Ngor is resting in his room. Later that evening, his friends and family will celebrate him with a big party. After another victory, he is optimistic that one day he will become the "King of the Arena" in Senegalese wrestling. He has no idea that this should have been the last big victory in his wrestling career.
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  • Wrestlers compete in the wrestling school of Ex-Wrestler Balla Gaye on August 10, 2015. The Star-Wrestler Balla Gaye 2 and many other successful  wrestlers have arisen from this famous school, which was the first official  wrestling school in Senegal.
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  • November 4, 2017. After performing a washing ritual with magic water, which contains torn pieces of paper with secret ciphers, Kherou Ngor spends a few hours on the roof of the house of his uncle before he goes to the tournament. There he waits and meditates while the laundry next to him dries in the wind. His uncle is a highly respected Marabout who claims that he can alter destiny by the using magic ciphers.  He writes down the ciphers on paper. The paper with the ciphers is then torn and added to the water fort he washing ritual. Marabout is the word for a shaman, a witch doctor or a cleric in Senegal.
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  • The new generation of wrestlers train on the beach of Ngor in Dakar on April 9, 2015. The wrestlers of Ngor are a team, they train together but never compete against each other in an official tournament. Like Kherou Ngor, tens of thousands of young men in Senegal want to make a career as a wrestler, hoping to one day become rich and famous.
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  • A wrestler puts numerous Gris-gris amulets onto himself before a fight in the small village Djilass on April 1, 2015.  In the foreground, one can see magic potions filled up in various bottles.
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  • The women and children from the Senegalese village Soune have assembled to watch the men fighting in a wrestling match on April 20, 2012. The wrestling matches in the country are delivered occasionally at village celebrations to entertain the audience.
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  • People of the village of Ngor in Dakar gather in front of the house of the family of Kherou Ngor, to see the young wrestler performing a traditional wrestling dance to the sound of drums before he goes to a fight at the Iba Mar Diop stadiumin Dakar on July 22, 2016. Dancing and drumming performances take place before every Senegalese wrestling fight and tournament.
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  • Young wrestlers train at the Corniche in Dakar on April 3, 2015. Many young men dream of a career as a wrestler, as Kherou Ngor has already done. Because they don't have much money, they usually train with the simplest of means. Here, the wrestling trainees have to run through the sand and carry each other.
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  • March 30, 2015. Lac de Guiers 2 has to run and pull his eponym, the Ex-Wrestler Lac de Guiers 1, through the sand.  The hardworkout was worth it, Lac De Guiers 2 sensationally defeated the favoured Wrestler Papa Sow at a fight in the Demba Diop stadium in Dakar on April 12,  2015.
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  • On August 11. 2015, Kherou Ngor sacrifices cow's milk on the rocks of gor beach, after which he chose his wrestling name. Kherou Ngor means „Rock of Ngor“. He says that a powerful spirit lives in the water and in the rocks at this  beach, By pouring milk on the rocks and praying.Kherou asks for the ghost’s favour and support his next fight.
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  • Dakar, July 22, 2016. Kherou Ngor beats the wrestler Gori with a hard punch at the Iba mar Diop stadium. A few seconds later Gori goes down on his knees and Kherou wins the fight. Kherou Ngo's sigantur is his hard, fast punches. He is actually too lean and light in body weight for a Senegalese wrestler, so he tries to take his opponent down before being involved in traditional wrestling action.
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  • Wrestling fans and street vendors gather at the Demba Diop stadium in Dakar for the fight between the wrestling stars Balla Gaye 2 and Emeu Sene on April 5, 2015
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  • Emeu Sene (on the left) hits Balla Gaye 2 (on the right) during a fight in the stadium of Demba Diop on April 5, 2015.
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  • April 9 2015. The photographer Freekis Ndoye from Dakar shows historical pictures of wrestlers from the 50’s on a table of the Black and White bar, where Kherou Ngor’s has a room. Wrestling matches have a long tradition in Senegal. Almost every village in the countryside organizes regular tournaments. The first wrestler in Senegambia was called Boukar Djilak Faye, he lived in the 14th century in the kingdom Sine.
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  • In the stadium "Olympique de Ngor" in Dakar a small local wrestling tournament takes place on 04 November 2017. Kherou Ngor is also taking part to support the wrestlers in his neighborhood. Kherou, who has won major matches in Dakar's largest stadium in front of tens of thousands of spectators, has many loyal fans and thus guarantees wrestling match organizers a good crowd. At this point, Kherou does not yet know that this relatively small fight would be his very last as a Senegalese wrestler.
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  • Wrestlig legend Yekini enters the arena on July 24, 2016 to try his comeback against Lac de Guiers 2. He was the unbeaten king of the arenas for 16 years until he was convicted in 2012 by the younger wrestler Ballay Gaye 2.
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  • Low angle perspective on two wrestlers who compete in at training at the the wrestling school of Ex-Wrestler Balla Gaye on August 10, 2015.
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  • The Wrestler Forza trains with his colleague Diene Kaire Kaire with a truck tyre, in the Olympique club on April 3, 2015. Only the stars of the Senegalese wrestling scene can afford to train at this posh club in the district of Mermez in Dakar.
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  • Two wrestlers at a small tournament on the countryside in Djilass, Senegal, on April 1, 2015.
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  • Young wrestlers practice traditional wrestling during the evening hours at the wrestling school of ex-wrestler Boy Kaire on the beach of Dakar's Corniche on March 31, 2015. On most of Dakar's many beaches, young men are seen training as wrestlers before and during the wrestling season from December to August,
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