Surma stickfighting

Surma stick fighting is a sport developed by the Surma or Suri people of southern Ethiopia. At the end of the harvest season, the Surma observe a period of courtship and ritual, spending days by the river in the their traditional territory. Once a week the Surma men from different villages gather for one of the fiercest competitions on the African continent.

The men decorate their bodies with intricate white fingerpainted designs. The sport is the foundation for a complex and competitive social structure. The practice may have formerly served to incite collective hostility before attacking an enemy tribe. The fighters use an eight foot pole, called a donga stick, made out of a very hard wood. Surma men may also use these fights to prove their masculinity, to settle personal vendettas and to win the favour of potential wives.

At the end of the day the winner of the fights is carried out of the arena on a platform of poles and held high in the air. He is carried towards a group of young women. When the winner arrives he is claimed by one of the young women.

Stick fighting is a fairly common practice among traditional pastoralists in some part of Africa as well as in cultures on other continents.

The only rule is that you may not kill your opponent.

External links

* [http://www.13suns.com/stickfight.htm The Donga of Surma and Mursi people]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/suri/#further2 BBC Tribe website section on Surma stickfighting]