Dakar, Senegal, Africa's westernmost point.
Senegal's national sport, Laamb wrestling,
is a sport of combat and violence
in a welcoming and peaceful nation.
A sport of superstition and mysticism in a country of divine will.
Singular in its ceremony and spectacle,
unique like the country itself.
It only exists in Senegal. Wrestling with punches only exists here.
There's Greco-Roman wrestling, French, English,
which have no punching.
Wrestling with punching only exists in Senegal.
If it's wrestling, simple wrestling with strikes, we think of Senegal.
Laamb is our national sport.
This is what our ancestors knew.
It is our tradition. Our great-grandfathers,
when they finished their harvests of millet and peanuts,
they organized wrestling.
In Senegal, everyone loves wrestling,
especially the big battles.
The whole country knows that Modou LÃ´ and Lac de Guiers are stars.
On Sunday, we have a major fight
for Senegal and for all of Africa.
Everyone is waiting for the fight.
Wrestling is about neighborhoods.
Modou LÃ´ represents Parcelles. Lac 2 represents Guédiawaye.
He knows the importance of the fight,
so he will do his utmost to get the championship back
to the people of Guédiawaye.
We have nothing more to say.
We are confident in our abilities.
We are optimistic and we pray to God to grant us victory.
Modou LÃ´ is a phenomenon here in Senegal.
Everyone loves him.
Wherever he goes, people come out to see him.
Not only is he an athlete, but he is very wise.
He is an example for young people.
Everyone loves him.
We're here because on Sunday night is the big fight
with Modou LÃ´ and Lac 2.
We're gonna go to a stadium that is not unlike any major sports arena
with 20 to 25,000 people.
Everyone knows who Modou LÃ´ is. Everyone.
Everywhere I've been in Senegal for the few days.
He is a famous champion here.
So we're gonna see a giant arena filled to the brim,
and we're gonna seeÂ two of the great champions of the sport
go at it.
He is 260 pounds, and he moves like he's 160 pounds.
These guys are amazing. I can't wait to watch this.
Hello, my brother. Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too. - My pleasure, my pleasure.
- What's your name? - Frank.
- Frank? - Yes.
- My name is Ja - Is Ja?
- Ja, yes. - Okay, Ja.
- Big. You guys are big. - Yeah.
- Yeah, how many kilos? - How many?
- 111 kilograms. - 111.
- He's a light guy. - He's a light...
- He says he's a lightweight. - Really?
So he's 111 kilos and I'm 70 kilos,
and he says he's small.
Look.
How many kilos?
Frank.
150.
Fuck!
- And you wear four-ounce gloves? - No.
- No gloves. - No gloves.
- So it's grappling? - Grappling.
For the most part, Greco-Roman grappling in sand.
No gloves.
Giant strong human beings, and they get to punch each other.
That is a manly sport.
Laamb falls between culture and sport.
Media, clothing,
atmosphere, music, dance, choreography
Wrestlers are artists.
The people are eager to see what they are going to do
on the day of the fight.
Because of his size, Lac de Guiers is the favorite.
My name is Lac de Guiers 1.
I am a former wrestler of the Walo stable. I am the coach for Lac de Guiers 2.
Lac 2 took my name because he holds me in high regard.
I am his trainer, his coach.
We all know that it will not be an easy fight.
But what is certain,
if it pleases God,
we will win at all costs,
even if we have to leave our life out there.
But it will not be easy. There must be fighting to win.
We are prepared for anything.
The rules are numerous.
If you take a punch and you go down,
it's a knockout and the game is over.
If your back touches the ground, the game is over.
If your hands and your knees touch the ground,
the game is over.
So, a fall means a defeat.
If the wrestlers tie,
it's because there were warnings given to the wrestlers.
At the first meeting,
we all know how it finished.
During their first meeting,
the whole population ofÂ Guédiawaye was mobilized behind Lac de Guiers.
The fight ended in a draw.
And the draw was not caused by Lac de Guiers.
They did not fight well.
Nobody dared to take initiatives.
Modou LÃ´ was more active during this fight
than Lac.
The first fight was in 2011.
It's been six years.
This fight can be said to be the final.
Because once you beat the king,
no one else can stop you from moving forward.
Laamb's champions are personalities.
They are very famous.
Most of them do not come from wealthy families.
They are from the suburbs where there is a lot of misery.
The only way out is Laamb.
Now they drive the same cars as the ministers.
They own the same houses as the ministers.
The stakes are high.
And the winner will come richer.
And the fans rise when their fighter wins.
We're in Lac 2's... Uh, this is Lac 2's neighborhood.
He's getting massaged inside here.
Obviously, these are all his people.
It's uplifting spiritually for their champion to win.
So I feel an excitement, I feel an electricity.
Everybody's waiting for the champ to come out
to get a glimpse of him. He's a neighborhood champ.
I mean, I'm excited to see him come out,
so I can't imagine how excited they are.
Champion.
- You're gonna walk? - Yes.
So this is what happens.
Not unlike when you saw Muhammad Ali walk down in Africa.
Kids, goats.
Women are behind us.
Azuma!
His training went great? Was training camp good?
Yes, it went well.
- Yes, very good. - It was good.
Lac 2's much bigger.
Taller, bigger, wider.
Really interesting, stylistically, it's gonna be, to watch these two guys.
The fight begins long before punches are thrown.
The final workouts are about fine-tuning the traditional dances and ceremony.
A major component of a fight that is much more than physical.
That's the charm, the charm of the fight.
The fight is not just fighting and it's over.
No, there is dance, culture and other things.
That's the fight.
Sometimes, you can see who comes to the stadium
only to see those cultural things.
What interests him is the cultural aspect, the art.
The wrestlers pouring milk on themselves.
In the mystical preparation.
That's the charm, the charm of the fight.
With quacks, the clairvoyance.
That's our lives.
There will be a huge crowd
and I'm sure the stadium will be full to the brim.
By definition,
a wrestler is the standard bearer of his community.
Right.
Whether it is now
or if it is long time ago when everything started,
the wrestler is supposed to defend the honor, pride, and dignity
of his community.
That is part of what you see.
There is another dimension to wrestling
which is also a cultural, social, sociological dimension
of a Senegalese society,
which is perhaps hidden while you were there.
It would have been out if you were at the stadium with him.
That is this esoteric,
mystic, religious dimension,
and when I say religious, it's not simply Islam.
- Right. - When you look at us
or when you come to Senegal, there are two things you'll see.
The most obvious thing is the Islamic dimension.
People praying five times a day,
and the muezzin calling people to pray on loud speakers or mosques.
But the other religious dimension you don't see
is traditional beliefs.
When people are challenged,
in terms of their health,
going to the next hospital
and having no reserves,
when you are challenged in your work,
when there are certain things you need and cannot work them out,
you go to the spiritualist,
which relate to our traditional animistic religion.
Right.
- To put it in a nutshell for youâ€¦ - Yeah.
...Modou LÃ´ wrestling in the arena
is totally naked
apart from the loin cloth he's got here.
How many eyes will beÂ staring at his naked body?
So to ward off all the potential evil and negative effects...
The evil eye.
- And the evil tongue. - Yes.
So you need to prepare against that
and you go to see seers,
those people who know,
and they are going to have all manners of concoctions and decoctions
even when they are going to wrestle,
until when the referees tells you stop,
you'll be sprinkling all those holy waters on your body to protect yourself.
Sometimes, you may be a victim of mystical practices from your opponent
and the bath is protection.
After, you know you're protected for the game.
Mystic is part of Senegalese wrestling.
This is to prepare himself,
that is why he takes these baths.
It is also to protect him,
so that the opponent's hands cannot reach him.
The mystical practices are older than wrestling.
We found them here and we will leave them here.
Any wrestler who does not practice mysticism
will never win.
Potions and baths help protect the body.
But it's just as important to seek help for the mental warfare.
To shine a light on any potential peril
and help ensure a good fortune in the upcoming battle.
You understand, I am Selbe.
I was born in Senegal.
I grew up in Senegal.
I thank God for what he has given me.
When I met Modou LÃ´ first, first, I fell in love with him.
He was charismatic and we became friends
because I love fighting so much
and I just love fighters
and... just a great respect for them,
so we became great friends.
And people, in my ears,
said, "But when you go see Lac, he's not as friendly."
The minute I met him, he came downstairs,
he put his arm on me and we walked to the beach.
So, now I'm so torn, I want no winner. Yeah.
I did not believe what I saw.
God showed me in my sleep
that Modou LÃ´ was kneeling in an empty space.
With his hands on his head,
in a posture of defeat.
I didn't like it.
His path was illuminated by the dead.
The night before the fight
offers the neighborhood a final look at their fighter.
It also offers the fighter a chance to bring his community together
and gather their strength behind him.
You can feel the aggression and tension.
It's something.
It's almost primal.
It's, uh... They're warriors.
These guys are kings, they really are.
Fight night,
and the stadium, Demba Diop,
where, last night, the local football, soccer team,
had a match
that ended with eight people losing their lives.
The fans got out of control,
somebody started throwing rocks,
people started freaking out, dispersed.
A bit of a riot ensued,
the cops shot some tear gas into the fans,
further panic ensued,
and a load-bearing wall actually toppled over
and eight people were killed, including a very young girl.
Something like 60 people were injured
and there's no fight.
So that's where we are.
To lose your life inside there is absolutely, absolutely unnecessary
and my heartÂ is really broken.
Not just for the fighters, obviously, but for their community
and for these people who died.
And are injured. There's 60 people in the hospital.
In a nation of overwhelming faith,
grief and heartbreak are both part of God's plan.
You know, 95% here in Senegal are Muslims
- and maybe four percent, Christian. - Right.
So all the whole, you know...
Almost the whole population believe to something.
- In God. - Yes.
So when they believe in God, when something like that happen,
they put everything in the will of God.
- So, it's inshallah, right? - Yes.
And God will take care of whatever he needs to take care of.
- That's his plan? - Absolutely.
- That's how you get through this? - Yes.
Right.
It is divine will, nothing can be done.
It had to happen.
They canceled everything. All this is due to lack of security.
It is God who decides, but the lack of security
has aggravated the situation.
So more than 25,000 people, 100 policemen cannot manage them.
Let us speak a language of truth.
The crazy thing is
eight people walked inside there last night, and they didn't walk out.
And I find...
You know...
I always get this crazy sense of mortality when stuff like this happens,
that you never, ever know
when it's the last time you're gonna breathe.
And mostly, I think about my kids, I have three sons,
and mostly I think about when my son drives somewhere,
it's not lost on me that I need him to come home.
When my kids get on the school bus
or my wife goes to the grocery store.
Between random acts of violence that we're all getting too used to
and stuff like this, it's, uh...
You know, it sounds like a cliché,
but you have to be aware of every single day
because you just never know when you're gonna go in and not come out.
It is not easy.
Mm-hmm.
You have been preparing for battle a long time, by all means,
and then one day, it is canceled.
But as I said, we are all human,
so we must not forget about God.
Man proposes, God disposes.
It is destiny, and we believe in destiny.
No one can avoid destiny.
It's unavoidable.
God does what's best for us.
We must believe in God.
He decides everything.
- Inshallah. - Inshallah.
We give thanks to God.
These people are fans, who came from Casamance for the fight.
But after the tragedy happened,
they all came to my home to comfort me, to support me
and to offer me their condolences,
because there are people who have lost their lives.
As far as what happened at the soccer stadium, the tragedy,
I've learned now that part of being Muslim
is to say, uh... "inshallah."
It's in God's hands.
It happened and God will take care of it.
Right?
You may want to do something
without saying "inshallah,"
and God decides otherwise.
It is divine will and we are all believers.
What we do is just a game, and we consider it a game.
What we do is play and have fun.
The game and death are not the same.
God bless.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Thank you so much.
- Merci. - Yes.
Parcelles is better than Guediawaye.
Lac de Guiers, you can not do anything against Modou LÃ´.
You are like the 3310.
You just sell credit. You don't have many options.
Senegal LÃ´. Laamb LÃ´. When you pick it up, you say "Hello."
Left and right, we're with Modou LÃ´!
Sport is our profession.
We train whether there is a fight or not. We were in training.
It's not easy when a fight is postponed, but we try to maintain our shape.
And as soon as they rescheduled the fight, we accelerated the pace.
First of all, we are Muslims.
We always think of God in what we do.
We thank God and pray for the souls of the dead.
But after all this, we resumed training.
Man proposes, God disposes, God does things well.
At first, the fight was not sponsored by the President.
Now, the President of the Republic has sponsored the fight, so it has grown.
And the stadiumÂ Amitié is the largest stadium in Senegal.
The fight represents the President of the Republic.
It's a big day.
This is the flag of the President of the Republic.
The tragedy took place in one stadium,
and after that,
they gave us a bigger stadium.
The tension has risen in the meantime.
His words put the fight at another level.
If the fight was important at 100%,
now it's at 200%.
I am very happy
and I hope to fight a good fight, if God wills.
The fight has almost arrived, inshallah.
After months of investigations, mourning,
more fight cancellations, and bureaucracy,
it was, once again, fight night.
Even in the wake of tragedy, life continues,
the fight continues.
And in fighting, as in life,
there is pain and exhilaration,
ugliness, beauty, and grace.
Victory and defeat.
Inshallah.