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REVIVING KOKOWA, AFRICAN TRADITIONAL WRESTLING

Most of us, who grew up in the village, would fondly remember how on special occasions the entire village, and even those from other villages, assemble at the village square to watch a spectacle. Back then, the respect a man earns in his community is determined by how strong he is. The only way to test that is by a wrestling match. And what is the wrestling ring, it's sand! Yes, sand! To get a vivid picture, cast your mind back to that tragic character named "Okonkwo" in Chinua Achebe's THINGS FALL APART. To cut a long story short, that culture is dying very fast in our communities. It's a culture that makes us unique as Africans. Now imagine this, some day, that culture will become part of Olympic sports. Very tall dream right? We honestly can not argue with you because we feel the same too especially when you consider the fact that the International olympic Committee plans to wipe off modern wrestling from its itinerary of olympic sports. Despite this, those who are pushing the course of traditional wrestling are not giving up. at least even if that dream is not achieved, they would have succeeded in creating that awareness traditional wrestling has been robbed of. Please watch the story and enjoy.