The King of the Arena: Sport, Spectacle and Celebrity in Senegal
In Senegal, làmb, a sport that combines traditional wrestling and bare-knuckle boxing, is a true national passion. The champions are immensely popular and earn huge sums of money. Wrestling is a spectacle that combines fight, dance, song and ritual, and through which the whole of Senegalese society puts on a show. Like soccer elsewhere, Senegalese wrestling embodies the dreams of success of young men from the working class. Wrestlers fight to earn a living for themselves and their families, but also for the glory and fame that victory brings. However, success is not just a matter of athletic talent: a wrestler cannot become a champion without the material, moral and “mystical” support of his team-mates, his family, his neighbourhood, and the village he comes from. By placing “popularity”, the cardinal value of Senegalese wrestling, at the centre of the analysis, the seminar will shed light on the dynamics of celebrity, a symbolic capital at the very heart of social life.
Date: 9 February 2024, 15:15
Venue: 64 Banbury Road, 64 Banbury Road OX2 6PN
Speaker: Julien Bonhomme (EHESS, College de France)
Organising department: School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Part of: Anthropology Departmental Seminar Series: Trinity 2024
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Kate Atherton