SOUTH AFRICA FEATURE PACKAGE BAREKNUCKLE BOXING

SOUTH AFRICA FEATURE PACKAGE BAREKNUCKLE BOXING

epa02504476 (12/15) An unnamed fighter celebrates winning his fight during the annual bare knuckle boxing match in the rural village of Tshisebi, Venda, South Africa, 16 December 2010. Deep in the green hills of the Limpopo province of South Africa's northern most region, the Venda tribe hold a century old traditional bare knuckle fighting tournament over the Christmas period where women are forbidden and ordinary men become warriors. The traditional fight club was used over a century ago to decide what men from the tribe would become warriors and fight for the tribe. Bloody and brutal to some outsiders and sacred to the Venda people, the men of the tribe gather every second day at a sacred field near a small creek and challenge other men from the tribe to a bare knuckle fight. Called 'Musangwe' in Venda, the men are split into age groups starting as young as ten years old. There are three levels of fighters. Young boys, called 'mambibi', encouraged to play fight by their fathers. Then there are the teenage fighters, the 'Rovhasize'. But it's the experienced fighters that everyone comes to see. The champions. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK ***PLEASE REFER TO THE ADVISORY NOTICE (epa02504464) FOR COMPLETE FEATURE TEXT*** < 뉴스의 새 시대, 연합뉴스 Live >< 모바일 애플리케이션 >< 포토 매거진 >< 저작권자(c)연합뉴스. 무단전재-재배포금지. >