Since the 1950s, Nigerian boxers have held their own in international boxing competition. Dambe is a Hausa martial sport that used to take place at the village level. Matches were held on festival occasions, and the art was the special province of members of the butchers’ guild. Dambe uses only one hand to strike, while the “weaker” hand is extended toward the opponent and used to ward off blows. Dambe competitions are held between groups who meet in dueling pairs on a symbolic battlefield, and the metaphor of warfare is apparent in the continuing use of the term “killing” to signify the strike that leads to winning a match.
