the project sport and us “non-olympic games”. a sporting tradition, kirkpinar oil wrestling

THE PROJECT

SPORT AND US

“Non-OLYMPIC GAMES”

A SPORTING TRADITION,KIRKPINAR OIL WRESTLING

Turkey’s great sporting tradition, oil

wrestling, was born in the town of Kirkpinar, a few miles from the present-day border with Greece, at the

beginning of the fifteenth century.

Almost every year since then, boys and men traveled there from

across the country to test their strength and skill. This is the only

wrestling tournament in the world at which

contestants use three tons of olive oil.

Rules for these matches have changed

only slightly over the centuries. In olden

times they could go on for hours or even days, since only way to win

was to pin one’s opponent to the

ground.

Some contestants expended so much

energy that they died on the field. Now it is

also possible to win on points, and matches

are limited to forty-five minutes.

But wrestlers still fight stripped to the waist, wear specially designed leather trousers and enjoy the boundless admiration of the countrymen. Most important, they begin fighting only after being drenched with olive oil from head to toe.

Once oiled, the competitors skip across the field in lines,

slapping their knees and jumping as they move forward. Drummers in

Ottoman costume keep a steady beat, as matches are about to start the announcers

sing the praises of “Ye, oh great wrestlers” and recite

verses like this one:

- You cannot get wood from a willow branch. - Every girl cannot be a woman. - Every woman can give birth. - But not every boy can be a wrestler.

Lovers of this sport say it is psychological as well as physical. Because matches go on for so

long, combatants cannot fight without interruption. They spend much time

circling, grunting, feinting and trying to intimidate

each other.

When they sense an opening they charge, grab

their opponent, often between the legs, and try to smash him to the ground.

Pinning an opponent’s shoulders to the ground for three seconds, or throwing him down more often than he can throw you down, is

what it takes to win.

The undisputed king of modern oil wrestling is a

former factory worker named Ahmet TASCI. He is an eight-time champion in the heavy-weight division, considered a superman because he continues to

win even though he is more than fifty years old.

The only man to have defeated him

since he rose to greatness in the

1980s is the whippersnapper in

his mid-thirties named Cengiz

Elbiye.

On the day I saw them face off I realized I was

seeing not only a match but the classic confrontation of aging

champion versus rising challenger.

Reference: Stephen Kinzer, “Crescent and Star: Turkey between two Worlds", Farrar, Strauss and Girous, 2001

Karapelit Ali Tekten Primary School Belen / Hatay

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