Black Combat Arts Institute.
AFRICA · EXTINCT
Gba sée sé
A bout framed by seven tom-toms, practised in the West of Ivory Coast by the Wê people: two crossed pestles separate the opponents, removed by the judges to launch the assault. Defeat when the nape touches the ground or when the feet leave it on a throw; no draw is accepted.
ORIGINS & SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
A combat of the Wê people of western Ivory Coast, framed by seven tam-tams, the orchestra that opens, carries and closes the confrontation before the community.
THE GAME
Two crossed pestles separate the adversaries, withdrawn by the judges to launch the assault. Defeat when the nape touches the ground, or when the feet leave it in a throw; no draw is accepted.
PLACE IN THE FAMILY
The gba-see-se binds the vertical pole to the family's musical rule: seven drums for one duel, the rhythm as the frame of violence. Its refusal of the draw, a verdict is obligatory, sharpens the game's judicial character: the contest as a decision the community requires.
SOURCES
Olivier Malo, La capoeira et les arts de combat noirs : histoire effacée, techniques invisibles, 1905–1984, doctoral thesis in History, Université des Antilles, 2020.
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
MALO, Olivier. Gba sée sé. In: The Atlas of the Black Combat Arts [online]. Black Combat Arts Institute, 2026. Available from: https://www.blackcombatarts.com/atlas-en/gba-see-se [accessed date].
RELATED PRACTICES
→ Gbe, Senufo-Wê wrestling to percussion
→ Zida, Standing wrestling, nape to the ground
→ Kokowa, Takedown to the drums