Black Combat Arts Institute.
AFRICA · LIVING · REVIVED
Mgba
A wrestling of the Igbo populations of Nigeria, refereed by the elders on the village square: victory by throwing the opponent to the ground.
ORIGINS & SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
The wrestling of the Igbo populations of Nigeria, refereed by the elders on the village square — the classic institution of the young man's worth, at the centre of village festivity and memory.
THE GAME
Victory by throwing the adversary to the ground, under the elders' authority, before the assembled village.
PLACE IN THE FAMILY
The mgba is the village-square paradigm of the family: the elders as living rule, the square as arena, the throw as verdict. Its refereeing by seniority states plainly the family's constant subordination of violence to social authority.
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. Mgba. In: The Atlas of the Black Combat Arts [online]. Black Combat Arts Institute, 2026. Available from: https://www.blackcombatarts.com/atlas-en/mgba [accessed date].
RELATED PRACTICES
→ Kokowa — Igbo-Hausa arena wrestling
→ Mbapatt — Village-square wrestling
→ Zida — Throw to the ground decides