Black Combat Arts Institute.
AFRICA · EXTINCT
Tyori
A loincloth wrestling of the Fulani of the Fouta-Djalon, in Guinea, that cannot even begin until each fighter has locked his grip on the other's cloth.
ORIGINS & SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
A loincloth wrestling of the Fula people of the Futa Jallon, in Guinea, the highland pastoral world, where the contest is the young herdsman's school of worth.
THE GAME
The combat begins only when each wrestler has secured his grip on the other's loincloth; every other grip is then permitted, save the hair, the fingers and the genitals.
PLACE IN THE FAMILY
The tyori's opening rule, no combat before the mutual grip is sealed, is the family's equal-start principle made ceremony: the duel may not begin until both hold the same weapon. From that engineered equality, the open struggle unfolds; equity first, then liberty.
SOURCES
Olivier Malo, La capoeira et les arts de combat noirs : histoire effacée, techniques invisibles, 1905–1984 [Capoeira and the Black combat arts: erased history, invisible techniques (1905–1984)], doctoral thesis in History, Université des Antilles, 2020.
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
MALO, Olivier. Tyori. In: The Atlas of the Black Combat Arts [online]. Black Combat Arts Institute, 2026. Available from: https://www.blackcombatarts.com/atlas-en/tyori [accessed date].
RELATED PRACTICES
→ Bara-bara, Loincloth wrestling, Guinea
→ Lamb, Grip-based wrestling
→ Kokowa, Takedown wrestling