MY JOURNEY CONTINUED TO ASHAKA 221 



reveal the bright points of the stars. The wrestlers were 

 naked, except for the short wresthng skirts of cloth gorgeously 

 patched and ornamented with cowrie shells and tails of the 

 chase. The match was fought to an accompaniment of 

 drums, the beats increasing in volume as the wresthng 

 became more exciting. Great yells of applause now and 

 again went up from the sea of black heads, and the women, 

 for whom the wrestlers were fighting, egged them on by a 

 continuous clapping of hands. 



Before the match, hands were shaken and umpires 

 appointed. In every move the style was Grseco-Roman. 

 In all probabihty the mode has come through from Egypt 

 after the Roman occupation, picked up by the travelhng 

 Hausa in the markets and bazaars. 



