Dambe is a type of boxing that is popular among the Hausa, in West Africa. The sport originated with the Hausa butchers guild, as a means of military training; today it can be seen in market squares across the region. Each Dambe match consists of three rounds, in which boxers fight with their hands, feet, and head. (The dominant hand, wrapped in cloth or rope, is called a spear, while the other hand, used for defense, is called a shield.) A match ends when a boxer’s hand or knee touches the ground.
The photographer Jane Hahn, who recently hosted the photo department’s Instagram account, has been living in West Africa for seven years. She visited Lagos, Nigeria, from her home in Senegal to photograph Dambe boxers this spring. She told me that Sunday is the most popular day of the week for matches. “The larger and rowdier crowd means a smaller ring, which can get pretty tricky when [you’re] trying to avoid becoming part of the action,” she says.
All photographs by Jane Hahn.
