A History Of Wrestling
Chapter Five: Beyond Europe
#PWHS #Article #AHistoryOfWrestling #AHOW #BeyondEurope
The United States of America are the main focus of multi-part article, but as I'm sure you have noticed the focus thus far has hardly been on any of the Americas at all. Instead Europe has been the main topic. That is because it's the European line of wrestling which ultimately became professional wrestling, although it's difficult to really say what I've been typing about and pro-wrestling are actually closely related. Plus, for some bizarre reason there is very little out there on Native American wrestling. It did exist. Just not in any major way. What it is fair to say though is that; about as much is known about the natives who inhabited the Americas as the tribes of Africa or the aboriginals of Australia when it comes to the art of grappling. For the most part we know only what has been passed down via the means of word of mouth it. They all talk of hand-to-hand combat as a part of their villages, tribes and etc. In almost all civilizations there are tales of a legendary warrior or two. They were often touted as the greatest of the land the people called home.
Nonetheless wrestling was a constant across all continents of the planet we call Earth. That is as long as members of the Homo genus were calling them home. Some even argue regardless of our presence as many animals are known to have a quick tussle here-and-there, like the monkeys mentioned in an earlier part. You may remember Hanuman was the monkey God of wrestling - Karl Gotch would hook him - in Hinduism. So, from that alone we already know part of the Asian continent had wrestling ingrained in the culture. Luckily large parts of Asia were able to record events, information and so on.
By no means do I profess to be overly knowledgeable on the history of wrestling outside of Europe, nor of the history in Europe come to think of it. Any-who, we discussed Africa earlier with Egypt and the Nuba tribe. Wrestling is practised in other tribes in today's world too. Many of them just do not have the same longevity of the Nubas unfortunately.
All indications are the continent of Oceania/Australasia had a similar deal going down. Over time in a way similar to Europe and Northern America they formed into more western styled local tournaments ... probably something to do with the explorers who cameth. Likewise in South America it depends entirely on the region. Those areas which were left alone were happy to maintain their own traditions. Those who found Spaniards and Portuguese knocking at their doors often took on the European style of tournament. In my opinion.
I know from reading 19th century newspapers published islands like Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines they had both European styles practised in the military camps set up by invaders and their native form of grappling utilized outside of the camps. Sometimes the locals picked up some of the wrestling brought to the country and often a bit of the native's style was taken back home by the men in uniform. It seems perfectly reasonable to me to put forth almost anywhere which had similar captor-captive relationships would have shared wrestling also. In fact, it's said that's exactly how Lancashire Style (or Catch-as-Catch-Can) came to be in the first place.
There are some countries which we know have a long lineage of wrestling in their histories. That whole India-Pakistan region held wrestlers with the highest esteem. Similar to the ancient Greeks, the best wrestlers often served as the main bodyguards to the ruler of the area (or respective countries). I wish I could give you a link to learn more about them, but I do not know of any websites which have documented that region in any detail. The fandom for pro-wrestling in India over the last hundred years is a testament to the roots wrestling holds in the country.
Turkey which is one of those awkward countries, like Russia, where debates arise regarding the status of the country. Is it European or Asian? I think right now it's considered Asian. So, they have a tremendously long history with wrestling. The annual Kirkpinar tournament, now held in Erdine, is the longest running wrestling tournament in the world. It has been going strong for around 860 years. Feeling slightly repetitive with this bit, but again, the best wrestlers were often used in the military or held bodyguard positions for those high up and were considered among the most important men within the country, or empire when the Ottomans were riding high. There is actually a website dedicated to the Kirkpinar. When I went to access it my firewall advised me the site was currently unsafe to use. Therefore I will not provide the link and I did not enter. If you want to take a look though just Google Kirkpinar.
The most well documented and available of all the histories beyond European countries such as France and Germany belongs to Japan. A friend of PWHS, Hisaharu Tanabe has a wonderful website. For that reason, rather then telling my own version of the history of Japan I shall defer to Hisa and advise you click the link below which will take you to pre-1940s history page. The whole site has heaps of information on it though. To give you an idea, here is an excerpt from his timeline:
"Ca. 500 B.C.[E.]
According to the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, a book of legends from the year 712, which is the oldest extant example of Japanese writing), Takemikazuchi defeats Takeminakata in a grappling match on the shores of Izumo (today's Shimane Prefecture) for the control over the Iumo territory. Takemikazuchi, the leader of Japanese people, is said to have established the imperial family from which the present emperor traces his ancestry. This is the first recorded grappling in Japan."
For more check out Puroresu.com, I can not recommend it enough.
There is one item not included on Hisa's website and that is the picture featured with this article. It's actually in the public domain and features a Japanese legend called Kintaro. The stories are said to be based on a real boy who was possibly brought up by an old woman living in the mountains of the Kanagawa prefecture between the 8th and 12th centuries (current era). Growing up in those surroundings the animals of the mountains became friends with the youngster. His astounding power often described by using his wrestling matches against animals ranging from black bears to giant catfish. The respect the animals had for his strength was depicted by him being put in a situation where he was responsible for keeping order in inter-species bouts like the one between a rabbit and a monkey as pictured. I have to admit I thought the monkey was a sloth. The legend of Kintaro's continues that he was discovered by a high-up samurai who was impressed by his raw power. Under the wing of his new tutor he became proficient in the martial arts and was awarded a very important role within the samurais. By the 21st century he had already become immortalized. He is the symbol of the traditional Japanese Children's Day on May 5 for newborn babies. He has been featured in anime, in games, in trading cards. There are shrines of him and places named after him. I some ways he seems to be equatable to a saint or similar in western culture.
That concludes the penultimate part to this series. Last time I teased the age of exploration and renaissance, but I made a slight swerve. It was necessary though and planned if you read part one. The reason being the world was about to get a whole lot smaller as Homo sapiens-sapiens could travel the stormy seas much more regularly. The Europeans we had been exploring were about to discover (or rediscover in some people's opinions) the different cultures scattered about the globe. A four hundred year process then started which ultimately led to the Industrial Revolution with an additional by-product being the right circumstances were formed for professional wrestling as we know it to develop.
Nonetheless wrestling was a constant across all continents of the planet we call Earth. That is as long as members of the Homo genus were calling them home. Some even argue regardless of our presence as many animals are known to have a quick tussle here-and-there, like the monkeys mentioned in an earlier part. You may remember Hanuman was the monkey God of wrestling - Karl Gotch would hook him - in Hinduism. So, from that alone we already know part of the Asian continent had wrestling ingrained in the culture. Luckily large parts of Asia were able to record events, information and so on.
By no means do I profess to be overly knowledgeable on the history of wrestling outside of Europe, nor of the history in Europe come to think of it. Any-who, we discussed Africa earlier with Egypt and the Nuba tribe. Wrestling is practised in other tribes in today's world too. Many of them just do not have the same longevity of the Nubas unfortunately.
All indications are the continent of Oceania/Australasia had a similar deal going down. Over time in a way similar to Europe and Northern America they formed into more western styled local tournaments ... probably something to do with the explorers who cameth. Likewise in South America it depends entirely on the region. Those areas which were left alone were happy to maintain their own traditions. Those who found Spaniards and Portuguese knocking at their doors often took on the European style of tournament. In my opinion.
I know from reading 19th century newspapers published islands like Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines they had both European styles practised in the military camps set up by invaders and their native form of grappling utilized outside of the camps. Sometimes the locals picked up some of the wrestling brought to the country and often a bit of the native's style was taken back home by the men in uniform. It seems perfectly reasonable to me to put forth almost anywhere which had similar captor-captive relationships would have shared wrestling also. In fact, it's said that's exactly how Lancashire Style (or Catch-as-Catch-Can) came to be in the first place.
There are some countries which we know have a long lineage of wrestling in their histories. That whole India-Pakistan region held wrestlers with the highest esteem. Similar to the ancient Greeks, the best wrestlers often served as the main bodyguards to the ruler of the area (or respective countries). I wish I could give you a link to learn more about them, but I do not know of any websites which have documented that region in any detail. The fandom for pro-wrestling in India over the last hundred years is a testament to the roots wrestling holds in the country.
Turkey which is one of those awkward countries, like Russia, where debates arise regarding the status of the country. Is it European or Asian? I think right now it's considered Asian. So, they have a tremendously long history with wrestling. The annual Kirkpinar tournament, now held in Erdine, is the longest running wrestling tournament in the world. It has been going strong for around 860 years. Feeling slightly repetitive with this bit, but again, the best wrestlers were often used in the military or held bodyguard positions for those high up and were considered among the most important men within the country, or empire when the Ottomans were riding high. There is actually a website dedicated to the Kirkpinar. When I went to access it my firewall advised me the site was currently unsafe to use. Therefore I will not provide the link and I did not enter. If you want to take a look though just Google Kirkpinar.
The most well documented and available of all the histories beyond European countries such as France and Germany belongs to Japan. A friend of PWHS, Hisaharu Tanabe has a wonderful website. For that reason, rather then telling my own version of the history of Japan I shall defer to Hisa and advise you click the link below which will take you to pre-1940s history page. The whole site has heaps of information on it though. To give you an idea, here is an excerpt from his timeline:
"Ca. 500 B.C.[E.]
According to the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, a book of legends from the year 712, which is the oldest extant example of Japanese writing), Takemikazuchi defeats Takeminakata in a grappling match on the shores of Izumo (today's Shimane Prefecture) for the control over the Iumo territory. Takemikazuchi, the leader of Japanese people, is said to have established the imperial family from which the present emperor traces his ancestry. This is the first recorded grappling in Japan."
For more check out Puroresu.com, I can not recommend it enough.
There is one item not included on Hisa's website and that is the picture featured with this article. It's actually in the public domain and features a Japanese legend called Kintaro. The stories are said to be based on a real boy who was possibly brought up by an old woman living in the mountains of the Kanagawa prefecture between the 8th and 12th centuries (current era). Growing up in those surroundings the animals of the mountains became friends with the youngster. His astounding power often described by using his wrestling matches against animals ranging from black bears to giant catfish. The respect the animals had for his strength was depicted by him being put in a situation where he was responsible for keeping order in inter-species bouts like the one between a rabbit and a monkey as pictured. I have to admit I thought the monkey was a sloth. The legend of Kintaro's continues that he was discovered by a high-up samurai who was impressed by his raw power. Under the wing of his new tutor he became proficient in the martial arts and was awarded a very important role within the samurais. By the 21st century he had already become immortalized. He is the symbol of the traditional Japanese Children's Day on May 5 for newborn babies. He has been featured in anime, in games, in trading cards. There are shrines of him and places named after him. I some ways he seems to be equatable to a saint or similar in western culture.
That concludes the penultimate part to this series. Last time I teased the age of exploration and renaissance, but I made a slight swerve. It was necessary though and planned if you read part one. The reason being the world was about to get a whole lot smaller as Homo sapiens-sapiens could travel the stormy seas much more regularly. The Europeans we had been exploring were about to discover (or rediscover in some people's opinions) the different cultures scattered about the globe. A four hundred year process then started which ultimately led to the Industrial Revolution with an additional by-product being the right circumstances were formed for professional wrestling as we know it to develop.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
A History Of Wrestling: Chapter Five.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: October 20, 2017.
Article: #178.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
A History Of Wrestling: Chapter Five.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: October 20, 2017.
Article: #178.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Picture Note
By Kuniyoshi in the early 19th century.
By Kuniyoshi in the early 19th century.
A History Of Wrestling: Chapter Six - Read Here.
A History Of Wrestling: Chapter Four - Read Here.
Other articles by Jimmy can be Read Here.