Evala (Togo Wrestling)
Wrestling of Togo's Kabyè ethnic group, above all an initiation rite. Held every July in the Kara region, it carries young men from youth into adulthood.
Quick Facts
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Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
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Catalogs & Databases for Evala (Togo Wrestling)
About Evala (Togo Wrestling)
Evala are traditional wrestling matches of the Kabyè from Togo's Kara region. The government portal Republic of Togo calls them an initiation rite that lets eighteen-year-olds pass from adolescence into adulthood. According to AFP, thousands of Kabyè men aged 18 to 20, called Evalo, take part every year in mid-July. According to AFP, the wrestlers try to grab an opponent by the hand or leg and bring him to the ground, and whoever puts the opponent down wins. According to the government portal from 2012, traditional chiefs run the matches. According to AFP, before the match the participants receive three small scars by each ear and dance with a dog, whose meat they then eat for the first time. According to the government portal, the festivities last a week. According to AFP, Togo began the process in 2026 of inscribing evala on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, but they are not yet on its lists. We have not found a documented founder or year of origin.
History
The government portal Republic of Togo wrote in 2017 that evala are traditional Kabyè wrestling matches, starting on Saturday in the Kozah prefecture and ending on 23 July. Preparation, it says, begins in families as early as January. The portal says evala let eighteen-year-olds pass from adolescence into adulthood and calls them an initiation rite. We have not found a documented founder or year of origin in the sources.
Technique
According to AFP, the wrestlers try to grab the opponent by the hand or leg and bring him to the ground. Before the match they receive three small scars by each ear, made with a blade, and dance with a dog until it dies of exhaustion, and then eat its meat for the first time. The government portal Republic of Togo said in 2012 that they should eat dog meat to awaken in them a rage to win.
Training
The government portal Republic of Togo wrote in 2024 that preparation includes intense training, purification rites with bathing in sacred springs, and blessings from elders and spiritual chiefs. According to Africanews from 2024, training starts in May. According to AFP, participation is not mandatory in Kabyè tradition, but young men face social pressure. Coach Tchaa Tidiye from the Pya canton said, in one version of an AFP report, that a man who refuses brings shame on society, and in another that nobody forces a young Kabyè to wrestle. According to the government portal, refusal can lead to social exclusion.
Competition
The wrestlers often come from rival villages. Canton chief Achille Samah Bidiwana says, according to AFP, that whoever puts the opponent down wins. The government portal Republic of Togo said in 2012 that men aged 18 to 21 wrestle and that traditional chiefs, guardians of ancestral customs, run the matches. In 2024, according to the portal, villages or neighborhoods organized the matches, and in 2025 wrestlers of Lao Haut and Lao Bas faced each other, and in the final coalitions of cantons.
Today
According to Africanews, evala take place every July in the Kara region, 430 kilometers north of Lomé, and young men wrestle for a week in all the villages of the region. In 2025, according to the government portal, they officially began in Kagnalada in the Pya canton, the canton final was on 24 July and the closing on 27 July. According to AFP, injured wrestlers receive first aid on the spot and some are taken to hospitals. According to AFP, violence attributed to jihadists from the neighboring Sahel has for several years affected northern Togo and threatens tourism there. According to AFP, Togo began the process in 2026 of inscribing evala on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list, and culture minister Isaac Tchiakpe said the government is determined to achieve their international recognition. Evala are not yet on the UNESCO lists. Faure Gnassingbé, whom AFP calls the former president and current president of the Council of Ministers, went through the ceremony like his father Gnassingbe Eyadema and, according to AFP, takes part in the matches every year.
Did you know
According to canton chief Achille Samah Bidiwana, quoted by AFP, a man cannot marry until he becomes an Evalo. According to AFP, several ministers and army officers from the Kara region have also gone through the ceremony.
Frequently asked questions
How old are the wrestlers in evala?
According to AFP and the government portal Republic of Togo, usually 18 to 20 years. The portal gave an age of 18 to 21 years in 2012.
When and where do evala take place?
Every July in the Kara region in the north of Togo. According to the government portal Republic of Togo, the festivities last a week.
When do the evala wrestlers receive scars?
According to AFP, before the match, as part of the ceremony. They receive three small scars by each ear.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.