Big in Nigeria: Fighting Rams

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↵The pitfall when discussing a foreign sport involving animals is avoiding a tone reeking with disdain for other cultural norms, while at the same time not allowing cultural relativism to excuse needless brutality. In some cases, as with the popular Afghan sport Buzkashi, in which players ride around on horseback while attempting to move a headless goat carcass into the opponent’s end zone, it’s not always so easy. With others, such as the increasingly popular trend of staged ram fights in Nigeria, it’s more mixed.↵↵Indeed, a groundswell of popularity had greeted ram fighting in the country in recent years, in part because a booming economy has given working class Nigerians more disposable income to spend on entertainments. Also, because, hey, it’s fun to watch two animals go at each other, especially if you know it’s a natural act and one isn’t forced to kill the other.↵

↵↵⇥Ram fighting—which is also popular in Indonesia, China and Algeria—isn’t nearly as violent as dog and cock fighting. Little blood is spilled, and the rams don’t duel to the death. Fights are usually limited to 50 blows before they are called off, though in the finals the limit is lifted. ↵⇥↵⇥Two rams are put in a large dirt ring. There is a judge and there are several referees in Ram Lovers Association T-shirts monitoring the fight. Two rams of the same weight-class are brought to the center of the ring and let go. Then they naturally start butting heads. The bout ends when one ram flees the ring. Sometimes, it’s over quickly when it’s clear that one ram doesn’t want to fight.↵⇥

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An animal rights group briefly took issue, but were ultimately convinced it wasn’t a barbaric practice when members saw the precautions used by fight organizers from the Ram Lovers Association of Nigeria. Also, the organized ones are better than the unregulated fights sometimes run on the streets. However, one negative upshot has been the increased culture of gambling that has been cultivated to coincide with the gains in popularity.↵↵For the national championship held recently, the association spent about $4,000 on prizes, including two motorcycles, a few 15-inch LG television sets, electric fans and three refrigerators. The fan favorite Gobe (meaning “tomorrow” in the northern Nigerian Hausa language) took the main event when the rival ram, Captain, ran away after receiving four blows.↵

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