Sunu Coosan: Creating “our tradition” in Senegalese wrestling songs

Abstract

This article explores the term “sunu coosan” as a Senegalese trope of self-articulation and as a semiotic strategy in contemporary discourses surrounding nationhood. The term, meaning "our tradition" in Wolof, is used by professionals as well as lay people in their promotion of the national sport, Làmb wrestling. By examining this phrase within the broad repertoire of Senegalese wrestling songs, I show that the musical commentary performed in the sport of Làmb situates it within a narrative of traditional continuity, subsequently producing a modern tradition for the consumption of the Senegalese nation. I argue that this collection of songs is a performative embodiment of a modern state's struggle to form its national identity. In Senegal's national wrestling arenas, ongoing lyrical engagement with the themes of history, heritage, and morality in genre-specific, stylized formats, makes these songs the site of both ‘traditional discourse’ and a ‘discourse about tradition’. In this article, I explore three central features of Làmb songs: the use of poetic personas; "out of time narration"; and the recitation of praise poetry. By implementing these stylistic techniques inside and outside of the arena, local musicians continually create a meta-discourse about the meaning of tradition.