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Agence France-Presse

Barefoot in the dust, their hands wrapped in thin fabric, a handful of athletes practised Moraingy, a traditional Madagascan martial art, ahead of a fight in Antananarivo stadium.
The competition in the capital of the Indian Ocean island was aimed at promoting the age-old combat sport. Moraingy dates back to the 17th century.
It originated on the west coast of Madagascar, where it was practised as training for war and as an initiation rite marking the passage to adulthood.
It spread as people migrated and is mainly practised today in the north and northwest of the country.


“Watch your guard!,” shouted coach Thierry Saidani, whose training centre at the northern tip of Madagascar has created several champions.
“Guys, we’re not kickboxing here. If you don’t place your hands on your face properly, all your protection goes,” he said crossly to the fighters he had brought to the capital to showcase Moraingy.


“I’m doing this out of passion. I want to win over people from all backgrounds,” Saidani said.
“I’m sure there are good fighters here too, who don’t have the means to get started.”
Saidani said he also wanted to “prove that this is not a sport for savages” but an “ancestral tradition” characterised by “respect and humility” that should “rise to the rank of national sport”.


The headliner for the competition in Antananarivo was 28-year-old Armand, who is 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of pure muscle and whose head is shaved bar a few bleached locks.
He is nicknamed “the Elephant” after a large tattoo of the animal covering his back.
“I’m the star,” he said. “I like the roaring of the crowd, making money and being famous.”
The bouts take place in three rounds,, often to the sound of traditional, repetitive music designed to put the fighters and their audience in a trance-like state.

Moraingy has no written rules. Almost any move is allowed.
A referee simply ensures the athletes don’t bite or use dangerous blows to the genitals, the back of the neck or when the adversary has one hand on the ground.
There is no timer either, nor any winners or losers.
“It’s the clamour and applause of the audience that defines whether the fight is over or whether it should continue,” explained organiser Geoffrey Gaspard.
Fighter Omar “Bongo” started off in English boxing but was scouted 10 years ago.
He did not think twice before switching to Moraingy, where “you can get big contracts”, the 30-year-old with scarred hands said.

The athletes are tight-lipped about their earnings.
Depending on the fights and the notoriety of the fighters, these can vary from the equivalent of around US$20 to almost US$300 – a fortune in a country where the minimum wage is around US$52 a month.
Most fighters adorn themselves with lucky charms and talismans. But Armand, the Elephant, believes he does not need them.
“My lucky charms are my training and my fists,” he says, imitating the sound of a machine gun.
“I control my opponents with my blows. They can’t run away or protect themselves.”

For Gaspard, a filmmaker and lover of the ancestral martial art, the tournament in Antananarivo was designed above all to professionalise Moraingy, as has been the case with traditional wrestling in Senegal and dambe in Nigeria.
“The fighters have no insurance or medical support. There’s a real need to protect them and regulate [the fights],” he explained.
Gaspard hopes to bring together Moraingy fighters, coaches and representatives of Madagascar’s government to draw up official regulations and set up a national federation.


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Practitioners of the martial art Moraingy square up during a bout in Antananarivo, Madagascar. An enthusiast for the sport hopes to professionalise it by bringing interested parties together to write some rules. Photo: AFP

Bare-knuckle fighters square up in a Moraingy bout in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Photo: AFP

Two fighters congratulate each other after a bout at the Moraingy competition in Antananarivo on April 6, 2025. In this combat sport there are no winners and losers, and rounds are not timed. Photo: AFP

Fighters prepare for bouts at the Moraingy competition in Antananarivo. Photo: AFP

Fighters take part in a Moraingy bout. Each fight lasts three rounds, but they are not timed. Photo: AFP

A fighter is treated by a doctor after being knocked out. Photo: AFP

A fighter receives the acclaim of the crowd at the Antananarivo stadium. Photo: AFP

Fighters compete during the Moraingy competition in Antananarivo. The traditional martial art was practised as training for war and as an initiation rite marking the passage to adulthood. Photo: AFP

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In Moraingy, combat sport with a 400-year history in Madagascar, Africa, there are no rules. A fan of the martial art hopes to change that


In Moraingy, combat sport with a 400-year history in Madagascar, Africa, there are no rules. A fan of the martial art hopes to change that.


Madagascar