WARNING! The following post contain images that may be disturbing to some readers. 

Sharo may or may not apply nor in fact appeal to the Scorum community as a sport due to its unconventional and extreme nature. However, i still think it imperative to tell the community about Sharo and allow everyone to decide for him or herself whether it can come under the category of sports or not.

Sharo (means flogging in Fulfulde) is a traditional sport of the nomadic Fulani people mainly in northern Nigeria, West Africa region as well as southern Cameroon. The sport is done twice a year during cultural festivals to showcase bravery and endurance lasting for about a week. Participants are drown from local and international Fulani communities. no participant is expected to put his family or community to shame by flinching from flogging as a result of pain from opponents.

Other functions where Sharo is played include celebrating the birth of the first born of a renowned Sharo warrior, honoring of a chief, a contest between families, clans within a community or as an initiation right of passage into manhood.

Sharo is also played during marriage engagements especially where two or more potential groom opponents are mutually competing for a ladies hand in marriage. The man who flinches from pain is regarded as weak and will be deemed to have lost the ladies hand in marriage.

How it is played.

There is nothing needed in regards to equipment or arena, all that is needed include Sticks measuring 4 to 6 feet long with about 1 inche thick in diameter, a playground or a market square and a referee to make sure that strokes are not directed towards areas that may inflict life threatening injuries on an opponent.

The sport Commences when bare chested young Fulani men are escorted by their well wishers, family and friends, team mates or young ladies in the case of a wedding engagement into the Centre of the arena.

Contestants usually have their arms raised up holding a stick, arms at akimbo or pose holding a stick at the front or back while dancing to drumbeats from local traditional praise singers.

Flogging is done on turn by turn bases, it should be known that the number of strokes to be given an opponent ranges from 3 to infinity or when a contestant cannot bare any more flogging during a match. Some braver contestants ware said to sometimes urge their opponents to offer their best strokes by shouting as a form of incitement to strike them hard and fast.

Like most African traditional sports, Sharo warriors are expected to fortify themselves before any contest with assistance of drinking concoctions, tying of a charms and Amulets to any part of their bodies given to them by mallams(Marabouts). Also Players are seen making all manner of chants and reciting strange incantations to further fortify themselves as each stroke lands.

Winners are usually certified by the referee or the Fulani leader present while those who could not endure are advised to try their bravery next festival.

Considering that the sport is sometimes indulged in for its own sakes, the price for the winner is simply to declared undefeated, want of fame and popularity, rites of passage into manhood or to get married to the woman of choice in the case of marriage.

For a Fulani man, endurance and bravery is a requisite attribute of the real man who can protect his home, fend for them and guard his honour, but not all Fulanis indulge or insist on partaking in Sharo sport for whatever purpose because not all Fulani men can endure extreme flogging in the name of sport or ceremony.


Sharo flogging leaves permanent scars which is carried on the body forever including blinding of opponents. There are rare and isolated reported cases of deaths as a result of wounds sustained during and after Sharo matches. Recently in Katsina state where i am posted, a male contestant was reportedly killed by the deadly strokes which he received from an opponent who disregarded the rules of engagement.

All images used are sourced here 

video.nationalgeographic.com/video/benin_fulaniinitiation