Musangwe, or bare-knuckle fighting, has become part of the lives of the rural communities mostly in the Vhembe region.

One such community where the sport has manifested itself is Tshifudi-Gaba outside Thohoyandou.

During the festive holidays, men as well as a few young boys spend much of their time at a secluded spot where men take turns in challenging others for a fistfight. The sport  is now the in-thing in the area and has become so popular that it has become a big crowd puller of even prominent people in the community. The past festive season was no exception.

The president of Musangwe, Mr Tshilidzi Poison Ndevana, vowed that the sport is here to stay, saying no one will stop them from practising what he terms Venda culture. "Bare-knuckle fighting has been part of our lives since the 18th century and we are not prepared to trade it for anything,” he said.

He feels the sport builds men to be responsible beings who know how to take care of their families. “This is a sport that teaches us respect and all the aspects of manhood and we will continue doing this as part of our culture like other nationalities do,” he said.

To show that he is determined not to see the sport fade away, he has started a development team comprising small boys who are being moulded into future stars.

During Mirror’s visit, the boys were busy picking each other for fights, preparing the ground for the older fighters who were to battle it out for the championship. “We are busy preparing for the future. These boys are our future champions and we are serious about this sport, so we have to start from an early age,” he said.

He said even if the boys could be seen to be excelling, it was not an automatic permit for them to fight older people. “We have different age groups and they have to wait to be of age to fight those in their age groups. There is order in this sport and one thing we encourage is respect for the elderly,” he said.

Ndevana said the commercialization of the sport nearly killed their game. “This is a game not for gain. We are not saying that we do not accept sponsorships, but those who want to make money could do so at open venues like stadiums and halls where people will pay. Here we fight for free and this is the reason why we do not allow women here as this is a closely guarded tradition,” he said.