While some village boys and men spend their time at initiation schools this holiday, some have found solace in Musangwe (traditional boxing) tournaments which take place at Makonde sports field. This is the sport that has a large following in local circles, "because it separates men from boys".

The sports field resembled a picnic of fun lovers as men from the local villages battled to find out who the true champion is. The game’s fans travel from as far as Tshivhilwi, Haluvhimbi, Tshaulu and Hamakuya to spend the whole day cheering for the fighters.

Musangwe coordinator Patrick Ramarada says his aim is to keep people off the streets, especially the youth, during the school holiday. He says the game keeps them busy and they end up not thinking about taking part in any criminal activities. “Since we started last week, we had huge turnouts, which show that people are really interested in this sport. This is part of our culture and as Africans, we will continue to pride ourselves on our heritage.”

Ramarada says the main challenge is to get sponsors who will give incentives to fighters. “We are trying our best to engage businesspeople to sponsor us, so that we can reward those who are doing well. We have not received anything so far, but we call upon those who are willing to assist us to do so because what we are doing is part of community development. Because this sport is played according to specific rules, it enforces discipline and fighters learn to respect one another at all times. This is the skill that they can also use in the outside world to relate well with other community members.”

One of the brave fighters is Mvelelo Munyai (18) of Tshivhilwi village, who impresses everyone with his fighting skills. Nicknamed Toyota, Munyai commands a large following whenever he enters the ring. He managed to defeat four opponents in one day and no one wanted to fight him for the remainder of the day.

He refutes claims that he uses Thari (muti) and Tshiswiswi (invisibility to the opponents). “Those are lies. My only weapon for a good performance is training. I train so hard to make sure that my body remains in shape and this makes me very powerful.”