The 28th of July in the Tabari calendar coincides with the "Festival of Bis and Sheesh Eidemah" or "Festival of the Dead". According to a popular belief, the story goes back to the time when a character named Fereydon, due to his father's bloodlust, accompanied by an army of people from Mazandaran, went against the evil king Zahak. And after sacrificing and killing a large number of his people, he succeeds in Alborz mountains, after defeating Dhahak, he tied him up and threw him in the bottom of a well. The people who lived in this area celebrate the defeat of Zahak. And on that day, they gather under the tall tree of Nirasam village and play local instruments and sing.
The people of the region believe that cooking sour soup brings happiness and joy and takes away sadness; Beliefs that are rooted for thousands of years.
Ali and Vahid Esdeniya, Lochu wrestling veterans, are the organizers of Luchu wrestling festivals and competitions in Nirasem village. The children of these two brothers (Arshia and Armin) practice at their grandfather's house before the start of the competition. They will be the not-so-distant wrestlers of this tournament.
A wrestler is warming up before the start of his match in the old mosque next to the arena. Due to the approaching month of Muharram (mourning days of the Third Imam of Shia Muslims), the mosque is decorated with inscriptions.
After many years of celebration, the ship "Locho" became so important that it has brought the celebration of the dead itself under its influence. Locho wrestling has started in Mazandaran and many Mazandaran wrestling heroes were once Locho players and wrestlers of this game.
Locho has established its position in the culture and beliefs of the people of the entire Mazandaran region; But one of the oldest places for holding this wrestling match is in Mazandaran province and the Yalaghi section of Imamzadeh Haj Sheikh Musa. "Sheikh Musa" village hosts a huge number of athletes and sports friends from different parts of the province and even the country.
Sometimes the matches take a long time, and for the champion to be determined, you have to wait until the night and see these matches. This is the village of Karfun near the coast of the Caspian Sea and the birthplace of Olympic and world freestyle wrestling champion Hassan Yazdani.
Every region of Iran has its own local music and dance, and the organizers of the competitions play local music, dance and cheer in order to increase the spirit of the wrestlers and the spectators.
Mohammad Khanleri put him on his back with his victory against his veteran champion and is proud of him. He has been the champion of Lucho wrestling in recent years.
Due to the large number of supporters of this match, the reporters report the matches live for the spectators in the field and the live viewers of the virtual networks. In the meantime, in various parts of the regional artists' program, they performed music describing the great position of Hazrat Haj Sheikh Musa, the description of heroes, and music related to Mazandaran and the people of Bandapi region. To remove the fatigue from the audience who were busy watching the ship for hours and to make the atmosphere of the program happier..
Locho Wrestling is often held on clay fields. Wrestlers' bodies become dust and plaster when they fall. In this match, if more than two points of the body other than the hands and feet hit the ground, the game ends.
Fighting is an integral part of Locho wrestling. Due to the high sensitivity of the matches and the wrong refereeing, the spectators and fans fight with each other with the prejudice of the wrestlers.
After finishing the race in the village of Sheikh Musa, these wrestling-loving people go up the mountain to reach the upper village and not miss the wrestling of that village.
Most of the people in this area are farmers or livestock breeders. They stop their work during these competitions and come to watch these competitions by any means.
Before the start of each race, children and teenagers first step into the pit and gain experience for the future. In Mazandaran, everyone loves wrestling and age does not matter.
In the rules of Lucho wrestling, it is stated: If a wrestler manages to remove another person from the field, they give him one point. This competition will be held in Nirasam summer village.
In the character of a wrestler, the strength of the arm and defeating the opponent is not a championship. In Iran, after defeating their opponent, wrestlers take his hand and lift him from the ground and give him spirit for the future.
Milad Nowrozi is one of the geniuses of Locho wrestling. He is very similar to Hasan Yazdani, the Iranian freestyle wrestling champion in the world, in terms of appearance and physical figure, and he is considered one of the world's future champions; Due to livelihood problems, he has to work in a barbershop to earn money.
Players and villagers come to this traditional bath after the matches to wash themselves and prepare for tomorrow's match. Most of the houses in this summer village do not have a bathroom.
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Locho
Copyright
Seyyed Matin Hashemi
2024
Updated Mar 2024
Mazandarani people are ship-loving people. Every year on the 26th day of Tabari (July 28th) in the mountains of Yalagi in Bandpei region، In the villages of Haj Sheikh Moussa, Lehe and Nirasem, they hold a festival, sing songs and cook sour food, which is a symbol of happiness and distance from sadness. They gather and this is the beginning of Lucho's local wrestling competitions. Lucho is an inseparable member of the people of Mazandaran region. They see wrestling as an excuse to get together. There is definitely a wrestler in every Mazandarani's house. They teach their children the same.Children learn to wrestle and then they send them to the dirt pit because they believe that the way to success and progress of their sons is in wresting. Lo means edge and cho means wood. Locho is 1,500 years old and has been passed down from generation to generation.from last now young people are trying to preserve this old custom. These competitions are held to choose the most brave person in the region.According to the rules of this competition, if someone touches the ground with more than two parts of his body, he loses the competition, and this has turned Lucho into the toughest local wrestling. Respect for the elderly is one of the basic principles of this event. The first sport of Iran is wrestling and it is said that it was the base and school of free wrestling in Iran and the world of Lucho.They prepare prizes such as cows, sheep, blankets and cash prizes for the best people, and everyone helps as much as they can.The best person in any sheep weight and the most brave athlete, who after challenging the opponent in the field is characterized by the defeat of the opponents and The cow gets a prize.As a documentary photographer and sports lover, I traveled to Mazandaran in July 2023 and saw the passion and excitement for a local competition. I decided to document this event with multiple trips over the course of two years. My goal is to try to preserve the ancient ritual It is Iranian.