Athletes join Locho wrestling completion in Iran’s Mazandaran

The games, held on Saturday evening, marked the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Normally, the people of Mazandaran get together in July each year to hold the Feast of the Dead, a part of which is the Locho wrestling contest.

The contest, which dates back to more than a thousand years ago, is held to choose the Pahlavan (champion) of the region. It is seen as the origin of the modern freestyle wrestling.

The word Locho means the ‘edge of the wood.’ Before the match starts, a stick of wood is usually planted in the ground, with the prize of the competition tied to it. The winner takes the prize and the stick.

According to the rules, each competitor tries to gain the superior position by using certain techniques on some parts of the opponent’s body, such as head, elbow and knee.