Chapter four-Tigil

Brief History of Tigil /Gibgib

According to history there is no evidence about when and where the practice of
Gibgib/Tigil/ in Ethiopia was started. But people used to play the game to test their
strength in a bid to get prominence through the games. Even though there are no ample
games like that of today, people in the same age category fight around their villages and
localities in the gatherings of people. When a fighter of an area wins the wrestling
especially during holidays, the winner will be given a victory name and prizes and he will
be respected in the area.
According to the history of wrestling, the game is held after the harvest of crops during a
break or after pastoralists feed their animals on the grass-fields during their break. The
place and time of the wrestling could be:-
a. On the area the harvest was held
b. On a sand collected with a flood on the area
c. On the area a clean grass has grown
The wrestling will be held in one of the above areas in the presence of spectators and
elders facilitating the game as a referee. If a player turns the game in to fighting, the elder
referees will advise the player. Theses referees will also judge as to whether the game is
progressing in an ethical manner.
Many years ago, the game of wrestling was considered as the sign of strength and fighters
use different techniques to show that they are the best ones. For example youths herding
cattle or harvesting crops such as wheat while eating peas and fire their hand with a fire
show that they are the hero in wrestling. The fire puts a scar on their hands and youths
having these scars are considered to be strong on the game of wrestling.
It is said that wrestling was expanded in Ethiopia during the regime of Emperor
Tewodros. The fact that the king was giving prizes such as mule, sword with a shield,
meat of fattened cattle’s such as sheep and other prizes were given for Ethiopians who
wins British citizens. The king was also acting as a referee of the game at that time.
Nowadays wrestling (Gibgib or Tigil) is expanded throughout the country. All the 9
regional states and the two city administration are conducting games with this cultural
sport through the closer supervision and facilitation of the Ethiopian Cultural Sports
Federation.

Tigil/Gibgib/ or Ethiopian Wrestling cultural game

Rule one
Tigil/Gibgib/ or Ethiopian wrestling game
Article 1: Meaning
1.1. Tigil/Gibgib/ or Ethiopian Wrestling is a cultural game on which two players fight
in a specified given area so that one of them falls down the other fighter with his
back, his buttock or his arms on the ground.

Rule two

Article 2: Materials of the game

2.1. Mattress
C

KEYS:-
A=5M
B=5M
D B
C = 4.5 M
F
D = 4.5 M
E = 0.5 M
F = 0.5 M

2.1.1. The width of the playing mattress of Tigil/Gibgib/ cultural sport is 5x5
meter and its falling thickness part is 4.50x4.50 meter square.
2.1.2. The type of the mattress should be dry sponge
2.1.3. The thickness of the mattress is 6-8 cm
2.1.4. Mattress will have a size of a square in a regular form
 2.1.5. If the mattress is not made up of one unit but various small units, it shall be
covered with a cloth to minimize the sliding nature of the small unit’s or
else the units should be tied together or fixed with the ground.
2.1.6. The mattress could be prepared from cotton, spongy materials or from plant
products that are soft.
2.1.7. The color of the mattress should be of one type that is painted with a color
having 0.5 widths
2.2. Time
2.2.1. There should be a clock to facilitate the round games and the total games of
Tigil/Gibgib/
2.3. Trumpet or Whistle
2.3.1. There should always be a trumpet or Whistle that will help to start, stop or
end the competition.
2.1 Result Board
2.4.1. There should be a board during the game to show the points scored or the
results of the game to the fighters or the spectators. The board is placed on a
table and the referee displays the result by raising the board up with his
hand.
2.2 The bell
2.2.1 When the three minutes round of the game ends during wrestling or 1
minute break is over, the bell is used to start the game.
Rule Three
Article 3: The dressing and sport wears of players during Gibgib or
Wrestling
3.1. Dressing
3.1.1. A player should wear a cloth which is relaxing and not sticking to the body.
3.1.2. A player should also wear a cloth that reflects the culture of the area he/she
represents.
3.1.3. If the cloth of the surrounding cultural area is not suitable for the play, the
player could wear a short and a t-shirt
 3.1.4. The player must compete only with his barefoot or wearing only socks.
Rule Four
Article 4: Weight categories of players and types of Wrestling
1.1 weight categories
4.1.1. Wrestling/Gibgib or Tigil sport is held in age categories and therefore a
player within 4 kg difference can play in the same category.
4.1.2. The weight category of the game is as follows
4.1.2.1. 43-47 kg category only in women
4.1.2.2. 48-52 kg category in both sexes
4.1.2.3. 53-57 kg category in both sexes
4.1.2.4. 58-62 kg category in both sexes
4.1.2.5. 63-67 kg category in both sexes
4.1.2.6. 68-72 kg category in both sexes

4.1.3. The weight category of the players in the game is evaluated one day prior to
the game or before the start of the game on during match day.
4.1.4. A player whose weight is not right during the evaluation will be given 30
minutes. And if he is not able to manage his weight within the given time,
he will be cancelled from the game.
4.1.5. One team should have only one player in one category.
1.2 Types of Tigil/ Gibgib or Cultural Wrestling
4.2.1. Cultural wrestling sports are various in numbers. Among these there are
harmful and useful aspects of these sports in general. Leaving those that are
harmful in nature, the useful ones are categorized as follows.
1.2.1.1 Wrestling while holding ones back with one hand
1.2.1.2 Wrestling while holding ones back with two hands
1.2.1.3 Wrestling while holding ones back with one or two hand in the
following two fighting forms
1.2.1.4 Dropping the opponent from inside to outside
1.2.1.5 Drooping the opponent from to outside to inside
 1.2.1.6 A player should clearly know all these wrestling types and forms while
competing on the game.
Rule Five
Article 5: The commencement and process of the game

5.1. The two fighters should come to the stage on the permission of the referee and
stands right and left of the referee.
5.2. The two players show their right hand up when their name is called in a bid to
promote themselves.
5.3. The two players will choose a lottery after greeting the audiences and each other.
5.4. The one who has got the lottery will start the game after the trumpet or whistle of
the referee signals.
5.5. The lottery will be used for the first and the third rounds of the game only. If there
is a fourth round game, a player who didn’t get the chance will be allowed to start
the game.
5.6. One round game will have 3 minutes for men and two points for women
5.7. One minute break will be given after each rounds of the game
5.8. The game of Gibgib/Tigil/ will be over with three rounds
5.9. The winner of the game is identified by the points registered on the rounds on
falling down the opponent on the ground
5.10. If the two players of the wrestling come out with an equalizer on the three rounds,
an additional one round will be added to identify the winner.
5.11. A player who drops down the opponent on the additional round will be a winner
and if the two fighters are not able to win with the additional round, the winner
will be identified with a lottery.
5.12. Nine minutes for men and 6 minutes for women shall be wisely used without
wastage.
5.13. When the referee stops the game due to any reason, the time should also stop at
that point.
5.14. And when the referee starts the game, the time should also start counting
5.15. When the time of the game ends, the competitors will stand right and left of the
referee. Then the referee raises the hand of the winner when his name is called
 upon to introduce the winner. The players will give greetings to each other and to
their coaches and that will lead to the end of the game.
Rule Six
Article 6: Point scoring
6.1. Point scoring
6.1.1. A point will be scored for a player during the game in following conditions
6.1.1.1. If a player drops the opponent with his/her back fully, two points will be
scored for the player who dropped his/her opponent
6.1.1.2. One point will be scored for a player who drops down his/ her opponent
with the buttock
6.1.1.3. When a player drops down his opponent on his sideways one point will
be scored
6.1.1.4. If the two players fail down on any sides of their body on the ground, no
point will be scored for both the fighters
6.1.1.5. If the player fails out of the competition floor and if his body goes out of
the floor 4.50 meters away, no point will be given for that
6.1.1.6. If a player drops down his opponent being outside the specified floor of
the competition, no point will be given for the winner
6.1.1.7. Letting the opponent fail down on chest cannot score a point for the
winner
6.1.1.8. Two points will be given for the winner of the three rounds and zero
point for the defeated.
6.1.1.9. If a player wins due to the absence of his opponent, the winner will get
two points
6.1.1.10. No points will be given for points scored after the whistle or trumpet of
the referee
Rule Seven
Article 7: Forbidden acts and penalties
7.1. Forbidden acts
7.1.1. Attending on a game wearing additional clothes except the required sport
wear and inner clothes such as pants and pack-outs
7.1.2. Playing without clothes either above or below the waist
7.1.3. Playing while wearing a shoes
7.1.4. Playing without cutting the fingers of hands and legs
7.1.5. Playing after greasing a body with plant products and body oils that have a
bad smell, sticky and slimy nature.
7.1.6. Competing with a rough hair and beard face
7.1.7. A hair which is challenging during the game which is not neat
7.1.8. A very long beard face.
7.1.9. Playing while wearing jewelries on hands, legs and other body parts
7.1.10. Catching the clothes and hair of the opponent during the game
7.1.11. fighting while intentionally sleeping on the arm of the opponent
7.1.12. moving around the fighting floor not to fight and going out of the
competition floor
7.1.13. intentionally and repeatedly sleeping on a chest
7.1.14. Displacing the opponent through pulling and pushing in a bid to take the
player out of the specified fighting floor.
7.1.15. fighting against the types of Tigil /Gibgib listed on the rule
7.1.16. singing after winning while sitting on his opponent who is defeated
7.1.17. hitting an opponent with hands, legs or any other part of a body
7.1.18. trying to drop an opponent or trying to do so intentionally
7.1.19. scratching the face of an opponent, pinching, biting or acting against the
rules of the game that are forbidden
7.1.20. spitting on any part of the body of an opponent
7.1.21. Catching sensitive body parts of an opponent
7.1.22. Disobeying and disrespecting the referee, talking without a manner or
rejecting and refusing to accept the decisions of the referee
7.1.23. disappointing the opponent fighter
7.1.24. if a player comes late after a break or becomes absent due to any reason
7.1.25. misbehaving on team referees, leaders, officials, coaches and spectators
7.1.26. attending on a game after taking alcohols and drugs
7.1.27. Dangerous playing that may hurt the opponent player
 7.1.28. insulting the referee with rude words and trying to fight with the referee
7.1.29. insulting opponent players, coaches, team leaders, members of the
committee or the referee either verbally on non-verbally and trying to fight
with them
7.2. Penalties
7.2.1. If a player is liable to forbidden acts stated above from 7.1.1 to 7.9.1 and
found by the referee for violating the acts he will be given warnings.
7.2.2. If a player violates the forbidden acts stated from 7.1.10 to 7.1.25, the referee
will stop the game and inform and warn the player who violates the acts and
registers the act on the score board. If the player violates the acts 4 times
repeatedly, yellow card will be given if he cannot restrain from his acts and
violates one of the above stated forbidden acts, he will get a red card.
7.2.3. A player who violates forbidden acts from 7.1.26 to 7.1.29 will directly be
given a red card and comes out of the game
7.2.4. A player may be penalized from warning to suspension from the game based
on magnitude of his violations by competition and protocol committee.
Rule Eight
Article 8: Duties and responsibilities of coaches, team leaders and
referees
8.1. Duties and responsibilities of a coach

8.1.1. A coach should come to the playing field before 30 minutes of the game
8.1.2. Registering players based on their weight category and presenting their
competition card
8.1.3. Presenting players based on their weight category in the area where their
weight is evaluated
8.1.4. Advising players to compete with fair play and sport discipline during the
game
8.1.5. The coach should obey the rule of the game and for the sport discipline
8.1.6. Perform ethical code of conducts that are not listed in the rules and
regulations of the game
8.1.7. advising and supporting his/her player during the break
 8.1.8. The coach generally should obey the rules of the game or the competition

8.2. Duties and responsibilities of team leaders

8.2.1. A team leader should come to the playing field before 30 minutes of the
game
8.2.2. Advising players to compete with fair play and sport discipline during the
game
8.2.3. A team leader is the first man in charge for any kind of individual and group
problems posed during the completion of his team
8.2.4. The team leader should obey the rules of the game or the competition

8.3. Duties and responsibilities of the referees

8.3.1. The referees that leads Tigil/Gibgib/ or wrestling cultural sport are 4 in
number. These are:-
8.3.1.1. One main referee
8.3.1.2. One Point scorer referee
8.3.1.3. One time keeper/ controller referee
8.3.1.4. One health Expert referee
8.3.2. Duties and responsibilities of the chief referee
8.3.2.1. Managing the game based on the rules,
8.3.2.2. Starting the game with a whistle or trumpet
8.3.2.3. Facilitating the registration of penalties
8.3.2.4. Letting the point scorer register a player who violates the rules
and pinpoints penalties
8.3.2.5. Carefully managing the game by moving around the playing area.
8.3.2.6. Showing the point to be scored with a sign language to the point
scorer
8.3.2.7. Controlling the appropriateness of players and their wears by
closely working with the point scorer and the time keeper
8.3.2.8. Announcing the winner of the game that is approved and given to
him/her by the point scorer referee
8.3.2.9. The referee should come to the playing field before 30 minutes of
the game
8.3.3. Duties and responsibilities of the point scorer
8.3.3.1. The point scorer should come to the playing field before 30
minutes of the game
 8.3.3.2. The point scorer registers the competitors and checks their
competition cards
8.3.3.3. Registers the sign and symbols shown by the main referee while
sitting in a front place that is easily visible to the main referee
8.3.3.4. Announces when a foul is made on a player to the competitors
and spectators
8.3.3.5. Informs the fouls registered by the players during a break to the
coaches and team leaders
8.3.3.6. Reports the winner at the end of the game to the main referee
8.3.3.7. Let the other referees approve the result of the game at the end of

8.3.4. Duties and responsibilities of the time keeper referee

8.3.4.1. The time keeper referee should come to the playing field before 30
minutes of the game
8.3.4.2. He/she takes a note of the specified time at which the game starts,
breakup or ends.
8.3.4.3. Announces the end of the rounds of the game and when the three
minutes are over with a bell
8.3.4.4. Points down the break time minutes and tell to the main referee
when the break ends up
8.3.5. Duties and responsibilities of the health expert referee
8.3.5.1. The health expert referee should come to the playing field before
30 minutes of the game
8.3.5.2. He/she measures the weight category of competitors and passes
decisions before the start of the game on the appropriateness of the
categories
8.3.5.3. Gives decisions as to weather a player who get injured during the
game can continue the game or not
8.3.5.4. Checks weather players are fit for the competition through working
in collaboration of the referees
8.3.5.5. He/she gives final decisions when given a request about the
appropriateness of the weight category of competitors by the other
referees
Rule Nine
Article 9: Forbidden acts that will lead to penalties for team referees,
leaders and coaches
9.1. Forbidden acts for coaches and team leaders
9.1.1. Coaches and team leaders should report problems during competition based
on the rules and should not go through unnecessary dialogues and violent
acts
9.1.2. Insulting referees who are managing the game with rude words and
misbehaving on them with body languages
9.1.3. Aggravating violent acts and problems after the competitors instead of
calming their players down who are out of the sport discipline and fair play
9.1.4. Insulting verbally or non-verbally, hitting or trying to hit the referees and/or
the committee members of the game
9.1.5. Showing unnecessary acts during the game

9.2. Forbidden acts for the referees of the game

9.2.1. Showing impartiality between competing teams during the decisions
9.2.2. Being corrupted and work with bribes in a bid to benefit one team
9.2.3. Working in the field as a referee after using alcohols, drugs and stimulating
plants
9.2.4. Talking and acting unethically towards competitors, coaches, team leaders
or other officials
9.2.5. Disgracing or not giving the necessary respect to teams and officials of the
game
9.2.6. Giving decisions that are against the rules and regulations of the game
9.2.7. Insulting competitors, coaches, team leaders and members of the committee
that facilitates the game and hitting or trying to hit them
9.2.8. Conducting unnecessary acts that are not listed on the rules and regulations
that are against fair play and the sport discipline
9.3. Penalties
 9.3.1. Penalties for coaches and team leaders
9.3.1.1. A team leader who violates the forbidden acts listed from 9.1.1 to
9.1.5 will be liable from warning to suspension based on the
magnitudes of the acts after seen by the competition and protocol
committee
9.3.1.2. Penalties for the referees of the game
9.3.1.3. A referee who violates the forbidden acts listed from 9.2.1 to 9.2.8
is liable from warning to suspension penalty based on the
magnitude of the violation by the competitions and protocol
committee considering the national referees rules and regulations
Rule Ten
Article 10: End of the game
10.1. The game of Ethiopian wrestling/Gibgib/ or Tigil sport ends:
10.1.1. When a player conducts an act that will lead to a red card, it will be an end
to the game
10.1.2. If a player surrenders or leave the playing field with his own interest
10.1.3. When players finish the three rounds
10.1.4. If the health expert gives a decision that a player is not able to continue the
game due to injury
10.1.5. If a coach shows a sign that his player is not able to withstand the opponent
player
10.1.6. And when the referee decides to stop the game due to the fact that a player
is not able to withstand his opponent even if no sign is shown by a coach.