Xingu Huka-Huka 

Indigenous Wrestling

Xingu Indigenous Huka-Huka wrestling competitions are part of the Kuarup Ceremony of the Dead. The host community men are challenged by wrestlers from guest communities. Huka- Huka wrestling matches are fast and furious, ending when one wrestler knocks the other one down. The Huka-Huka wrestling competition is traditionally one of the last events of the Kuarup Ceremony and takes place beginning at sunrise after the wake for the dead the previous night. The Kuarup Ceremony of the Dead ends with the Kuarup logs being tossed into a river, representing the departure of the souls of the dead.