Between Tatami Mats and Sawdust: The Ambiguity of Breton Wrestling Sites

The competitive schedule of gouren, Breton wrestling, is divided into two seasons. During winter, the wrestlers compete in indoor sports halls, while in summer they wrestle en plein air, in outdoor sawdust arenas, confronting each other in a "traditional" contest called "Mod Kozh" ("old-fashioned"). The structure and the symbolic references of these two kinds of tournaments clearly differ. This article focuses on the different processes of cultural management of space and history carried out by wrestlers in each of these competitive patterns, in an apparently contradictory frame between modernity and tradition, globalization and localization. In fact, the winter indoor sports arenas can be described as kinds of "non-places," impersonal and strictly operational. These settings are similar in every part of the world and represent the stages of many other modern sports—not only gouren. On the other hand, Mod Kozh tournaments take place in typical and recognizable settings, which clearly evoke the traditional features of gouren and immediately reflect the stereotypical representation of Breton culture and history. In such places, athletes immediately feel "at home." In fact, Brittany's landscape has represented their "natural" habitat since Breton wrestling was first practiced by their ancestors, the Celts. Nevertheless, Mod Kozh tournaments are actually a more recent re-invention than indoor competitions. This article describes how Breton wrestlers use the cultural representations of spaces and "landscapes" to define their activity, and themselves, as authentically Breton. In fact, these representations both enact and contribute to shaping Breton identity, even now that gouren has been transformed into a competitive modern sport.