Originally developed as a training methodology for wrestlers, Mallakhamb’s own name entwines Sanskirt and Hindi to literally means “pole wrestling.” The ritual of greasing both the equipment and athlete in castor oil mirrors the Indian kushti wrestling tradition of dousing both ring and wrestler in ghee.
The climbing, joyfulness, and irreverence of Mallakhamb are said to be informed by the spirit of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, and its strange apparatus reflect his anatomy: the pole is his phallus (which is why Pole has no female practitioners) and the rope is his tail (which is why the rope is exclusively climbed with toes, as using the soles of feet would be disrespectful).
Four years ago, the vuvuzela was having a moment. An “instrument of torture” alone, a “swarm of angry bees” in a pack, the South African plastic horn droned endlessly in the background of World Cup games. (Having attended a World Cup match with my vuvuzela, I can explain and defend the practice—blowing a big loud horn is really goddamn fun.) While audiences at home complained, officials for this year’s World Cup in Brazil had a different reaction—they needed one of their own.
Enter the caxirola. Designed by homegrown musical icon Carlinhos Brown specifically for the World Cup, the caxirola is a plastic shaker with finger grips that was certified by the Brazilian Ministry of Sport and FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, as the “official noisemaker” of this summer’s tournament.
