While riding a scooter near the village of Donsol in the Philippines, at some random spot by the road, we noticed an accumulated crowd raising quite a fuss. They were clustered around a small arena where a seemingly important event was just taking place. Some kind of sport, was the first idea. As we approached closer, we figured out it was cockfighting, seeing a big poster that displayed two angry-looking roosters.
We drove into the yard and parked the bike to have a closer look. I’m not by any chance a cockfighting – or any sort of fighting – whether animals or humans involved – fan, but the novelty of it excited my curiosity. So we decided to check it out.
Upon approaching the entrance of the arena, we found that an entry fee applied in order to enter. That’s when we’d be turning back, if the gatekeeper hadn’t invited us to get in for free.
The small fighting ring in the center was covered with sand and surrounded by a tier of seats where as many as a hundred men were seated – not one woman I remember of. By the one side of the ring stood a dais wherefrom three serious and important-looking men – some kind of judges I reckon – surveyed the ring. We took a seat and waited.
Two men and two cocks walked into the ring. The men approached each other and, holding the cocks by the tail, they let them exchange some kind of introductory jabs. I didn’t quite get it what that was about but my best guess is that it was a sort of power demonstration aiming to convince the spectators.
The mob went nuts. They began screaming all together while waving banknotes in their hands. The match was about to start.
The contestants removed that long elongated metallic thing that I had noticed being tied on one of the legs of each rooster. It turned out to be a cover for the razors they encased. They drove a whetstone back and forth along the razor a few times and they let the cocks on their own.
The birds seemed to remain indifferent for a few moments. But then, all of a sudden, they dashed against each other fiercely. A few seconds later – much less than I had expected – one of them lied flat in the middle of the ring. His owner quickly grabbed him and walked away. A guy passed briefly with a broom and a dustpan, removing feathers and bloodstains, and the next pair entered.
I was attending, rather shocked by the cruelty of the event. A dude stood and smoked beside me. “You have this in your city?” he asked me. “Nah, it’s illegal,” I responded. “Are you going to bet?” he asked again. “Certainly not.”
We stayed and watched three fights, mostly for recording them in video. Then we left because the thing was getting nauseous. Apparently, the fights were to continue throughout the whole day.
Accommodation and Activities in The Philippines
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