Cockfighting | Sacrifies
Cockfights are a regular feature of temple ceremonies - a combination of sacrifices, sport and gambling. Men keep fighting cock as prized pets, carefully grooming and preparing them for their brief moment of glory or defeat.
At the festival, the cock are matched, a lethally sharp metal spur is tied to one leg, there’s a crescendo of shouting and betting, the birds are pushed against each other to stir them up, then they’re released and the feathers fly. It’s usually over in seconds a slash of the spur and one rooster is down and dying. After the bout, the successful gamblers collect their pay-offs and the winning owner gets to take the dead rooster home for his cooking pot. When traveling in rural Bali, you will know there’s a cockfight nearby when you see scores of vehicles and scooters parked near a temple but nobody in sight. The men are usually backed behind the compound.
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