MY SARISARI STORE

The wounds of the victorious rooster will be stitched up by a “cock doctor” while the talunan or loser is the winner's trophy ... or dinner.

Directly after the fight, money change hands. The cash (crumpled bills) is sometimes thrown to and by the kristos to their respective bettors.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

The sentensiyador, or referee, picks both combatants up and lets the victor deliver its obligatory two pecks on the vanquished.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Those two pecks are a must for the winning cock. If the bird fails to deliver both pecks, it loses. One peck, however, results in a draw.

Click image to enlarge.

A bird is declared as dead, when it gives no life sign after three times of lifting. Most fights only  last for a few seconds or a couple of minutes.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Basically speaking, there are two types of battlecocks, the flyer and the grounder. The flyer is more sensational as it fights from the air delivering multiple blows at sewing machine needle-speed. The grounder relies on footwork delivering single but extra powerful blows. In the air, a grounder will be no match against a flier. But if the flier takes wing, the grounder does not follow. It merely waits for the flier to come down and a gamecock is most vulnerable before it touches the ground, when its legs are momentarily tied to the landing operation.

Click image to enlarge.

The casador is the manager responsible for the organization of the fights. The owners of the roosters place their bets with him. He is paid by the owner of the cockpit.

Click image to enlarge.

Both fighting cocks are shown to the public.  The cock which is llamado gets the higher odds, while the underdog is termed dejado.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

There is suddenly an incredible frenzy. Since the bets are done orally, the cockpit starts to get noisy before every fight. The public place its bets with the Kristos. They are the persons that will arrange your bet with a second party and expect a tip if you win. They are mnemonic wonders. They remember every face, every bet and at what odds. When the cockpit reaches a decibel as to which oral transmission become impractical, handsign take the place of language. Fingers denote figures with their denominations determined by the position: if held upwards they are in the denomination of tens, horizontaly they denote hundreds, downwards they represent thousands. Five fingers pointing up signals 50 pesos, sidewards 500, and downwards it becomes 5,000. Pump your palm twice and you have wagered ten thousand.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

In essence the cockpit looks like a theater in the round. At the center is the arena around which sit the spectators. The building is very functional and there is criss-cross ventilation through big openings in the walls.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Razor-sharp blades, or gaffs, are attached to the roosters’ heels by a professional gaffer (taga-tari)  whose job it is to choose the correct blade and to attach it at the proper angle and height wherein the rooster can inflict maximum mayhem with a minimum amount of movement and effort.

Heeling is an important aspect of cockfighting. It is the knife (tari) tied to the gamecock that kills the opponent. It spells the difference between victory and defeat.
 

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.


Click image to enlarge.

The ulutan or matching section is the place inside a cockpit where the cocker intends to match his rooster with a worthy opponent. After a suitable adversary is found, the two gamblers agree to set the match and bet. As in boxing, the protagonists are matched by weight.

Click image to enlarge.

Click image to enlarge.

Dubbing is the removal of a stag’s comb and wattles. A stag intended for fighting is dubbed because the comb and wattles distract a bird while it is fighting. It is also easy for an opponent to peck on these putting the undubbed battle cock in disadvantage.
A cock intended for fighting is dubbed when it is 7 to 8 months old. Dubbing is usually done using a pair of surgical scissors, a very sharp pair of ordinary scissors or a razor-sharp blade.
The comb and wattles are cut at their base, so that when the wounds heal, the stag has a very neat appearance.

Source: sabong.net.ph

Because roosters do not have sweat glands, the loss of these body parts deprives them of the ability to cool themselves. Some cockers cut off the birds' spurs, which are the natural bony protrusions on the legs that serve as roosters' natural weapons, so that more deadly, artificial weapons can be strapped to their legs.

Stimulants, hormones, amphetamines, blood-clotting drugs and other drugs are given to the birds as a "boost" against multiple knife wounds and to make the fighting cocks more agressive.

In his anthropology paper, "Deep Play: Notes On the Balinese Cockfight" published three decades ago, U.S. anthropologist Clifford Geertz noted that Balinese men “spend an enormous amount of time with their favorites (fighting cocks): grooming them, feeding them, discussing them, trying them out against one another or just gazing at them with a mixture of rapt admiration and dreamy self-absorption.” Geertz’s research focused on sabong-crazy Balinese men, but he might as well be describing a typical Pinoy sabungero.

After all, in the Philippines as in Bali, sabong is more than just a pastime among inveterate gamblers. Sabong is deeply entrenched in the Philippine culture that is estimated between eight and 10 million Filipinos, or roughly 10 percent of the total population are sabungeros.

A cockpit, along with a school, the municipal hall and the church, are among the key structures that one usually sees in a typical Philippine municipality. And in a country where there’s a huge gap between the rich and the poor, sabong serves as an equalizer. Politicians, businessmen, yuppies, laborers and peasants –- all of them can enjoy, bet, win, lose or just get infected by the tremendous energy generated by an exciting cockfight.

Sabong also has several functions in Philippine society, according to Michael Tan, chairman of the anthropology department at the University of the Philippines.

“Sabong isn’t just about the fighting cock and the sabungero,” he says. “It’s about sociability, pagsama sa barkada (going with one’s group). A cockpit is also a political area, politicians go there as well. Doon din siya inaawitan ng mga constituents niya (That’s also where his or her constituents approach him).”

(Source: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism)