cocks

Ketut raises cocks for fighting. It is his hobby. His younger brother takes a cock to a fight and gambles on it. It is his hobby. Seeing how much time, energy, money and attention is devoted to these cocks I decided to ask ketut what it's all about. So today, while he was bathing his eight cocks, I sat out in the forest with him and watched how he touches them, caresses them…teaching them to trust him and relax and stay calm so that when they are at a fight and are put in the ring, they won't be nervous. They waste their energy on emotions instead of just witnessing and keeping their power for the attack.

I was amazed at how serious this hobby is. How before he buys a chick to raise as a cock, he "reads their palm" (which is like the thumb on their leg) and if it has a vertical line along with the usual horizontal ones, then it is a sign that he is a leader and will probably win if he has the other necessary tratits. What for example?  A strong build, a beak that is curved like an eagles, long red ears that are a sign of fearlessness, beautiful feathers which make him proud and handsome, a voice which is loud and clear and strong.

The cock fighting in bali came via java. There they used to have cock fights that would last some 30 minutes, where the cock that managed to kill his opponent by use of the sharp needle like nail on the back of his legs, was the winner. The Balinese , went for the shortest and more efficient approach and cut off the sharp nail and decided to tie a sharp blade onto the left leg above where the nail was, and that way the contest would only last a few minutes until the winner had proven his superiority. Ketut believes that because of the adrenalin and testosterone in men, they are geared to be 98% directed towards superiority, compared to women, that are usually only 20% competitive and more naturally get along in groups without having to be better than the other. He believes that the preoccupation with the cock fighting is natural for men, especially since there is  no longer an active army or wars going on in bali. The need for the men to still deal with this natural inner drive within them is filled by the raising, fighting and gambling of cocks.

What happens at a cock fight? Two men decide to challenge each others cock to a duel. The stakes can be even higher than $700 for the quick showdown. A good cock will stand there, attentive to his opponents attempts to attack him, but just quietly dodge them. And then once he knows his opponent has tired and his chance is now, he will jump in the air and with one fell swoop will turn his legs upwards like someone hitting you in the face with their elbow, and the blade will kill or severely injure the opponent. End of competition. The winner gets the money, and also receives the cock which lost, and eats it. Those that have gathered around the fighting ring, may have placed bets with the bookie beforehand, and other than the 20% commission that goes to the bookie, are happy to receive their share of the fight too.

Ketut is good at raising winning cocks. One man was so pleased with the cock that he bought from ketut for $40 that won him $700 a few hours later at the fight, that he even returned the cock to him, so he would continue raising it and be able to sell it to someone else too, since the winner was satisfied with his $40 investment and wasn't really interested in caring for the cock, as keut does so lovingly and attentively. I asked ketut if he didn't have the desire to also win $700 just like that?! And he said "no. I prefer to earn my money by the sweat of my brow. I worked hard, and I get money for that. No gambling in it. If I would succumb to the illusion of the instant $700 I may find myself having to put up that amount if I lost! ".

His brother is a totally difference character than ketut. Ketut is calm, peaceful, reassuring, solid,…his brother is quick, light, playful. He likes to gamble. It is a hobby…thankfully not an addiction. How not an addiction? "He has a certain amount of money in a special account for this hobby of cock fighting and gambling. He can do whatever he wants with that money in connection with his hobby. But if he has a lot of money from a win, he will not go out and buy his wife a ring or gold earrings….since it is "bad money" and he would not want to buy her a gift with it. When he doesn't have money in the account, then he doesn't gamble. He doesn't take money from his regular account to cover this hobby."

The priest down the road has lots of cocks that he raises. I asked if ketut speaks with him about techniques for raising winning cocks. He said yes, that the priest has excellent winners for many years, and whoever buys a cock from him may pay more than three times what they pay to ketut, but it is worth it since he is a very experienced cock raiser and gives a quality cock in return. Suddenly this silly preoccupation by most of the men in bali, took on a new face for me. These cocks showed me their cleverness as they notified each other that the nasty cheeky banana collector that once teased them, was in the neighborhood, as they suddenly started yelling at the top of their lungs until he finished his business with my friends mother. Ketut also claims that besides their good memory, their right brain has been developed to a point that they know how to attack and kill in the quickest and subtle manner. And all of the caressing and stroking and hugging and grooming of these birds allows a venue for the more delicate men, that don't necessarily need to be the winner in a cock fight, are able to satisfy their adrenaline and testosterone by raising a winner. And cocks get killed instead of human beings.