In the aftenoon we decide to take a walk to the ricefields next to the hotel. People were very friendly and we were even invited to try planting for ourselves. Nobody dared to step with his feets in the water so we only have been taken pictures.
On our way we noticed a kind of arena. We were invited to take a look and it was very surprising sport, a cockfight; a duel between two cocks that will end only when one of the parties is dead . In Belgium it is forbidden, but in every town in the Philippines is an arena. and on Sundays and public holidays they are fighting ( tupadas ).
The cockfight is a typical male affair and is for Filipinos, the place to gamble. A very important person at a cockfight is the’ kristo . He stands as a Christ figure with arms raised in the middle of the arena and is involved in placing bets with the crowd. The amount of the bid is shown trough gestures with the hands. The losers throws his money tot the Kristo after each battle. The right leg of the cock gets a tari (a sharp knife) .Before the cocks are released one takes them a moment longer to get stirred. Because the birds put up their feathers , they look a lot more impressive .
If the actual battle begins , the audience is almost as excited as the cocks itself and it is really noisy in the arena . Often the battle has been settled within a few seconds. Well I didn’t like it at all.
Cunina Familiarization Trip 2014 