To watch a cockfight can truly be once-in-a-lifetime experience !
Not only it was a little scary…two cocks matched against one another in a bloody
battle that could cause the death of one of them…it was also deemed as an important event by most
Balinese.
Many foreigners complained about this match because they felt sorry for the
animals or considered it as a mean way of having fun.
As a ritual, however, the cockfight provides another
opportunity to appease the spirits with the spilling of blood.
The cockfight is a very old pastime in Bali and if you know where to look, there is one
going on everyday.
In the old days, people gambled heavily during a cockfight, bet on one of
the cocks they thought would win the match.
Cockfights, and indeed, all forms of gambling, have at least theoretically been
illegal in Indonesia for some years now.
It is legal, however, to stage public cockfights in connection
with temple ceremonies and other religious occasions.
