Cultures -- Balinese Cockfighting
...ple, they didn’t exist. However, all of this changed one afternoon, and it all revolved around a cockfight. In order to fully understand the importance and significance of cockfighting to the Balinese people, it’s probably vital to underline the fact that they are illegal, and therefore there is a great risk taken by anyone who is in anyway involved with them. When the Balinese people staged a cockfight during the stay of Greetz and his wife, it was then that things truly changed for the two. After a few minutes the cockfight was raided by police and locals, no matter their public status, ran for their lives. Greetz and his wife did the same for fear of the consequences if caught by the police, they followed a man who was also running away from the police into his home in hopes of shelter. The police did catch up to them, but the man’s wife covered up the entire ordeal by explaining that the Americans were in the home the entire time sharing some tea with the couple, “And we had all been there drinking tea and talking about cultural matters all afternoon and did not know anything about any cockfight”. (308) It was after this event, this cockfight that the Balinese villagers’ attitude towards the Greetz’s had finally changed. The couple was finally seen as a part of the village, they belonged there with the rest of the locals, they took part in a cockfight, and ran away just like everyone else, it was almost as if that simple event brought them all together. After this, Greetz was a regular at the many cockfights that were to come and he goes into detail explaining the importance they have on the lives of the Balinese. Greetz explains throughout his essay that to the Balinese, cockfighting isn’t just something that happens once or twice during the week, it’s a way of life for them. The men who own the cocks, usually spend incredible amounts of time with them, taking care of them, watching out after them, to them the cock is an investment, and yet so much more then just that. “Balinese men, or anyway a large majority of Balinese men, spend an enormous amount of time with their favorites, 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-absorbtion.” (310) Greetz also goes into detail discussing the ways that the cockfights are carried out, how bets are placed, and how relatives, or acquaintances bet for one another. He goes into detail to explain each part of this process, the reason behind all of this ...