Bloodsport in Manila July 1999

If you ever happen to walk the side streets of Manila, you may accidentally stumble upon a rooster pacing nervously about within a constrained radius defined by a taut cord or wire tied to the nearest tree or pole. He is, course, a fighting cock, a warrior in the brutal bloodsport of cockfighting, an activity that most politically correct Westerners immediately condemn as cruel, inhumane, and downright wrong. I myself prefer to avoid such sweeping judgments, opting instead for more-or-less objective observation of a cultural phenomenon that has existed for many centuries and that is not likely to fade away in the face of modernization.

In the Philippines, the word "cockpit" has nothing to do with a jet airplane. In most towns and many Manila barangays, the highlight of the week is the weekend sabong, the weekly fight held at the neighborhood Galyera -- the cockpit. During my first visit to Manila in 1982 I found myself, for reasons now lost in the mists of misguided history, spectating at the Philippine Cockers Club in Santa Ana. As the only Kano¹ in sight, I drew more than my fair share of double takes and surprised greetings of "Hi Joe." However, the locals were too engrossed in the action to stare for long, and after I jostled my way down towards the front so I could see first hand what was going on I was pretty much left alone.

The air was one of intense excitement and concentration as the bettors carefully examined the cocks, stretched their wings, and felt their muscles. Bets were communicated with hand signs, nothing ever written down -- I later learned that four fingers raised meant 40 pesos, horizontal fingers signalled hundreds, and fingers pointed downwards signified thousands, although I suppose that might vary from pit to pit. Most of the gamblers carried talismans, rosaries, or other good luck charms, and most engaged in age-old rituals to bring about suwerte (from the Spanish suerte, good luck).

Although I enjoyed watching the crowd and sharing the buzz, the action in the pit was much less to my liking and (truth be told) made me a bit nauseous. Make no mistake about it -- cockfighting is a shockingly brutal blood sport, even more so in the Philippines than elsewhere. In most countries where the sport is practiced (Ireland, Colombia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, to name a few), the birds fight with their natural leg spurs sharpened or, at most, icepick-like "gaffs" made of steel attached to their legs. In the Philippines, the cocks have razor-blade gaffs as long as 4 inches long affixed to the back of their legs. Most fights last only a few seconds, and Filipino cocks seldom make it to a second fight. A third is virtually unheard of.

The origins of cockfighting can be traced back to antiquity; archeological evidence suggests that people were already pitting one bird against another in fights to the death as long ago as 2,000 BC in India. Subsequently, the activity spread rapidly throughout the Middle East and Asia, including the islands of the Philippine archipelago long before Magellan landed.

Cockfighting was pretty much accepted by the Spanish, who sensed that it represented yet another effective tool for colonial domination and an outlet for potentially rebellious energy on the part of the oppressed. The Spanish influence is evident in cockpit slang: logro (odds), perada (inside bet), tasador (matchmaker), and casador (betting master). One of the most evocative portraits of the sport, written in 1887, remains Chapter 47 of José P. Rizal's Noli me Tangere, fittingly entitled "The Cockpit."

Poor Filipinos in the provinces stage their fights between cheap native birds. Top fighters in the cities, however, rely on cocks that are specially bred to fight. As young chicks, they lead a privileged life indeed. No ordinary chicken mash for them, they feast on grains, ground meat, and fresh vegetables; they also drink milk and are given a steady regimen of vitamin supplementation. Whether that is sufficient recompense for their drastically short fighting careers is an open question. Leading domestic breeders include Jun Santiago (husband of the influential Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago), the Speaker of the House, and the brother of Cory Aquino.

One of the more interesting quirks of the business is that top American breeders from places like Louisiana and Oklahoma now come to Manila regularly to participate in cockfighting events. The Philippines is widely known in cockfighting circles as having the most competitive cocks in the world. The international breeders don't come here for the money their birds might win (pots are generally small), but rather to build their reputation and sell their birds. It is estimated that the number of roosters fought and killed in the Philippines ranges from 7 to 13 million each year; when you take into account the fact that the price for an imported "trio" made up of a quality rooster and two breeding hens starts at US $1,000 and can go up to $2,500 or more, the numbers make the cost-benefit analysis pretty clear.

The pinnacle of Philippine cockfighting takes place in the "World Slasher Derby," generally held at Araneta Coluseum. I find it somewhat ironic that this greatest of all bloodthirsty spectacles should take place at the site of the Thrilla in Manila, an event I watched on closed circuit television from Reno, Nevada in late 1975. Ali and Frazier traded punches for 14 rounds until Frazier became almost totally blind and his head had swollen to the size of a small pumpkin; his manager, Eddie Futch, finally, mercifully, refused to let him answer the bell for Round 15. Ali later said it was the closest thing to death he'd ever want to experience.

Now, this little commentary may not seem on the surface to have much relevance for the contemporary international businessperson. For that matter, few of the educated Filipino executives and managers we interact with in Makati hotels or Ortigas Avenue high rises spend their Sunday afternoons at the Galyera. Nevertheless, it never hurts to develop an understanding of all aspects of the culture in which one is operating -- including things that might be considered distasteful or unacceptable in one's culture of origin.

1. Short for "Amerikano" slang, usually used derogatorily