Cock Fighting

A few years back I took a trip up the river to Kapit in central Borneo. The boat stopped at numerous ports drooping off and picking up people, goods and to my surprise roosters. They were in separate cages and everyone looked at the birds and cackled in a language I did not understand. The owner debarked with his birds and wandered off into the brush. I have since wondered about those birds and came across an article by Benedict Sadin in the 1959 Sarawak Museum Journal .
He explained that cock fighting was a ritual and not a bunch of guys, high on Tuak (a rice wine) betting on their favorite bird to win. The roosters were outfitted with spurs to inflict as much damage as possible in this blood sport which is now illegal in Borneo but still occurs as the newspaper occasionally announces the police break up cock fighting rings.
As we all know, chickens and roosters originated on Borneo island and spread through out the world. It would be natural the local people would have knowledge of the husbandry of this bird.
Sandin states the bird is used in the celebrations of the Gawai Antu, a festival that honors the arrival of the spirits of the deceased. Once the date is set, people round up the finest cocks and bring them to the verandah of headman. Here, the roosters are challenged and the dead one is the awarded to the victor’s owner to eat.
Another celebration, Gawai Burong, the festival which observes the arrival of the Sengalang Burong. The Sengalang Burong are a mythical family where cock fighting is held on the drying platform of the longhouse. Here again the cocks are rounded up and the fighting commences.
Another time that cock fighting was used was in the death of a warrior. Antu Gerasi was known to wander around at this time. Antu Gerasi was/ is a bad spitrit and needed to be appeased. He is also an intergral part of Sarawak Malay culture.
Antu Gerasi was a giant, three times the size of a man. He is covered with rough shaggy hair and has eyes as about the size of saucers. He has huge teeth and a deformed head. He is always seen hunting at night, especially during the full moon. He is after a pig but occasionally takes a man ifthe man disobeys his dreams. Cock fighting must be included in the burial of the warrior. Hantu Gerasi is also part of the Sarawak Malay Culture.
The Christian missionarys also promoted cock fighting. To discourage raiding on the part of the Ibans, they always named one rooster as the traditional enemy and one as the raiders. This is thought to have settled the blood lust of the people.
When money came to the Dayaks, betting was placed on the roosters. As the sport bled into the Chinese culture gambling became a way of staving off boredom. The Malays also partook in the action.

From: Cock Fighting: The Dayak National Game by Benedict Sandin in the Sarawak Museum Journal,1959

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