Cockfighting in Bali rampant despite ban

Cockfighting in Bali rampant despite ban

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR (Bali): The sun was rising as the backyard of Puri Satria Denpasar rapidly filled with hundreds of roosters from Lombok, Banyuwangi, Jember and Situbondo.

The site, the scene of the Badung Battle in 1908 (Perang Puputan Badung), is occupied by sellers of many varieties of birds, precious stones and antiques. Better known as Pasar Burung (bird market), it is the place to buy fighting roosters in Bali.

"Everyday about four hundred roosters are sold here," said Nyoman Suadra, 38, a graduate of the University of Udayana in Denpasar, Bali. He started selling fighting roosters last year.

"All cockfight gamblers in Bali come here for their roosters," said Suadra.

Over a dozen middlemen wait for traders from outside Bali to enter the market. These inter-island traders generally sell their roosters for Rp 35,000 to Rp 50,000. The middlemen sell the birds for Rp 40,000 to Rp 60,000 each. Prices in the villages range between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000.

Profits are not all that large when you consider the cost of caring for the roosters until they can be sold. But, if a rooster has outstanding traits -- locally known as Ook (beard), Brumbun (hair crown), Dimpil (double claws) -- it might sell for Rp 200,000, explained Suadra.

Musleh, 45, who is from Banyuwangi in East Java, has been in the business for six years.

Banyuwangi roosters are cheaper than the ones from Lombok. They fetch Rp 20,000 at the bird market.

Although these cockfighting is officially prohibited, busy cockfighting arenas are spread all over Denpasar where millions of rupiah circulates daily.

"If it is run individually, the profits will be enjoyed personally. If the fight is run by a banjar (village community), profits will be used for community development," said Suadra.

The banjar openly use the illegal fights to fund local development. Other fights are held in private yards, away from the public eye.

"If a government security official is on his way, we bribe him with a Rp 10,000 banknote, and everything will be all right," said a fight organizer in Panjer, Denpasar.

Several fight organizers admitted that they are protected by army personnel.

The police have troubles curbing the gambling because it is regarded as a tradition. The Rp 10,000 bribe also helps keep nosy officials at bay.

In Belantih village, Bangli and the villages of Tianyar and Kubu in Karangasem, cockfights are held in isolated fields, far from the government's watchful eyes.

The gamblers place sentries to stand guard and report when government officials approach. The gamblers then quickly gather their roosters and move to another location.

When they arrive at a new place, the group starts yelling to attract challengers.

"In Belantih, cockfights are like a ritual," explained a physician who served there in the 1980s. Most people grow coffee, corn and casava, and others raise cows. They don't have a steady income.

"They could loose Rp 250,000 in just one fight. But, when they must see a doctor, they like to postpone paying the bill," said the doctor, bursting into laughter.

In Kubu, cockfights are reportedly supported by members of the Kubu police.

"You have to see for yourself. Does it make sense to you if we say that the police chief is raising many fighting roosters?" said a source, pointing an accusing finger at the office of the Kubu police chief.

The Kubu police chief confirmed that he raised fighting roosters as a relaxing hobby.

A letter was sent to the Vice President's complaint box about the cockfights in Kubu.

"The letter was sent two years ago, but there has been no response so far," said one of the villagers.

Residents in Karangasem regency have also complained about gambling at cockfights. From April to June this year, for instance, more than ten anonymous letters were sent to the Karangasem police office. Others, who also preferred to remain anonymous, wrote to the Your Letters sections of two dailies in Denpasar, stating that cockfights were spreading into most villages while the police were not doing anything about it.

"They are deliberately looking for bribes," said one of the letters.

Lt. Col. Yeremias Sooai, chief of the Karangasem police, promised, "We will punish members (of the police) who have committed wrongdoings."

However, he was very cautious about the fight organizers. "If they are proven wrong, we will drag them to court. But, I have to be careful, because in Bali there is this ritual, the Tabuh Rah, which is much like cockfighting," he said.

He confided that the fight organizers have been caught many times, have appeared in court and have been fined lightly.

The gamblers aren't overly worried about the police chief's threats.

"The police chief can threaten as much as he likes. But, if the subordinates do not follow the rules, what do you do? What gambler will tell on a policeman who is on the take?" asked an old cockfight gambler in Kubu.

A banjar in Penebel actually applied for and obtained a police permit to hold cockfights for one week.

"We would like to build a road of our own that will cost Rp 12 million," explained the village head who asked not to be named. He said that he would easily make Rp 300,000 per day from the cockfights.

"However, we have to deduct Rp 50,000 from the amount to give to officials who come in shifts. I would feel uncomfortable if I didn't give them anything," said this village chief.

Ketut Wiana, head of the Bali Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia, maintained that, "Cockfights are alive among people with low educations. They are wrong if they think of cockfighting as traditional. I am certain that all religions do not allow their followers to gamble."

Wiana is aware that gambling on cockfights won't go away immediately.

"If people were educated, they would be ashamed to gamble," insisted Wiana.

According to Wiana, many addicted gamblers are really uneducated Hindus. Their sense of shame is less developed; some play dice and other games of chance during religious rituals.

Reality and holy matters flow into one in Bali. The culture of Balinese Hinduism is full of ancient dynamic animism traditions.

"We cannot imagine how they will wipe out the rite Tabuh Rah since it was mentioned in lontar scripture," said Ketut Sumadi, an observer of Hindu culture in Bali.

Sometimes holy men, whose bodies have been seized by some deity or god, will mouth the requests of the respective gods. The gods might ask for a gamelan performance, shadow puppet play or a cockfight.

"This certainly can't be refused," said Sumadi.

Cockfight gamblers usually hold a festive Tabuh Rah ceremony. The rite calls for only three fights, with the remaining pairs of roosters regarded as additional fights. Even though the government has banned gambling -- including cockfights -- true gamblers will never give up their passion.