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.