. Philippine life in town and country. xicans established it in the islands—just as the Englishintroduced into China the national vice, opium-smoking—but it is most probable that the Malaysthemselves developed the sport to its present proportions. In the eastern part of the Philippines,there were no cock-fights in the time of Pigafetta,who saw the first in Palawan: They have largefighting-cocks; through superstition, they do noteat them; they breed them only to make themfight, betting on the contestants. The owner ofthe winning cock receives the amount [laid]/For a European, it is a highly rep
. Philippine life in town and country. xicans established it in the islands—just as the Englishintroduced into China the national vice, opium-smoking—but it is most probable that the Malaysthemselves developed the sport to its present proportions. In the eastern part of the Philippines,there were no cock-fights in the time of Pigafetta,who saw the first in Palawan: They have largefighting-cocks; through superstition, they do noteat them; they breed them only to make themfight, betting on the contestants. The owner ofthe winning cock receives the amount [laid]/For a European, it is a highly repugnant spec-tacle. The circular space about the arena isreserved for the public, which is composed ofIndians, sweating through all the pores of theirbodies, and showing in their faces the evil pas-sions that dominate them. The cocks are armedwith very sharp curved knives, some three inchesin length, which make a deep and horrible wound,causing the death of one of the combatants. Thecock that turns tail like a coward is stripped of. Typical Filipino Community 59 its feathers while still alive. The sums that passhands are large in proportion to the means of thegamesters. It is evident that this sort of diver-sion demoralises more and more a people of itselfgiven to idleness and vice and that is easily ledby the impressions of the moment. The Indiancannot resist the temptation to get money withoutworking for it. Many load themselves withdebts on account of the losses which they suffer,and the bandits and pirates are in great partruined gamblers. Finally, we have the description of this brutal -ising pastime and social evil written by the chiefprophet of the new reform party of Filipinos. Inone of the chapters of his novel Noli Me Tangere,Jose Rizal describes the Sunday cockpit of thePhilippines as follows: To sanctify Sunday afternoon in the Philip-pines, they generally go to the cockpit in thePhilippines, as they go to the bull-fight in cock-fight, a passion introdu
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