Cockfighting is a religious obligation at every Balinese temple festival or religious ceremony. Sidemen, Bali, temple ceremony.

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Cockfighting is a very old tradition in Balinese Hinduism. In Bali, cockfights, known as tajen, are practiced in an ancient religious purification ritual to expel evil spirits. This ritual, a form of animal sacrifice, is called tabuh rah ("pouring blood"). The purpose of tabuh rah is to provide an offering (the blood of the losing chicken) to the evil spirits. Cockfighting is a religious obligation at every Balinese temple festival or religious ceremony. Cockfights without a religious purpose are considered gambling in Indonesia. Women are generally not involved in the tabuh rah process.

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Size: 4256px × 2780px
Location: Sidemen, Bali, Indonesia
Photo credit: © Edmund Lowe / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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