of metal talons, spurs, and kristos

it was an arena of jeers and shouts almost done in unison. it sounded like a chant of about a thousand men anxious to win. it was my firsthand experience of what a cockfighting arena was, of what really happens in a cockfighting match or simply 'sabong'.i was with my uncle when i went there, he served as my 'sabong' guide. there was a registration fee/entrance fee, Php 100.00, probably for using the facility/building. at the cockfighting match proper, you get to choose between 'llamado and dehado', 'meron o wala' in the vernacular. i didn't quite get how the betting part works but how the game works was quite simple, even violent, the name of the game itself tells us what occurs in the match. two poor creatures are set to fight until their death or (seldomly) injury. by attaching spurs or metal talons on one of their feet, serving as their weapons of death. the blades were too sharp, just one strike after a clash makes the fight quite bloody. before a match begins, the bell rings, to signal the placing of bets among those who will join. and the chanting/shouting begins, 'wala!wala!wala!', 'meron!meron!meron!', 'siete dies!' siete dies!', 'dies!' 'dies!' 'dies!' making bodily gestures while shouting, the scenario is similar to what happens in the stock market. time is of the essence.ranging from a minimum amount of Php20.00 to probably about Php200.00. a match lasts for about a minute, the 'sentenciador' or referee raises the winning creature. this is also the time when bets/wagers are settled by handing/passing the money to the person involved in the wager. the transaction is quite fast, in a matter of three minutes the arena is ready for the next match. i won the first four matches, i forgot how many matches i betted in, but i didn't spend a single peso. i got to take home Php 200.00 just by choosing which creature could win for about 3 hours. i spent the money to buy 4 kilos of good rice and half a kilo of fish. what did i learn from that experience? it's quite simple, if there's an easier way or if there's a short-cut to double one's money, even if it's a gamble or a game of chance, people would try to bet. gambling is just as normal as the day.i didn't find the experience a potential addiction or a possible vice for me. another reason why i went to check the place was to see what 'kristo's' (christ's) do, sounds really biblical, but their role is to take bets, they are like middlemen/brokers in the arena. and i heard it's not difficult to become a 'kristo'. it really sounds interesting how they made the word, it's not even close to whatever the real Christ did.probably the same when it comes to the human aspect but quite far from what they do. i thought there's only one kristo in every arena, but i just found out that there a lot of them. i thought they were some sort of prophetic characters, i thought they have the answer as to which creature will win the fight. since cockfighting is a gamble, there is nothing redemptive about the 'kristo's' there. there is nothing redemptive......

(image from natgeo)