A Folkloric Study of Cockfighting in Northern Utah
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-1986 Feathers and Steel: A Folkloric Study of Cockfighting in Northern Utah Jesse Lloyd Walker Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Walker, Jesse Lloyd, "Feathers and Steel: A Folkloric Study of Cockfighting in Northern Utah" (1986). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 4983. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4983 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FEATHERS AND STEEL: A FOlKLORIC STUDY OF COCKfiGHTING IN NORTHERN UTAH by Jesse Lloyd Walker A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in History Approved: UTAH STAT£ UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 1986 i i DEDICATION I want first of all to thank my wife for her faith in me as a person and encouragement in this endeavor. As in all things I do this would have been impossible without her aid and support. I also want to acknowledge Clyde Milner, my mentor and friend who first introduced me to the fascinating world of folklore. A whole new view of the world was opened to me through the vistas I have explored in my study of folklore. A warm heartfelt thanks is also due the close fraternity of men known as cockers. I was and still am a member of that fraternity and have attempted to present a folk study of the care, breeding and fighting of the battle cock in a nonsensational, straightforward way. Lastly I pay tribute to the feathered warriors themselves, those brave, beautiful battle cocks who live and die in a spirit of unsurpassed ferocity. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION.. • • • . • . • . • • . • . • • . • . i i LIST OF FIGURES.................................................. iv ABSTRACT. • • • . • . • . • . • • . • . • . v Chapter I. HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF COCKFIGHTING.................... 1 II. NOTES ON FIELDWORK........................................ 10 II I. FOLKWAYS.. • • . • . • . • . 21 IV. COCKERS AS A FOLK GROUP............... • • . • . • . • . • . 56 ENDNOTES. • • • . • • . • . • . • • • . • • . • • . • • . • • . • . • . • • . • . • • . • 62 BIBL !OGRAPHY....... • . • . • . • • . • . • . • . • . 65 APPENDICES....................................................... 67 iv L1 ST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Carrying box. • . 39 v ABSTRACT Feathers and Steel: A Folkloric Study of Cockfighting in Northern Utah by Jesse Lloyd Walker, t1aster of Science Utah State University, 1986 r~ajor Professor: Clyde Hil ner. II Department: History The scope of this thesis is to make a statement on the sport of cockfighting as it is practiced in the counties of northern Utah. It is a sport that has a long and colorful history, a unique body of lore and is practiced by serious, dedicated men. Cockfighting history emanated from to the ~lanu code of India, through the Greek and Roman civilizations, spreading from there both east and west til it girdled the globe. The Roman traditions largely influ~nced the English Cockers who brought their sport to the American colonies. The southern gentry were quick to adopt the sport, where it continues to flourish to this day. The sport spread west with the frontier and found its way to Utah early in the state's history. The Utah cockers follow the traditions of the southern cockers with some influence from the Mexican methods. I was introduced to cockfighting at age fourteen and have been a devotee since. Through my studies in folklore I developed a keen interest in the body of folklore inherent in the sport. The methods of feeding , conditioning and fighting the battle cock are greatly influenced by folk practice. The concept I have labeled "folklaw" is also present as it applies to cockfighting. vi The folklaw concept is the way the tension is resolved between the folk group engaged in an illegal sport and the law enforcement arm of the parent society. The code of the cockers is also protected in some degree by the same enforcement arm. The cockers function as a folk group by passing tradition, craft ways and tales from one generation to the next. Because of the illegality of their sport, the cocker groups have a natural insularity. This makes for group coherence and integrity. The cocker groups have a rich body of lore and ways that needs to be observed in the light of reason and impartiality rather than in the glare of media sensationalism. This study attempts to fulfill that purpose. (149 pages) CHAPTER I KISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF COCKFIGHTING Cockfighting is one of the oldest documented sports in existence. The Hanu code of India makes reference to the care, breeding and fighting of the Asil, one of the oldest pure breeds of fighting cock in the world.l The Manu code is believed to be dated between 1200 B.C. and 900 B.C. The code of Kammurabi is also said to contain instructions concerning cockfighting.2 Cockfighting probably started in India where the wild game fowl was domesticated and selectively bred to produce the fighting game-cock.3 From India the sport spread east and west. In each direction, a different way of fighting evolved. Toward the east, the cocks fought bare heeled. Some shaping and sharpening of the natural spur was not uncommon but the cocks were largely left natural. Through selective breeding the combs and wattles were gradually reduced in size. Not only are the combs and wattles a natural place for the cock to hold his opponent while spurring, but also they bleed profusely when cut. Blood from a comb can blind the wounded cock thus making him ineffective. The sport of cockfighting spread east to the Philippine Islands where it became a national mania. A World War II veteran, who today lives in Provo, Utah, related the following incident. "While I was stationed in the islands I saw cockfights going on all day. Everybody, old men to boys carried a cock around under his arm. They were fighting all over the place . Course the army boys would gather round and egg em on and bet on the fights. Some of those old pagpa-sans made a hell of a lot of money on those old roosters." Even though outlawed in the Philippines today, cockfighting is 2 still popular and widely practiced. The cockers have largely left the bare-heeled tradition and use the Filippino slasher spur (see Appendix 1 for cocking terms). They also import cocks, breeding fowls and eggs as demonstrated in letters written to The Gamecock (See Appendix 2). The eastern tradition has been kept alive on the island of Bali. Clifford Geertz examined these cockfights in his essay "Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight.• As Geertz reports, other than the addition of steel spurs the fights follow the eastern tradition. The two cocks are placed by their handlers • •• facing one another in the center of the ring. A coconut pierced with a small hole is placed in a pail of water, in which it takes about twenty-one seconds to sink, a period known as tjeng and marked at begfnnfng and end by the beating of a slit gong. Within moments [after the cocks start fighting] one or the other drives home a solid blow with his spur . S The handlers will then pick up their birds and prepare them to resume the match. With the birds again in the hands of the handlers, the coconut is now sunk three times after which the cock which has landed the blow must be set down to show that he is firm, a fact he demonstrates by wandering around the ring for a coconut sink. The coconut is then sunk twice more and the fight must recommence.6 The rules of the Balinese cockfight are written on palm leaf manuscript and passed from father to son.7 The general lore of cock handling and fighting are part of the cultural tradition of the villages. The eastern betting system is one in which odds are automatically given. The bettors on the most favored cock give odds to the ones who cover the bet.B In the Philippines a man called the Cristus stands in the pit with his arms outstretched and with finger motions matches bettors across the pit from each other. When the betting is concluded he drops his arms, leaves the pit and the fight 3 commences. The armies of Alexander the Great enhanced the western spread of cockfighting. When they reached the eastern limits of their empire, the soldiers quickly adopted the sport and took it back to the Mediterranean area with them. With the rise of the Roman culture in the Mediterranean basin the Romans adopted cockfighting as they did everything else Greek.9 The Roman soldiers used the sport as a way to pass idle time in camp and further refined the sport by adding a metal cutting spur to make the cocks more efficient killers.lO War is said to be ninety percent boredom and ten percent sheer terror. The Roman soldier and others who have followed him filled his ninety percent with many diversions, one of which was cockfighting. The Roman armies spread the sport westward. It was perhaps a Roman fighting cock that crowed when Peter denied Christ in Jerusalem. As the Roman legal system was developed and refined they also codified the rules governing cockfighting. The Roman codex of law that became the blueprint of the legal heritage of western civilization is still followed in cockfighting. The rules most American cockers use to govern their matches are adaptations of English rules which in turn followed the Roman form.l1 The rules the cockers use in northern Utah are either HcCall's Rules, or Wortham's Hodern Tournament and Derby Rules, copies of which are in Appendices 20 and 21 .