1. If any article could cause a battle in the classroom, this one might. The arguments against cockfighting could be listed without much thought: inhumane, cruel, abusive, sadistic might be some words used to describe the pastime. We know that cockfighting is illegal in the United States, but this article deals with East Timor.

a. What do you think about cockfighting? Is it like bullfighting or hunting? Explain.

b. Should the practices of other cultures (e.g., cockfighting, bullfighting) be affected by the tastes of Americans?

2. Cockfighting is an event with symbolic, historic, and folkloric content. No matter how you feel about the sport, such meanings testify to its cultural richness.

a. Why is cockfighting almost exclusively a masculine pastime?

b. The author states that cockfighting replaced head-hunting in East Timor. Explain.

c. The East Timorese trace cockfighting back to mythic roots. According to their folklore, how does this ritual separate the true hero from the false, life from death, and man from woman?

d. What role do the ghosts of ancestors play in the relationship between men and women? How does cockfighting aid this process?

3. Every culture has its rites of passage, defined as cultural events that people must undergo on the way to adulthood.

a. How is ownership of a rooster significant for a young man in East Timor?

b. Why might owning one be a rite of passage?

c. What are some rites of passage for a young man in America? Are they different or similar to those in East Timor?

4. In cockfighting, blood is shed. Discuss this aspect of the pastime with the following in mind.

a. In the United States, popular but bloody sports include wrestling and boxing. Is cockfighting different? More acceptable or less acceptable? Why?

b. When birds are not prepared to fight, what do handlers do to antagonize them into action?

c. Explain how the loss of life for one bird is seen as a significant enhancement to the life of the other bird’s owner. How is this analogous to head-hunting?

d. How do handlers reinvigorate their birds?

e. Explain how a bird’s victory brings both monetary enrichment and enhancement of masculine vigor to the owner.

f. What methods are used to guarantee success in betting on cockfights?