Bayou Country Bloodsport: The Culture of Cockfighting in Southern LouisianaJon GriffinDonlon. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014.

Abstract

Bayou Country Bloodsport: The Culture of Cockfighting Southern Louisiana Jon Griffin Donlon. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014.In the twenty-first century urban American setting, what Donlon calls the conventional, mainstream view (32) is that cockfighting is aberrant and deviant. Yet, as the ethnographer and anthropologist explains, this view, when closely examined, defies logic. Donlon considers that cockfighting traditions and its long history contradict the more recent perceptions of the sport. He states that his field work uncovered strong variance between public or popular (or perhaps, preferred) descriptions of these events and legitimate accounts (19). The author's arguments against the cruelty of the sport are that its opponents have had no problem refusing basic needs to the inner city poor; have resisted providing a livable minimum wage; have not protested against life-threatening injuries to athletes other sports; and have made little effort to change conditions chicken slaughterhouses, all much more reprehensible his opinion. Worse, the approach to the eradication of cockfighting has been to slaughter the animals.Donlon introduces the culture of cockfighting Louisiana with a historical perspective and a comparison to other versions of this entertainment around the world. He establishes its credentials and asserts that, throughout the ages, it has been seen in a positive way, with the courage and regal attitude of the bird associated with good attributes of human character (27). According to Donlon, cockfighting South Louisiana was a way to develop loyalty within the community, create bonds, and acquire prestige. The anthropologist discusses the nature of the diversion through, among others, the writings of Huizinga and Callois that debate the characteristics of play. The lack of seriousness and moral obligation inherent to play can be overlooked when an educational approach is taken and new values emerge as a result. According to its followers, erosion of family values, decline of civil responsibility, [and] general collapse of morality (52) can be reversed with participation the sport. Yet, the nineteenth century, as efforts were made to regulate leisure for workers, great part because industrialization and capitalism had reduced this leisure, traditional rural pastimes were altered, marginalized, and forbidden. The author establishes parallels between cockfighting and foxhunting or hawking-both sports of the elite, prestigious, allowed many parts of the world-and bullfighting or pig sticking-more popular, seen as depraved, to be eliminated. …