Death-Defying Game Cock Fight among the Santals: A Case Study in Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal

Abstract

The human occurred cockfight as different to those cockfights which are occur naturally like any other traditional game and is governed by some rules with customary ethnic tradition. Though, importance of cockfight varied from place to place and also as time to time. However, in India, in last few decades’ blood sports events like Cockfight have been popularized where animal may harmful during the events. While, most of the time cockfight is closely associated with continuation of ‘ethnic tradition’ and ‘culture’. Cockfight is common in ethnic community like Santal. History of cockfight pointed out that the fight have bottomless outline in rural India especially in tribal communities. However, present study, carried out in a selected village named Foringdanga under Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. In the studied village the game cockfight occurred regular basis in every week during winter season. Winter season is the time of the cockfight and during this season the game occurred two days in every week and also occurred in especial holidays like Saraswati Puja, Republic day, Sankranti and so on. The Foringdanga village also dominated by Santal tribes thus the present author select the village as study area and focused on the death-defying game cockfight which arranged and practiced by the the Santals people. In the study area not only the santal tribal people participated; here also participated other caste people. The present study try to demonstrate that one of the scary game is cock-fight where one cock fights against another cock until the death. Where cock-fight is completely illegal but the fight frequently happened during the winter season in an open public place like weekly market, village fair, festival days in rural areas of Paschim Midinipur district of West Bengal. The fight owing with the prohibited in several jurisdictions and to essential ethical selflessness which exclude becoming visibly participative in the present research, therefore, I developed conscious point of view through "observation method" with some case studies. However, the present paper exposed the death-defying views on Cockfight where the fighter cock flow the blood of opposite cocks until unless the victory or defeat. The study also pointed out that Cockfight is a strictly male event that contains socialistic and aggressive where women are not welcome.