I was on a 15 day's exploration travel across Laos from Wednesday(1/1/2020) to Wednesday(15/1/2020) travelling by road from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and finally the Capital Vientiane.In Vang Vieng was lucky to witness legalized "COCKFIGHTS" thanks to local Laotian Mr Tott whom i happen to befriend after seeing his two fight cocks kept outside his residence cum restaurant near the plush Nam Song riverside locale.Below is a pictorial essay of the cock-fight ring's and the cock-fight bouts.
Thursday(9/1/2020):- Mr Tott took me to this local village cockfight which had less than 50 spectators and a temporary small cockfight ring erected under the shade of a large tree.
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| VILLAGE COCKFIGHTING:- In Laos "COCKFIGHTING" is a legalized blood-sport as also in neighbouring Thailand. The cocks fight without knives/Gaffe's tied to their legs and hence these fights last for an hour or more .It's very similar to "Human Boxing" with each cockfight bout lasting 20 minutes and then a rest break/of 20 minutes.A total of 3 bouts resulting in 60 minutes of brutal pecking and kicking at each other resulting in severe injury which is attended to by local vets during the 20 minutes break. Akin to human boxers wearing different colored boxing shorts so also the fight cock-birds are differentiated by the color band taped around both their legs.One Fight-Cock has a red colour tape around both its legs while its opponent has blue colour taped on its legs.Notice the "STOP-WATCH" tied onto the bark of the tree.After 20 minutes the clock siren buzzes and the fight stopped. |
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| Owners pairing and comparing their "FIGHT COCKS" for a fight bout. |
On Saturday(11/1/2020) watched Mr Tott train his pair of "Cock-fight birds" at a farmhouse in Vang Vieng .
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Laotian Mr Tott with his 2 Fight-Cock birds undergoing a sparring training session akin to a real cock-fight bout. Only difference is that during "SPARRING TRAINING BOUTS" the two Fight birds have their beaks tied and legs padded to avoid biting and injuring each other.In this photo Mr Tott is in the process of tying a string around the beak of the red coloured bird under his arm. The other Cock-bird on the ground already has its beak taped with electrical tape.Thank's to Mr Tott that i got a inner ring-side view of the Laotian sport of Cockfighting which is totally legal.The small temporary cockfight training ring was fabricated from a thick sheet of cork or rubber which can be instantly dismantled and refitted.
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| Wow,You can jump this high " ? The COCKFIGHT practice sparring session in Mr Tott's farm-house in Vang Vieng. During the practice bout the beaks of both the cock birds are tied shut by tape or string and their legs padded.Sheer poetry in motion although brutal for the fainthearted.Cockfighting in neighbouring Thailand is also legal and similar to "Laos Cock fighting" as the Thai Cock-birds fight without knives attached to their feet. |
On Saturday(11/1/2020) afternoon was lucky to visit the permanent "Cock-Fight Stadium" in Vang Vieng after watching the " Cock Fight practice bouts" in the morning at Mr Tott's farmhouse .A day to remember as i first got a insight into the art of training "COCK FIGHT" fowls and later actually got to witness cock fight's at a permanent stadium in the city.
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| Permanent "COCK FIGHT ARENA" in Vang Vieng. Cockfighting is legal in Laos and here is a permanent concrete cemented cock-fight ring along with circular cemented seats encircling the ring.I In Laos "Cockfighting" is without attached knives and hence the fight lasts for a hour or more . In Manila where cockfighting is also legal the stadium is a huge enclosed structure with a house-full crowd while here in Vang Vieng it was a small open-air stadium with a crowd of about 100 spectators/participants. Food and drinks are served at this small stadium. |
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| A 20 minutes cock-fight bout in progress at the permanent Cock-Fight stadium in Vang Vieng. Notice the flood lights under which the cock bird's fight as also the soft natural mud of the cock-pit ground.This is a permanent cemented cock fight ring held under a sheet-metal roofed open-air ground. Akin to human boxers the Cock - Fight birds at times literally hold onto each other with their beaks and necks as also putting their head under the opponents wings trying to displace its foothold on the ground.Here in this photo both the Cock-birds are clinging onto each other akin to human boxers. I observed the spectators betting with each other when a bird either jumped high in the air onto its opponent or seemed to be getting the better of its opponent by chasing it around the enclosed ring or being more dominant in pecking at its opponent.So even if a fight ends in a draw seems money is wagered during the fight on the technical points scored by each bird against its opponent.Bizarrely similar to human boxing . |
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| Competitors and their cock-fight bird's at the permanent cock-fight stadium in Vang Vieng. |
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| MEDICAL TREATMENT AFTER EVERY 20 MINUTES BOUT :- After 20 minutes of fighting the Cock-Fight is stopped and the two bird's taken to two different "Cock-Fight Veterinarians" for medical treatment as shown in this photo.There are two separate small enclosures on the circumferential end of this small stadium in which the 2 cock fight bird's are medically treated by their own separate team of local veterinarians.Initially after the first 20" of bout the Cock-Fight bird's throat is cleared by inserting a feather into the throat. Next, the eyelids are stitched to prevent them from closing during the next 20" round of the fight.The bird's are also massaged with warm water and a cloth rubbed over a plate kept over hot coals as shown in this photo.Last of all the bird is also given a medicinal drop which could be a steroid and finally made to stand on its two feet for the next round of 20"..I saw bouts last 60 minutes with no result .Normally after 3 rounds of 20" the cock-fight between the two cock's ends for the day in a draw .At times the bouts are extended into 4 or more rounds depending on the agreement between the human owners of the fighting cock-birds. |
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| Thank's to Mr Tott that i got to understand and witness Laotian Cock fighting during my stay in Vang Vieng in Laos. Prior to this i had only seen cock-fight's with knives attached to the leg's of the cock-birds.Here in my hand is the better of the two of Mr Tott's prized Cock- fight bird's after the first round of their practice bout of 20 minutes.These cock-fight bird's are very docile when handled by humans but transform themselves into unbelievable fighting machines when pitted against another of its kind in a small or large enclosed ring. |
