Cocks (Symbol)
The fighting cocks in Bali are as much a symbol to the Balinese themselves as they are to Geertz and his symbolic anthropology. Cocks symbolize masculinity and all the values associated with it – strength, honor, rage, and an animalistic drive. Geertz notes that the suggestive double entendre is as operative in the Balinese languages as it is in English, emphasizing how the Balinese perceive the fighting cocks as extensions of the men who own and handle them.
Matches (Symbol)
The actual matches at which the fights take place are microcosmic symbols of the societal jockeying for social status. The closer the two owners of the bird are to each other within the social strata, the more the match approximates a fight for status. A match between two cocks whose owners occupy a high but equal status becomes an opportunity for an exchange of those places – at least symbolically within the closed world of the matches. In reality, social status is not affected by cockfighting, meaning the matches are only a temporary simulation of real life.
Wagering (Symbol)
Geertz asserts that betting on matches is highly symbolic as it is not really about the money (the money is important, of course, and Geertz emphasizes this point as well). There is a system of expectations within the process of wagering that transform betting into a symbolic expression of self-identity through the myth of collective social identity. Supporting the “home bird” regardless of the potential for losing money is an expectation of profound consequence. The result is that the entire substructure of cockfight wagering resembles the competition inherent to Balinese society (and all societies, for that matter) where individuals collectively strive for respect amidst the social hierarchy.
“The Powers of Darkness” (Symbol)
In an apparent paradox, Balinese culture expresses such a repulsion toward bestial behavior that animals are not just castigated as inferior to humans but invested with demonic aspects. Demonic representations in Balinese art are almost exclusively reserved for animalistic archetypes. As such, cockfighting is not just sport, but animal sacrifice in which the losers of the death match becomes an offering to the gods in exchange for protection from sickness, famine, and natural disasters.
Money (Symbol)
Money is almost completely transformed into symbol in the betting process of cockfighting. An abundant sum wagered on a match is done so only partly for the expectation of a greater payoff. Just as important is the symbolism of one’s social status. Money as a symbol is related to the concept of risk; the more one is willing to risk, the more it is an expression of abstract qualities like masculinity, pride, and confidence in one's social role.
