Aside from its wealth of symbolism, which imparts a ritualistic quality to this sport, Timorese cockfighting is unencumbered by complexity. No odds are laid, and a single match decides a bet. In Dili several sites are set aside exclusively for cockfighting. It was to one of these that we went. Symbol and surrogate n East Timor, both sexes enjoy each other's company on all social occasions, except at cockfights.
Cockfights mirror the old macho raids for enemies' heads.
Where men traditionally competed one on one in the bloody competition for heads, avian surrogates now fight on their behalf. The cockpit has replaced the battlefield. As in head-hunting, the motifs of manhood, death, and life now figure as a subtext for the bloody dances of cockfighting. Folktales confirm the identity of men with their roosters, which commonly acts as surrogates for their owners. One tells of a child- prince whose coffin is placed in a tree shortly after his death.