Clifford Geertz Deep Play: Notes on a Balinese Cockfight Essay

The Union enjoyed overall success in the Western Theater in 1862, but the year also brought defeat and setbacks between the times of Grant’s River War and the Battle at Stones River during the Civil War. These events contradicted the Unions success with strategic embarrassments that demonstrated the Union’s youth in military strategy in handling two separate theaters and management of men and goods.

The novel, Three Day Road, written by Joseph Boyden shows the perspectives and the hardships of three Indigenous People during World War 1. In the book, the author mentions the process of scalping, which is the procedure of taking an individual's scalp, through gruesome means. The stereotype of scalping negatively influences the lives of Indigenous People, as it perpetuates false information about their culture which illustrates Aboriginal People in a harmful manner, by constructing an image that demonstrations them dishonorably, and creating the idea that they are savages. Boyden’s work is able to refute this stereotype since, in the novel, Boyden demonstrates that scalping is a learned behavior.

During this paper, we will discuss the events that lead to the grass fight. What motivated the men to “jump” into the fight practically without any

A universal theme conveyed in The Contender is that life is filled with obstacles; one must become a contender in order to be successful in life—as Mr. Donatelli, Alfred Brook’s trainer remarks, “Everybody wants to be a champion. That’s not enough. You have to start by wanting to be a contender” (Lipsyte 35). Though the viewers will definitely grasp the meaning of the word contender throughout the film, it is of utmost importance for them to learn its exact definition on the first scene. A contender is a person who “[struggles] to surmount a difficulty or danger” (Concise Oxford American dictionary).

possibility that zombies might in fact have souls through the description of a nearly four hundred year old ritual called the Passion Play that is performed once each decade in the city of Oberammergau, Germany. This play, which is enacted by the people of Oberammergau is part of a tradition that was started during the days of the black plague in Europe in the early 1600s. In an attempt to increase the realism of the play, the community decides to crucify a zombie in place of the normal actor who would normally play the part. A lone priest, Father Meyer, believes the zombies are creatures of God that deserve the same sort of considerations and care that humans do. This is in stark contrast to the position held by the drastically changed Catholic

The `savage' people have a ritual of their own which has multi-purposes. The details of the ceremony involve a `sacrifice' where a boy gets whipped until he collapses in order to "please Pookong and Jesus." (117) Similar to the `civilized' society, this ceremony shows how the people of this society value community and stability. The boy getting whipped is willing to get beaten for the good of the people so that the land would be blessed

Throughout history, humans have maintained a relationship with animals. In some cultures, animals have served as religious symbols and were worshipped by humans. As society progressed, humans began to play the more dominant role. Animals began to serve as a source of food, trade, transportation, and companion. With the frequent interaction between man and animals, boundaries were eventually crossed. In “Peasants against Nature,” Jonas Liliequist discussed the excessive cases of bestiality in seventeenth and eighteenth century Sweden and its inevitable occurrence. With his various sources, Liliequist proposed that bestiality occurred due to the frequent interactions between men and animals, lack of culture, sexual frustration, and basic curiosity.

In this example it is the Kona preying on the valleys men, evident when Zachary as a nine-year-old child found “ten-twelve of them painted savages... reachin’ for their whips’n’blades, yelling war-cries… runnin’ after me… laughin’ with the sport” (p 250). This is a representation of predation because the Kona have made a sport of catching the minority groups and either killing or enslaving them, seen when Zachary’s father is killed and brother is beaten and then taken for enslavement. Again predation is used to suggest that within in society the hunger to dominate is so powerful the destruction and process of destroying people and or a group of people, becomes a

This chapter distinguished the difference between a fight and an argument. In an example, he used a

Deep Play: “Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” is an article written by Clifford Geertz that discusses how the Balinese cockfight serves as a cultural text as well as defining the real meaning of being Balinese. Geertz and his wife, who are anthropologists, were highly interested in studying cockfighting after their experience in traveling to a Balinese village. Cockfighting is an illegal popular sport in Bali where two cocks are placed in a small ring by their handlers and fight each other. “Cocks armed with steel spurs sharp enough to cut off a finger or run a hole through a foot were running wildly around,” (Geertz 415). This quote in Geertz’s article explains why cockfighting

It may not seem like it, but there are quite a few similarities between the Baliness cock-fight and hockey in Canada. The cockfight is a major sporting event in the Baliness community and hockey is a major sport for Canadians. In both, the objective is to win. In the Baliness society a person can’t bet against a cock from the family, or village, but can bet against an enemy. One should not be betting against you own hometown team in hockey. 2 roosters have sharp metal spurs on their legs, are to fight until the death. Men surround them shouting for their favorites, placing wagers. Cock has a double meaning of rooster, and male penis. There are the same jokes in America. The baliness word for cock, has other meanings of hero, warrior, and champion. They are held in arenas, the winner gets to take the loser home to eat. A man will never bet against a family or friend. He will place bets against an enemy. Cocks usually fight against out of town. The owners of cocks are leaders in communities. There was rarely a profit made, it is about status. Cocks represent men and owners. The fate of the cock is the fate of the owner. Hockey and cock-fighting are both spectating sports, where we pick a side. There are similar

Ellison’s use of language helps imply the animalistic treatment of the young fighters (German). A writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Michael Eric Dyson, is thoroughly amazed by Ellison’s wordplay by saying, “He spoke elegantly of the beautiful absurdity of the American identity (Dyson).” The choice of words Ellison navigate through America’s history of ideas (Dyson). The portrayal of fighters emphasize the fact that “blacks” were socially inferior. White’s would of never thought to view blacks in the same “league” with them. At this time, no one could imagine the battle royal happening with white’s fighting with an animalistic intentions, while rich, black men sat smoking cigars, cheering for brutality. By using nouns and adjectives, the description of the young fighting has a deeper, harsher connotation.

Thus anthropological writing seems phony to me because the motivations behind the funders of anthropological research are unknown or discreetly expressed. If the benefactors want to understand the culture being studied as well as their own culture, Geertz would need to find meaning applicable to both cultures or else it will not have value. If Geertz and other anthropologist were more transparent about how their claims are affected by their motives regarding funding, it would be easier to accept the information they

“Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” is divided into eight or nine sections, each with their own distinct style and message. The first section is titled “The Raid” and is told in the style of a narrative. In it, Geertz reflects on his time in Bali with his wife in April of 1958. He reflects on the way the Balinese people treated him; during his first week or so in Bali, Geertz and his wife were treated as though they didn’t exist. After witnessing a cockfight and running away just like the Balinese people who also attended, however, Geertz and his wife were treated as though they were Balinese themselves, and were completely accepted into Balinese society. In the second section, “Of Cocks and Men”, Geertz reflects on different aspects of Balinese culture and how Balinese men, despite cockfighting being illegal, strongly identify with it and even use the term to refer to different types of men and their personalities. Additionally, Geertz points out that besides cockfighting, the Balinese are strongly against doing anything that resembles an animal,

Our participant-observation work with Romeo was helpful in helping understand the cultural differences. In Guatemala, the most noticeable difference between American culture and Romeo’s culture is the markets that the citizens run and sell their goods at. Romeo was kind enough to take videos of what the markets were like, including the exchanging of food and some negotiation that was going on between sellers and people buying. In our class we engaged in a participant-observer method where we observed Romeo’s daily life through the videos, pictures, and our video chats. Bernard talks about participant observation saying, “Participant observation involves immersing yourself in a culture and learning to remove yourself every day from that immersion so you can intellectualize what you’ve seen and heard, put into perspective, and write about it convincingly” (Bernard, 324). Through this participant observation we can look at the differences that the Guatemalan culture experiences as opposed to what we experience in America. With the marketplace in Guatemala, we can compare it to what grocery stores are like in the United States and how our shopping is different from each other’s. Anthropology played a part with my understanding another culture because without the course and learning about various ethnographic approaches to building a rapport, then my understanding about what Romeo’s life is like in Guatemala wouldn’t have happened. Bernard later establishes, “Most basic