Spider fighting
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Spider fighting (pahibag sang damang in Hiligaynon) is a popular blood sport among rural Filipino children. The game begins by placing two spiders at opposite ends of a stick from a walis ting-ting (a broom made from the midribs of coconut leaves). The spiders are then led to one another until they wrestle. The first one to drop off the stick loses.[1] Top fighters can fetch up to 100 pesos (US$2), making the sport a lucrative market for children.
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[edit] Harvesting and care
The spiders are usually caught in trees and bushes, although some favor those found spinning webs along power lines. These are believed to be more aggressive and much tougher fighters since spiders that live in areas exposed to predators fight better than those that live in secluded isolation. Spiders with slender bodies and long legs are also favored as better fighters. Slim, black spiders from guava or tamarind trees are also prized as fighters.[2] After capture or fighting, the spiders are stabled in used matchboxes. These matchboxes usually have separate cells to house different spiders. Spiders can be fed with insects although some trainers, especially adults, have their own secret feed formula. Prior to a match, the spider might be intentionally starved to increase its ferocity.
[edit] Legal and moral issues
The practice is now generally discouraged since it affects the educational performance of school children.[3] They spend so much time hunting and training spiders that lessons and homework are missed. They might also be attracted to gamble as well. Adults also play the sport but in a way similar to cockfighting. Derbies are also held and bets could go as high as 30,000 pesos (about US$638). The cheaper maintenance cost of raising spiders compared to raising fighting cocks caused some players to switch to spider fighting.[4]
Ordinances against the sport are now in effect in some cities.[5] The sport might also be indirectly responsible for crop damage since spiders are useful in controlling insect pest populations. The spider derby is treated as a threat to public morals in Negros Occidental province. Bets as high as P50,000 (US$900) were being placed in Aidsisa, Silay City. The Bacolod City police provincial director issued an order warning residents of participating in a form of illegal gambling. In Cudangdang village in EB Magalona town, spiders were sold from P20 to P100 per box, and most buyers come from Bacolod City and Silay City. In the spider derby, the combatant that falls three times from a wooden stick loses; one that wraps its opponent in silk is declared the champion.[6]
[edit] Species
One species used for spider derbies in Singapore is Thiania bhamoensis, a jumping spider, also called the "Fighting spider".[7] The local spiders used in the Philippines, however, have a coloration ranging from ash-gray, light brown, reddish-brown to black, dissimilar from Thiania bhamoensis's green-blue hue. The Filipino fighting spiders resemble European garden spiders.
[edit] Other forms
An annual spider fighting contest called Kumo Gassen is held in Kajiki, Kagoshima, Japan.[8][9] The spiders used in this contest appear to belong to the genus Argiope.
[edit] References
- ^ Slow Suspense. Bulatlat.com (2005-10-23). Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ Sullivan, Margaret (1999). The Philippines: Pacific Crossroads. Maxwell Macmillan International, 105. ISBN 0875185487.
- ^ Spider wrestlers put on hold. BBC News (1998-06-30). Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ Espejo, Edwin G. (2005-10-28). Games big boys play. Sun.Star General Santos. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Dad asks City Hall: Go after ‘spider men’", Sun.Star Cebu, 2002-12-02. Retrieved on 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Negros folk bet as high as P50,000 on spider derbies", GMA NEWS.TV, 2007-08-21. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
- ^ Li, D., Yik, S.H. & Seah, W.K. (2002). "Rivet-like nest-building and agonistic behaviour of Thiania bhamoensis, an iridescent jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) from Singapore" (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
- ^ Sekine, M. Not A Cockfight But A Spider-Fight: Kajiki. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
- ^ Spider Fighting. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
[edit] See also
[edit] Gallery
 Top frame: Both spiders size each other up; Bottom frame: The spiders grapple; at this point, one of the spiders may have already delivered a paralyzing bite to his opponent's body |
 The victor begins to wrap its victim in silk. Spinnerets are visible |
 Top frame: The victor may be delivering another bite to its wrapped opponent; Bottom frame: The victor climbs up his dragline, dragging the wrapped victim behind using one of his hind legs |
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