PanaloKO Bulang: Cebuano Word for Cockfight and Gaff
In the Binisaya Cebuano dictionary, bulang is listed as a noun meaning cockfight and also gaff, the blade tied to a gamecock's leg.
Key facts and contents
- PanaloKO Largada
- Largada is Spanish for the start of a race, built from largar.
- PanaloKO Stag Derby
- A stag derby is a derby for stags.
- PanaloKO Ulutan
- Ulutan is the pairing of gamecocks on a sabong day.
Bulang is a Cebuano word that dictionaries tie to the cockpit. Before the vocabulary, the 2022 context comes first: online e-sabong was stopped nationwide on 3 May 2022 by President Duterte’s spoken order, and Executive Order No. 9, signed by President Marcos on 28 December 2022, formally suspended e-sabong operations nationwide. The law that frames the cockpit side of this word is explained under Presidential Decree 1602, so start there if you want the penalties.
What bulang means in the Binisaya dictionary
The Binisaya Cebuano-to-English dictionary has two separate entries for bulang. The first, pronounced bú.lang, lists “cockfight” as a noun, with sabong given as the Tagalog-side gloss, and “gaff”, with tari as its gloss. The second entry gives “month” and “moon”.
| Entry | English gloss | Tagalog-side gloss |
|---|---|---|
| bulang (first) | cockfight | sabong |
| bulang (first) | gaff | tari |
| bulang (second) | month, moon | none listed |
Bulang in the cockpit
The first entry covers two things that meet in the cockpit: the fight and the blade. A gaff is the blade tied to a gamecock’s leg. Presidential Decree No. 449, Section 4(d), defines a gaffer as “a person knowledgeable in the art of arming fighting cocks with gaff or gaffs on either or both legs”, with Taga Tari in brackets after it.
Three places where you may meet the word:
- A Visayan speaker using bulang as the word for the cockfight event.
- A speaker using it for the blade, where Tagalog would say tari.
- Someone talking about months or the moon, with no cockfighting meaning at all.
Bulang beside the other cockpit words
Bulang names the event or the blade. The other cockpit words name steps and roles inside it, so each has its own page.
| Word | What it names | Page |
|---|---|---|
| largada | the release call | the largada release call |
| ulutan | the pairing of birds | how ulutan pairing works |
| stag derby | an event by bird age | stag derby rules |
Bulang and the law’s own words
The decree that governs cockpits does not use bulang. Section 4(a) of Presidential Decree No. 449 says cockfighting means “the commonly known game or term ‘cockfighting derby, pintakasi or tupada’”, or its equivalent terms in different Philippine localities. A word like bulang is exactly that kind of local equivalent, and the same section is the reason a dictionary entry matters: the law expects regional words.
| Who says it | Word for the event | Covered by PD 449, Section 4(a) |
|---|---|---|
| Visayan speaker | bulang | as an equivalent term |
| Tagalog speaker | sabong | as the common name |
| The decree itself | derby, pintakasi, tupada | named directly |
How to check the entry yourself
You can confirm every claim on this page in three steps.
- Open the Binisaya Cebuano-to-English dictionary at binisaya.com and search for bulang.
- Read both entries, the cockfight and gaff one and the month and moon one.
- Open Presidential Decree No. 449 on lawphil.net and read Section 4(a) and 4(d) in full.
Sources used: the Binisaya dictionary entry for bulang, and PD 449 on lawphil.net.
FAQ
What does bulang mean in sabong?
The Binisaya Cebuano-to-English dictionary lists bulang as a noun for cockfight, with sabong as its Tagalog-side gloss, and also as gaff, glossed as tari. It is a Visayan word, so you hear it most where Cebuano is spoken.
Is bulang the same as tari?
The dictionary gives tari as a gloss for one sense of bulang, so in that sense they point at the same blade. In Tagalog sabong talk, tari is the usual word, and Presidential Decree No. 449 itself uses the phrase gaffer, with Taga Tari in brackets.
Does bulang also mean month or moon?
Yes, a separate entry in the same dictionary gives month and moon. Context tells you which word is meant, so a sentence about the cockpit and a sentence about the calendar are never confused in practice.
Is bulang a term in the law?
No. Presidential Decree No. 449 defines cockfighting by the words cockfighting derby, pintakasi or tupada, and does not print the word bulang.