Geertz Quote

" As any art form- for that, finally is what we are dealing with- the cockfight renders ordinary, everyday experience comprehensible by presenting it in terms of acts and objects which have had their practical consequences removed and been reduced ( or, if you prefer, raised) to the level of sheer appearances, where their meaning can be more powerfully articulated and more exactly perceived. the cockfight is "really real" only to the cocks- it does not kill anyone, castrate anyone, reduce anyone to animal status, alter the hierarchal relations among people, nor refashion the hierarchy; it does not even redistribute income in any significant way."

I chose the quotation that I did not for it's complexity, although there is a lot of thought that probably went  into it, but for how it gives a general picture to the audience of everything that goes on in the village and what it truly boils down too. First off, he uses the theory of art, which in this case are the cockfights themselves, to explain why the people of that village are the way they are. The cock fights represent everything that the people embody, or would like to embody, but put it into another reality, the reality that only exists to the "cocks." These fights have no affect on society, because to them the money doesn't matter neither does the humility or victory. After all is said and done, this quote gets down to the fact that the cockfights serve no other purpose than itself, this allows it take on its art form.