In the olden times in the province of Ilocos, one of the modes of their courtship is the so called “rooster courtship” which involves the rooster. An old man with a rooster is delegated to serve as go-between. The procedure consists of his visiting the prospective bride’s house with an ubiquitous rooster in tow. To probe into the purpose of the visit, the prospective bride’s father inquires from the visitor what he is going to do with the rooster. Whereupon, the old man answers: “I want to make it crow here, if you please.” Then he is asked again about the pedigree of the rooster, whether it is domestic or wild. “Domestic” as an answer signifies “one of us,’ or a prospective bridegroom belonging to the place, while “wild” denotes something foreign or not coming from the same place; one that belongs to a different ethnic group like Pampango, Pangasinese, Bicolano, Ilongo, Cebuano, Batangueno, Chavacano or any other. An elaboration of this leads to the identity of the prospective bridegroom. Tradition requires the old man to leave rooster with the prospective bride’s father when the match is encouraged.
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Source:
Anima, N. 1975. Courtship and Marriage Practices among Philippine Tribes. La Loma: Omar.
