GOGOJILI Kristo Meaning: Who the Kristo Is and What the Signals Say

The kristo belongs to the physical cockpit, because online e-sabong has been suspended nationwide since 2022. President Duterte stopped it by a spoken order in a taped broadcast on 3 May 2022. Executive Order No. 9, which President Marcos signed on 28 December 2022, then prohibited it outright.

The kristo works in physical licensed cockpits, and the sabong ph in the cockpit shows how those cockpits fit the law.

Kristo meaning: the caller of the pit

The kristo is the caller who relays bets in a licensed cockpit. Bettors signal across a crowded sabungan, and the kristo connects one bettor with another who backs the opposite side. The kristo sabong role is a job of attention, because a busy pit has many signals at once.

How hand signals record a bet

The signals below describe the order of a single bet in the pit.

1. The sides are named. The two roosters are called as meron and wala.
2. A bettor signals. A hand signal shows which side the bettor backs.
3. The kristo relays. The kristo calls the bet across the pit.
4. Another bettor answers. Someone backing the other side takes it.
5. The bet is set. The pair are matched and the birds are released.

Kristo sabong terms you will hear

The words around the kristo come from a mix of Tagalog and Spanish. The table sorts them by origin.

The sultada pairing page covers the match those sides come from. Learn these words and the noise of a busy sabungan turns into a language you can follow.

Where the kristo sits in the fight sequence

The kristo works before the birds are released, and the order runs like this.

1. Pairing. The two roosters are matched.
2. Betting. The kristo relays the bets between bettors.
3. Release. The roosters are set into the ring.
4. Verdict. The sentensyador who declares the result closes the fight.

The tari blade page covers the blade fitted to each bird before the fight.