It had always amazed me, this animal.
It's not just a chicken, but the MONSTER of a chicken.
With tasty flesh, and succulent chops to be had.
However, it's not the splendor taste and superior quantity that amazes me.
A bit of fact.
This animal is called a Turkey. Tur-Key.
So naturally, one might think it originates from the country with the same name.
However, interestingly, in Malay it's not called Ayam Turki, or Ayam Constatinople, or Ayam Atartuk.
Its called Ayam Belanda..
AYAM BELANDA??
WTF??
So, err, why in English, it's not called the Holland Chicken? Or the netherlands chicken. Or Dutch Chicken? Or Chicken Oranje?? (Ok fine semangat world cup).
But it's called instead, ayam Belanda...
To be honest, I have a few theories regarding this..
Ok ok fine. I have only one theory...
I think..
That in the days when the Dutch were colonising our beautiful small country, they were the ones who brought in Turkey from the west.
Being the average Malay farmer who only knows about Ayam Brand, he saw the MONSTER of a chicken and gasped, and then he fainted into a coma for 3 days and 3 nights.
When he woke up from a coma, he was at a Dutch Governor's house. He looked around the big house, and then walked around, still dazed and confused.
He went out of the house in order to escape to his home because he was hungering for chicken. Well, NORMAL ayam to be exact.
But when he got into the lawn of the Governor's house, it looked at him. IT, looked at him straight in the eye.
Standing only 3 feet in front of him, is the biggest Turkey he ever saw. It the normal Ayam Belanda was a monster of a chicken, this one, was A GODZILLA!!
It was 2 stories tall, with feet that looked like they can stomp on a man until any fat man would become slim in just 5 minutes.
The farmer froze, dead in his tracks. He tried to move an inch, but the Turkey was all eyes on him. He couldn't move.
Then,
The Turkey charged at him. Reading the Surah Al-Fatihah, the farmer closed his eyes tightly waiting for the pain to come and subside as he goes into the mysterious beyond. (tutup mata takut mati).
suddenly!!
"Persiee!! How many times do i have to tell you not to play with strangers!!". The Dutch Governor came to the farmer's rescue.
The farmer sighed a sigh of relief.
The Governor apologised a million times to the farmer. And as a token of apology,
Persiee the turkey was given to the farmer, as a pet.
Delighted at his new poultry pet, he brought Persiee to his Village.
And there, the story came to end, with the villagers having enough supply of chicken to last them for a month.
And forever, Persiee came to be known by the villagers, as Ayam Belanda...
True Story. =