Indians have several different names for the bird known in English as the turkey. This is because there are many regional languages and dialects spoken across India, which leads to variations in what the turkey is called. Additionally, the turkey is not native to India, so there is no single ancient name for the bird in Indian languages. The turkey was introduced to India by Europeans during the colonial era. As such, Indians have adopted names for the turkey that draw on imported European terms as well as native words that describe the bird’s physical features or qualities.
Imported European Names
Many Indians simply use the English word “turkey” to refer to the bird. English is widely spoken across India among the educated classes and is used in government, higher education, business, media, and other formal domains. The use of the English word “turkey” to describe the bird is common in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, especially among English-speaking urban Indians.
The Portuguese, who were among the earliest Europeans to colonize parts of India, introduced the turkey and imported the Portuguese name for it, “peru.” Among speakers of languages like Konkani and Marathi in former Portuguese colonial areas like Goa, peru remains a widely understood term for the turkey bird.
Another European name used for the turkey in India is “turki.” This derives from the country Turkey, which was imagined as the faraway exotic homeland of the turkey by early European users of the bird. The name turki is found across various North Indian languages like Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Gujarati. For example, the Punjabi term for turkey is turki jangli murgi, which literally means “turki wild fowl.”
Translated Indigenous Names
Since the turkey was wholly unfamiliar to Indians before the colonial era, Indian languages often use descriptive names for the bird that translate its physical attributes or qualities into native terminology. Here are some of the more common translated names:
- Koli paon or kolin koli in Hindi – “chicken with a long leg”
- Kappan koli in Malayalam – “broad-chested hen”
- Kodiparakku or yaanai koli in Tamil – “elephant hen”
- Bommali kodi in Telugu – “doll chicken”
- Dhumra kukkuta in Oriya – “grey rooster”
These names highlight key visual characteristics of the turkey like its large size compared to a chicken, its long thick legs, the distended breast of male turkeys, and the grayish-brown plumage pattern. The names translate these features into Indian languages in descriptive terms familiar to local people.
Regional Dialect Names
Colloquial rural names for the turkey also exist in regional Indian dialects that draw on distinctive local terminology:
- Poonai koli in Tulu – “cat hen”
- Kaalan kozhi in Malayalam – “giant fowl”
- Komri horo in Santali – “grey chicken”
- Miyan murgi in Rohilkhandi – “gentleman’s chicken”
These dialect names often convey a sense of the turkey’s exotic and unfamiliar nature. By comparing the turkey to more familiar animals like cats and chickens or using descriptive terms like “giant,” they emphasize the bird’s unusual qualities for Indian language speakers.
Religious and Mythical Associations
In some parts of India, the turkey’s name associates it with religious epic characters or mythical creatures:
- Jatayu in Malayalam – In the Ramayana epic, Jatayu is a bird-creature who tries to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. The name makes a mythological connection between the turkey and this epic bird.
- Bilari or Ginni in Urdu – These terms mean “demoness” and conjure a sense of the turkey’s exotic, otherworldly nature.
Making connections between the unknown turkey and familiar religious epics or supernatural creatures was a poetic way for Indians to conceptualize this novel bird from faraway lands within their cultural imagination.
Culinary and Celebratory Associations
The turkey in India has also acquired names highlighting its role as festive holiday food and its popularity as a meat dish:
- Christmas koli in Malayalam – “Christmas hen”
- Eid ka murgh in Hindi – “Eid chicken”
- Peru pura in Konkani – “whole turkey”
- Nauragi kodi in Telugu – “fools’ chicken”
These names associate the turkey in the Indian mind with Christmas, Eid, and other occasions when it is cooked and eaten in celebratory feasts. The Telugu name “fools’ chicken” even hints at how the turkey is considered silly or foolish in nature.
English Loanwords
In some cases, Indians combine English loanwords with native terms to make new compound names for the turkey:
- Turki murgi in Bengali – “turki hen”
- Turkey fowl in Hinglish – “turkey bird”
- Turkey kodi in Telugu – “turkey chicken”
This English-origin “turkey” gets attached to Indian words like murgi, koli, kodi meaning hen, chicken, or fowl. The hybrid name underscores how the turkey entered Indian languages as a new concept introduced from English.
Conclusion
To summarize, Indians employ various names for the turkey that reflect regional languages, descriptive qualities, culinary usages, celebratory associations, English loanwords, and imaginative mythological connections. The diversity of names hints at how the turkey initially confounded Indian understanding as an exotic import, but over time has been widely adopted into Indian food and culture. The turkey’s incorporation into the Indian linguistic and social world represents a fascinating intercultural journey for a bird far from its ancestral home.
