Bekisar, The Famous Bird Since The Mataram Kingdom

Bekisar, The Famous Bird Since The Mataram Kingdom

By Dr. Ir. I Dewa Gede Alit Udayana, MS.

Famous Since the Mataram KIngdom

                    Bekisar is not a native type of chicken, but is the result of cross-breeding between male partridge (Gallus varius) and female native chickens (Gallus domesticus). In Bali, the male jungle fowl is called keker (the female is called kiuh). From the results of this cross, only males are of value to be proud of as bekisar, while females are not. According to several references, this crossbreed chicken named bekisar has been favored since the days of the Mataram kingdom on the island of Java, in the era of King Amangkurat I to IV (around 17-18 centuries). At that time, this cross chicken became a symbol of status and prestige. Only the aristocrats and other distinguished persons possessed them. This kelangenan chicken is even used as a medium for interaction between nobles, and between high-ranking royal officials. Great!

The crow is contested

                    The sound quality of the bekisar is one of the factors that determines the value of a bekisar. This means that the quality of the bekisar can "deliver" the expensive birds, or vice versa. In this country, at that time, there were communities of bekisar lovers who claimed their group as "bekisar mania". The activities of these communities include holding a bekisar chicken competition. The main assessment criterion is the quality of the crow.

                    Apart from the sound (crowing), the color of the coat is also important to assess the quality of a bekisar. In fact, some bekisar fans are more concerned with the color of the fur than the sound. For the latter, the color of the fur that is preferred is far more striking than the sound of the bekisar which is just "crackly". From the aspect of coat color, bekisar with smooth yellowish white or smooth black coat is considered a “top” bekisar, meaning that it costs a lot more than bekisar with other types of coat color. As mentioned earlier, this kind of white range can cost hundreds of millions of rupiah, even infinitely!