I am amused every time the President of the United States pardons a turkey during Thanksgiving season. I look at that great white animal and forget that it is supposed to be a symbol of gratefulness for the bounty of America.
I rather see it as an exaggerated version of a once noble bird that roamed the woods of the North America. The traditional turkeys I remember in my childhood were the slim version that did not live in cages but in the open yard sharing food with chickens. You can still see them in their “natural” shades in the yards of rural towns and villages especially in Mexico. The color pattern of their feathers “are dark overall with a bronze-green iridescence to most of their plumage. Their wings are dark, boldly barred with white. Their rump and tail feathers are broadly tipped with rusty or white.
The bare skin of the head and neck varies from red to blue to gray.” This image of the turkey is the beginning point of its meaning in the history and culture of North America.
Turkeys far surpasses their symbolic value in the United States as their association with the everyday life of people dates back to pre-Colombian Mesoamerica. They were one of two important animals domesticated as part of the building of early civilizations in our part of the world.
The dish most associated with turkeys in Mexico is the Mole Poblano that so many of us have enjoyed over the years. I have also had a different version made with red chile at family gatherings.
The American turkey festival however, has more to do with the coming of European immigrants to our shores. The stories of their precarious existence in the beginning is fundamental to our understanding of what made the turkey so important and popular.
In essence, the turkey and many of the things that go with it were a gift of love from the Native American community to starving immigrant settlers in the early 17th Century. The notion of “it takes a village” was a common practice for the native folks that lived with the land.
There are some beautiful stories about the things that have surfaced from the experiences of the Pilgrims and other early arrivals from the European continent that color our written narratives. These stories were later put aside in an effort to separate and occupy the lands of their Indian benefactors became the priority.
The modern turkey is a product of artificial practices that include genetic manipulation to produce the turkeys so large that there is no possibility of flight or even much movement. In visiting turkey farms I have been impressed by the extraordinary efforts to protect these animals that have become susceptible to so many sicknesses.
The story of the turkey in our country became the centerpiece of Thanksgiving Day celebrated every 4th Thursday in November. This day was solidified by a joint resolution passed by Congress in 1941and a proclamation issued by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942.
The holiday is here again and the turkey will be the center of a traditional dinner. Turkey and all the trimmings is on the menu.
That together with the National Football League presentation of games promises to fill the day with memorable events. Thanksgiving Day is a time to celebrate with family and loved ones in the safety and security of our homes.
It is also a times to give thanks. That should always be on the menu.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
