Braveheart's

Aseel World

Introduction

Dear visitor, welcome to my website. My name is Willem van Ballekom and Ilive in the Netherlands ( Holland ). I am a dedicated Aseel breeder. I started with this wonderful breed and most likely I will end with them too. I also keep some other gamefowl breeds in my backyard: large Aseel (North Indian type & Madras ), Reza-type Aseel, bantam Aseel and at this moment of writing (Juli 2006) also : Chu-Shamo (= mediumweight Shamo), Kulanga (Russian Malay), Koeyoshi (a Japanese longcrower) and the longtailed Sumatra . My objectives are to preserve the above mentioned breeds as purebred fowl. This means breeding them as close as posssible to the physical criteria set in the homelands of these fowl, and last but not least the preservation of their game character.

Asian Gamefowl Society

Being a member of various gamefowl clubs I was not satisfied with the gamefowl clubs excisting at that time in 1996. The majority of these clubs were mainly focussed on management and other issues of minor importance. Forgetting their "core business", the preservation of Asian gamefowl. So I founded the Asian Gamefowl Society (also known as the AGS). Main objectives of the AGS are to improve communication and the exchange of information, knowledge and expiriences between gamefowl breeders around the world. The AGS has been founded in Holland but it rapidly changed into an international community of Asian gamefowl breeders. End of 2005 we listed about 120 members in 25 countries worldwide. Every breeder is welcome equally the gamefowl discipline he or she prefers. Your welcome to join us. Members receive a yearbook (B/W and colour pictures included) and a detailled membershiplist. More information ? Click the club logo below.

My Aseel Book

Being a very dedicated breeder I more and more got interested in the Aseel, its origin, background and varieties. It is said that the Aseel is the oldest gamefowl breed in the world and that these fighting fowl already have been mentioned in one of the oldest Indian manuscripts the so called "Dharmashastra Manu", a serie of books on law, order, ethics, religion and social behaviour dating back some 1500 years B.C. Although this remarkable fact the breed never got full attention and no single volume has been dedicated to the breed. Only gamefowl authorities like Herbert Atkinson from England , Carlos Finsterbusch from Chile , Paul and Siran Deraniyagala from Sri Lanka ( Ceylon ) have described the Aseel in detail. This made me decide to start to write a book about the Aseel. Chapters will describe history, culture, the homelands, feeding, training and the past and present situation in a variety of countries around the world with an Aseel population. I am also planning a CD / DVD version. B/W and color pictures are included to support the information which partly relies on the information forwarded to me by a network of Aseel friends and experts. I have extended my knowledge of gamefowl by travelling to Asia visiting : India , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Indonesia , Vietnam , Turkey and USA ( Louisiana ).

 

The Aseel

The Aseel is found on the Indian sub-continent and as mentioned earlier is the world oldest gamefowl breed. The oldest evidence of organized cockfighting is based on archeological finds which have been found in the Indus valley (today Pakistan but Indian territory till 1947). Understanding the Aseel is not that easy. The breeds is domestic to the Indian subcontinent. At present day this landmass consists of the following countries India , Pakistan , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka . This huge landmass is home to an enormous variety of ethnic groups and cultures. Tracing back local names of varieties or expressions is a pure hell as India alone has 21 national languages and over 200 registered dialects. Sometimes information from the homeland is controversial. Therfor analysis and comparison of this information is a delicate matter. Aseel friends and experts worldwide contributed with valuable information. The project moves on slowly but with a persistent pace.

Names - Aseel, Asil or Asli ?

The name of the breed can be written in various ways as in India and neighbouring countries various (local) names excist. This of course caused by the complexity of the Indian languages. The names Asil or Aseel mean "purebred"or "from pure decent"'. These are originally of Persian-Arabic origin. How come ? Onwards the 9th century the north of India slowly came under Islamic rule, the conquest of northern India was started with the Turkish-Afghani Ghaznavids ending with the great Mughal dynasty in 1707 ! In other parts of India the Aseel is most times known by their local names.

Breed Classification

In my opinion the Aseel family can devided into two main groups, the small Reza type (also known in some Western countries incorrectly known as -Rajah-type) and the large Aseel type (in western countries known as Kulang Aseel). As mentioned in the "Name"paragraph the information I have studied and implemented displayed on my website is for a great deal based on the information (whereunder local names) which has been forwared to me by a network of breeders and experts from countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Russia (Caucasus region) and former Soviet Central Asian republics (Uzbekistan, Dagestan, etc). Other ideas and Aseel classification systems excist.To me this is no problem at all. The reader after evaluation of all the information will decide for him or herself what classification is the most plausible or the most logical one. Note : some sources in and outside the Indian-subcontinent also speak of a third group, the so called mediumweight Aseel. As said a matter of personal view.

Aseel colours

The color names such as Sonatol, Jawa, Amir Ghan, Kaptan (Kalkatiya) are mainly used outside India and these expressions refer to the names used in the old kingdom of Oudh . The massive presenece of British troops and a loyal "Nawab"(local Muslim ruler) made this region very important. It was a stronghold for the British and stiff promotion of this region was made by good old Herbert Atkinson (see his publications) and his friends which were stationed as servicemen or administrators in this area. Today this former kingdom is known as Awadh and is situated in the state of Uttar Pradesh (with famous cities like Lucknow and Allahabad ). Native Indians, Pakistani, Bangla and Sinhala people use colour names (for example Zardi = yellow, Lakha = red, Kala or Kali = black , Naila = blue, etcetera) or names which refer to a qualtiy or specific features (for example Jangli = wild, Kalkatiya = black spurs) or even names of places (for example Amroha, Mianwali, Rampur , etcetera).

Reza Aseel

The Reza is a small Aseel with a weight not exceeding a weight of about 3 Kg ( 6.6 Lbs ). This group of Aseel reached worldwide popularity due to books and articles written by the English gamefowl expert Herbert Atkinson. The Reza Aseel family is subdivided into following strains: (Amir) Ghan, Sonatol, (Siyah) Rampur , Kalkatiya (Kaptan) and Jawa. All these strains are indentified by their specific color. In chronological order: blackreds, lightreds, black, speckled reds and silver duckwings. In the old days (colonial times) other colors such as for example spangles were regarded as -inferior-. Weights max.3 Kg ( 6.6 Lbs ). The English gamefowl authority Herbert Atkinson doubted the purity of any Aseel (regarding the above mentioned strains) exceeding a maximum weight of 3 Kg ( 6.6 Lbs ). At present day the "classic" names given to us by Atkinson are more or less forgotten. The native people in India & Pakistan only know the Reza-type Aseel by their local names (see Names paragraph).

Kulang Aseel (North & South Indian)

The Kulang family when it comes to classification is a different ball game. In the older Western gamefowl literature, for example Carlos Finsterbusch's "Cockfighting all over the World" (1938) following varieties are mentioned: Hyderabad , Calcutta and Madras . Aseel experts from the homelands use a "modern"classification system which divides the group of large Aseel into: North Indian, South Indian and Madras type. The first two strains dont differ much. Only type of comb, shape of the beak and body shape are different. For example : Northern type = slender, Southern type = heavier build), the Madras Aseel however is significantly different. They have a lower station, are heavier build and stronger boned. This variety is found in the deep south of India , the Tamil Nadu state. The average weight of the Kulang Aseel family in its homelands is 6 to 7 Kg (13 to 15 Lbs ). The Kulang Aseel outside India and other homelands is about 4,5 to 5,5 Kg (9.9 to 12.1 Lbs )