Malagasy Chicken Division
by Harilala Rakotomanana
July 8, 2005

Do you know how Malagasy people share chicken at the table? Chicken is usually a favorite dish for fiestas like New Year, Independence Day and when there is a guest. There is a particular way to share chicken in a Malagasy family: the rump is served to the elderly people like grandmothers or grandfathers or the father; the giblets (stomach and liver) are for the mother; the wings are for the older children and the legs are for the youngest children. All the family can eat the other parts of the chicken body. But the head and feet are forbidden to be eaten by children because they bring bad luck for their studies.