PLOUGHING CEREMONY
Rich pickings
By By Wannapa Phetdee
The Nation
Published on May 12, 2009
**Crowds scour Sanam Luang for sacred grains after the Royal Oxen begin ploughing a year of plenty **
Thousand of people stampeded into Bangkok’s Sanam Luang yesterday, stripping the scene bare after the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony.
Many were gathering souvenirs of the rite for the first time, but 43-year-old company employee Satit Bunmi had seen it all before. He has been witnessing the ceremony and gathering the sacred rice grains afterwards for at least 10 years.
Seeds to sow at home
“This year I took a day off work to collect grains and a plant used at the ceremony, which I’ll grow at home as a good-luck charm,” he said, clutching the bag of rice and a flowerpot.
Despite the muddy ground caused by heavy rain on Sunday, the crowd sifted the earth for the sacred grains sown as part of the ceremony and took away sugarcane, banana trees and other shrubs that decorated the event. After last year’s burning sun, the weather was cooler, enabling people to remain collecting more than two hours after the rites were over.
For those not lucky enough to find any, enterprising crowd members were selling the rice for a baht or two per grain. Some even tried to get Bt5. Many believe the rice is lucky and will make their own fields flourish.
HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, accompanied by his royal consort HRH Princess Srirasmi, HRH Princess Bajra Kitiyabha and HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, represented His Majesty the King in presiding over the rites.
Positive prediction confirmed
From the variety of seeds offered them, the Royal Oxen ate grass and sesame, bringing the prediction of plentiful crops, healthy livestock and the right amount of rainfall for the year ahead.
In his role as Lord of the Plough, Agriculture Ministry permanent secretary Jarunthada Karnasuta picked out a piece of cloth that measuring five palms, and the prediction of plenty was confirmed.
The grand spectacle also drew foreign tourists.
Twenty-one-year-old Frenchwoman Kimi Collod arrived to witness the ceremony with her parents, having jetted in on Sunday for their first visit to Thailand.
“We came because we wanted to see His Majesty and other members of the Royal Family,” said Collod. “We caught a glimpse of the car of the Crown Prince, but nothing more because of the crowds. I know the ceremony is very important for Thais.”
Bron: The Nation / http://www.nationmultimedia.com/