Cambodia to enjoy good crops this year, astrologer predicts

SIEM REAP, May 2, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- A Cambodian royal astrologer predicted Sunday at one of the ancient temples in the Angkor Wat complex that Cambodia will have ''good'' agricultural crops this year.

Astrologer Korng Keng told a crowd of tens of thousands at Lean Chul Damrei Temple in Siem Reap Province that the country's crops, especially corn and beans, will be ''good.''

He made the prediction at a ceremony to mark the beginning of the rainy season in Cambodia, drawing his conclusions from the results of the Royal Plowing Ceremony.

The ceremony in Siem Reap is the first since 1967 when then Crown Prince, later King, Norodom Sihanouk presided over the plowing.

This year, Sihanouk's son King Norodom Sihamoni watched over the traditional welcome to the growing season along with thousands of government officials, diplomats, foreign visitors and Cambodians.

The ceremony is usually held annually near the royal palace in Phnom Penh at the start of the planting season.

But Thong Khon, minister of tourism, said the ceremony was in Siem Reap this year because the timing coincides with the first great Buddhist tourism event ''The Trail of Civilization and Art Performance'' at Angkor Wat in which more than 100,000 participants, including those from nine other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, South Korea and India.

It is also being used to attract more tourists to Angkor Wat.

Tourism is Cambodia's second-largest income earner after the garment sector and Angkor Wat is the main target for foreign tourists in Cambodia.

According to government statistics, despite a decline in tourism worldwide because of the global economic crisis, Cambodia achieved an increase of 1.7 percent in foreign arrivals last year to 2,161,577.

And in the first three months of 2010, 683,692 international tourists visited Cambodia, an increase of 9.87 percent from the same three months last year.

In the Royal Plowing Ceremony, seven golden trays -- holding rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water or rice wine -- are laid out for a pair of royal oxen and predictions for the coming growing season are made from the choices made by the oxen when they reach the trays.

This year, the oxen ate most of the corn and beans, indicating Cambodian farmers will have ''good'' crops at least for these two products in 2010.

According to the royal astrologer, if the oxen eat the grass it means bad luck for farmers because insects may attack the crops.

If they drink the rice wine it means turmoil, fighting or robbery in the country.

But this year, the oxen ate no grass, rice or sesame and drank no water or rice wine.

Drinking water indicates lots of water for cropping, while eating sesame indicates a big harvest.

Last year, when the oxen ate all the corn and beans, Korng Keng predicted ''quite good crops'' for Cambodian farmers.

And Cambodia produced about 7.3 million tons of rice in 2009, leaving a surplus of nearly 3 million tons for export.

Chan Sarun, minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, recently said Cambodia is expected to become one of the world's major rice exporters when a long-term plan to increase land under rice cultivation to 3.5 million hectares from the current 2.6 million hectares is complete.

Rice production then is estimated to reach 12.25 million tons annually.

Cambodia Holds First Royal Plowing Ceremony Near Angkor Wat Temple in 4 Decades

2010-05-02 (Xinhua) - Cambodia on Sunday held the first Royal Plowing Ceremony at Lean Chul Damrei near Angkor Wat Temple in more than four decades.

Chea Kean, deputy secretary general of Committee for National and International Festivals said that such Royal Plowing Ceremony was held for the first time in 1967 under then King Norodom Sihanouk, and the ceremony held here on Sunday was the second.

The Royal Plowing Ceremony is held annually at Veal Meru near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, but Chea Kean said this year the government decided to hold it in Siem Reap's province as a link to the first Buddhistic tourism event during Visakh Bochea Day that was held on April 27-29 in this Bayon Temple area.

Presiding over the ceremony was King Norodom Sihamoni, son of retired King Norodom Sihanouk, and participated by many government officials including Heng Samrin, president of the National Assembly, other senior officials and diplomats and at least 100, 000 holiday goers from various parts of the country including foreign tourists.

Prince Sisowath Vochiravuth, and Princess Norodom Rasmei Pornita were acting as the main plowers at the ceremony on Sunday and accompanied by Sou Phirin, governor of Siem Reap province.

The ceremony is to mark the start of rainy season that begins in May and to end in October.

As the procession of the ceremony began Sunday morning, seven trays with rice, sesame, water, corn, beans, grass, and rice wine are put ready for two royal oxen and an astrologer makes predictions based on what and how much amount of the foods and drink taken by the two oxen.

As two oxen ate only corn and bean, Korng Keng, chief of royal astrologers predicted for the year 2010 that Cambodian farmers will enjoy good harvests with corn and bean and as well with other crops.

Each of the seven foods and drink has different meaning and most of them have good sign as long as those two oxen had eaten or drunken, except rice wine and grass that signify bad prediction.

Rice wine means theft, and robbery and grass means insects will disrupt crops.

Cambodia is an agrarian country with rice and other crops as the main exporters to other countries.

Royal Plowing Ceremony Near Angkor Wat Temple

Cambodia's king Norodom Sihamoni, rear right under the gold parasol, walks during the annual royal plowing ceremony near Bayon temple in Siem Reap province,about 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 2, 2010. Sihamoni on Sunday presided over the annual royal plowing ceremony in the famed Angkor complex. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Sisowath Weacharavuth, the grandson of Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk, second from left, uses the royal oxen to plow land during the annual royal plowing ceremony near Bayon temple in Siem Reap province, about 320 kilometers (199 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Sisowath Weacharavuth, the grandson of Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk is carried by royal palace officers to mark the annual royal plowing ceremony near Bayon temple in Siem Reap province, about 320 kilometers (199 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Ceremony Predicts Good Corn, Bean Harvest

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 May 2009

Royal oxen have predicted the crops for corn and bean will be good in Cambodia this year, following an ancient ceremony to mark the beginning of the rainy season.

In the Royal Plowing Ceremony, the oxen pull a blade through the soil of an ancient rice field, outside the Royal Palace, before offerings of beans, corn, grass, rice, water and wine are placed before them.

This year, the oxen nibbled at beans and corn, forsaking rice. That will mean good crops of the first two, but a poor rice crop, perhaps only 30 percent of the typical yield, according to Kang Ken, chief royal astrologer.

“The royal oxen did not eat rice at all,” he said.

The annual ceremony was overseen by King Norodom Sihamoni and attended by Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly Heng Samrin, lawmakers, diplomats and thousands of onlookers.

Rice farmer Sim Ang, 51, from Kandal province, said he wasn’t completely convinced of the prediction.

“We must work hard for our rice farming to support our living, and we must not be hopeless for the negative prediction of the poor harvest,” he said after the ceremony.

Nop Sophal, a farmer from Kampont province, said she wasn’t convinced either.

“The ceremony is only an ancient prediction,” she said. “But now, nature and the weather are changing very often.”

Besides, she said, the oxen didn’t predict a good rice crop last year, “but I still had rice to eat.”

Still, the prediction was cause for worry for some, like 39-year-old Phnom Penh resident Ly Vanda.

“If the oxen don’t eat rice, we will face a rice shortage,” she said. “We are very worried for the poor harvest affecting the livelihood of farmers and Phnom Penh residents, while Cambodia is suffering under the global economic crisis.”

If the oxen aren’t hungry for rice, the export market is. Cambodia’s rice production increased to 7.2 million tons in 2008, up half a million tons from the year before, and the Ministry of Agriculture says the country could export 8 million tons per year by 2015.

Cambodia oxen shun rice, worry farmers, in ritual

Cambodia's royal oxen eat corn and beans during the annual ploughing ceremony in Phnom Penh May 12, 2009. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Tuesday May 12, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Reuters Life!) - Cambodia's royal oxen dismayed farmers on Tuesday by turning up their noses at a traditional offering of rice, an omen the royal astrologer said boded ill for the harvest of the country's biggest crop.

The annual ritual, in which oxen plough a field near the royal palace before being given offerings, is taken seriously by many of Cambodia's superstitious, and largely poor, farmers if not by most of the politicians and diplomats who attend it.

This year, the oxen ate corn, green beans and soy beans, but avoided the other grains they were offered.

"This means we will have plenty of the corn and beans, but a poor rice harvest," astrologer Kang Ken announced after the ceremony which was presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni.

"This worries me a lot," said 27-year-old rice farmer Chan Thy as she heard the prediction.

The main harvest season is in November, and many farmers only harvest once a year because of lack of water.

The government is seeking to boost rice exports and cut poverty among its 14 million people, 85 percent of whom are farmers or members of farming families.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cambodia was the world's ninth-biggest rice exporter in 2007 with 450,000 tonnes and the agriculture ministry says the country could export 8 million tonnes by 2015.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is spearheading the agricultural reform in Cambodia, did not attend the ceremony.

Cambodia's rice production has increased to 7.2 million tonnes for the 2008/09 season from 6.7 million in 2007/08.

Political Cartoon: The Royal Plowing Ceremony

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Royal Oxen Predict Fair Harvest for Year

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 May 2008

If the royal oxen are to be believed, Cambodia will see fair harvests of rice, corn and beans in the upcoming year.

In the annual royal plow ceremony Friday, which marks the beginning of the rainy season, the oxen chose those three staples following three rounds of plowing, foregoing water, grass and wine.

Their crop prediction also indicates the Cambodian people will be spared calamity, disease and natural disaster, royal astronomer Kang Ken said.

The royal ceremony was attended by King Norodom Sihamoni, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and other dignitaries. Not in attendance were Prime Minister Hun Sen and Senate President Chea Sim.

“I am very happy for the result of the royal plough ceremony,” said Meas Kunthea, a farmer from Svay Rieng province.

“I am very happy because my home village plants rice, corn and bean and will have fair production in this year,” said Kratie province farmer Koa Top. “I’m not concerned about my agricultural crops.”

The high price of rice did cast a pall over the royal ceremony, he said. “The rice price is high. I am not happy, but if I have high rice production, I will be.”

Royal Plowing Ceremony 2008

The royal plowing ceremony in Phnom Penh. Cambodia's royal cows performed an ancient ceremony on Friday, predicting the country will have a "quite good" rice harvest this year (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)
Cambodia's royal oxen participate in the annual ploughing ceremony in Phnom Penh May 23, 2008. The oxen will have to choose between seven bowls including rice, corn, green beans, grass, sesame, water and wine to predict the future of the farming season. The tradition, which is hundreds of years old, is followed closely by the nation's estimated 14 million people, the majority of whom are farmers. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodia's royal oxen eat corn during the annual ploughing ceremony in Phnom Penh May 23, 2008. The oxen have to choose between seven bowls including rice, corn, green beans, grass, sesame, water and wine to predict the future of the farming season. The tradition, which is hundreds of years old, is followed closely by the nation's estimated 14 million people, the majority of whom are farmers. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Royal cows signal 'quite good' rice harvest

23 MAY 2008
AFP

Cambodia's royal cows performed an ancient ceremony on Friday, predicting the country will have a "quite good" rice harvest this year, despite global concerns over supplies of the grain.

King Norodom Sihamoni presided over the country's Royal Ploughing ceremony in a park outside the royal palace. Thousands of people watched on as royal astrologers observed what the cows ate to signal the coming year's harvests.

After a symbolic ploughing of a portion of the park's field, a pair of royal cows were led to seven dishes -- rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water and alcohol -- laid out on trays.

"Based on what the royal cows ate, the rice harvest will be quite good," chief astrologer Kang Ken declared before the crowd of onlookers.

He also said the corn harvest would be good, but the bean crop would be average.

The traditional ceremony marks the start of the planting season in the kingdom.

Farmers who joined the ceremony hailed the prediction.

"This means that we will not face rice shortages in the coming year," said 58-year-old Kao Tob, a rice farmer in Kampong Chhnang, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh.

Even if the harvest is strong, Cambodians face soaring food prices. Inflation reached double digits late last year and now hovers around 11 percent.

Good-grade rice -- Cambodia's staple food -- has nearly doubled in price this year.

It now costs nearly 0.90 dollars per kilogramme (41 cents per pound), deepening the poverty of the one-third of the population who live on less than 50 cents a day.

World rice prices have soared this year, a trend blamed on higher energy and fertiliser costs, greater global demand, droughts, the loss of rice farmland to biofuel plantations, and price speculation.

Cambodian oxen predict peace and good harvest ahead

May 23, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodians stopped for the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony Friday, intently watching what two royal oxen would eat for clues to the upcoming rice season - and the answer was good, royal astrologers said.

Presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni in the royal field next to the Cambodian royal palace, the lavish ceremony saw dignitaries parade three times around the area's perimeter with the animals symbolically ploughing.

The oxen were then led to a range of seven bowls to eat from.

Cambodians believe how much corn, soy beans, sesame, rice, grass, water and rice wine the animals consume can predict the future.

The two deep-brown beasts, decked out in gold and crimson livery, devoured almost all of the corn, also nibbling on rice and soy beans.

They apparently decided it was too early to tipple at the morning ceremony, however, which is a good sign as if they drink rice wine it is believed to predict war and turmoil ahead.

Royal astrologers told the king that the animals' choices meant there would be corn in abundance, a better than average rice crop and a fair soy bean harvest.

The event was attended by around 1,000 spectators and simulcast on every television station in the nation.

The war of rice harvest predictions: it's all bull

The Thai oxen predicted a strong harvest and plentiful rains

Thursday, 10 May 2007
Oxen disagree on harvest forecast

BBC News

Thailand's royal oxen have predicted plentiful crops and healthy rains in an age-old ceremony marking the start of the rice-planting season.

After ploughing a symbolic furrow at a Bangkok parade ground, the oxen were offered a variety of foods representing harvest outcomes.

They chose bowls of rice, corn and grass - good news for farmers.

But at a similar event in Cambodia, the oxen ate only a small amount of corn, meaning a lean harvest to come.

The majority of the populations of both countries are farmers and many of them put great faith in traditional methods of predicting the harvest.

The Royal Ploughing ceremony in Bangkok was presided over by Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and broadcast live on television.

Meanwhile, Cambodian member of parliament Son Chhay, who attended the Phnom Penh ceremony, said it was the worst prediction he had seen in more than 10 years.

Royal ploughing ceremony, Siamese style ... Did Thailand forget that it copied Cambodia's tradition?

Thu, May 10, 2007
Ploughing ceremony

All eyes are on what Sacred Cows choose to eat at the Royal Ploughing Ceremony Feast or famine in ancient rite

So what will a pair of Sacred Cows eat today? We shall know the prophecy right after the Royal Ploughing Ceremony: whether the land will be fertile this year, whether the water will be abundant or whether the farmers' harvests will yield a rich output.

The prophecy all depends on the Sacred Cows' choice of eating, which will provide a forecast for the country's harvest for the whole year. During the ceremony, held at Sanam Luang, right beside the Royal Grand Palace, the chief Brahmin will prepare a menu of seven items - rice paddy, maize, green bean, sesame, hard liquor, water and grass - for the Sacred Cows.

The annual ceremony is an ancient ritual, a mixture of Buddhist and Brahmin rituals. It is observed and practised not only in Thailand but also in other Asian nations whose livelihoods have been dependent on rice harvests.

The name of Suthothana, the father of Lord Buddha, is translated as "white rice", implying that his family line was involved in rice farming. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has been seen harvesting rice once in a while in experimental plantations. The Emperor of Japan is also involved in sacred rice plantations. Cambodia has recently conducted a similar royal ploughing ceremony.

If the Sacred Cows eat paddy or maize, the prophecy is that the harvests and food produce will be abundant. If they eat green bean or sesame, food produce will be abundant and the food that we eat every day will also be available throughout the country. If they drink water or eat grass, water will be abundant, while harvests, food produce and the food that we eat every day will be rich in supply. If they drink the liquor, transportation will be convenient and commerce with foreign countries will be prosperous.

But the prophecy will also have to take into account the praying and random choice of three pieces of cloth of different lengths.

If the Ploughing Lord picks a piece of cloth measuring four palm spans, there will be more water. Farming on high land will bear good yields, while farming on low land might face some damage.

If the Ploughing Lord chooses a piece of cloth measuring five palms, the prophecy is that water supply will be just about right, rice plantations will yield good output and food produce will also be abundant.

If the Ploughing Lord selects a piece of cloth measuring six palms, water will be scarce. Farming on low land will bear good yields, but farming on high land will not bring good results.

This year, the pair of Sacred Cows, named Prakho Therd and Phrakho Thoon, will take part in the ceremony from 8.19am until 8.59am. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is presiding over the ceremony and the Rice Grains Blessing.

The grains blessing was held yesterday in a Buddhiststyle religious ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Yesterday was also recognised as Agriculturists' Day. The ploughing ceremony is conducted with Brahminstyle ritual. In Thailand, Buddhist and Brahmin rituals are most of the time inseparable.

A rehearsal for the ceremony was held last Sunday. Banphot Hongthong, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, acted as Ploughing Lord with angels holding gold and silver baskets accompanying him, while he ploughed the land and sowed the seeds. The rehearsal went well, assuring that the grand ceremony today will be held with success and in colourful fanfare.

The grains blessing and ploughing ceremony are held every year in May. As Thailand, or Old Siam, depends for its livelihood on rice, the ploughing ceremony signals an auspicious start to a new harvest season. It also boosts the morale of farmers so that they have confidence in their farming and planting for the rest of the year.

The ploughing ceremony had been held since ancient times until 1936, shortly after the bloodless revolution of 1932. It was not until 1960 that the ceremony was revived to honour farmers and to recognise their contribution to the wellbeing of the country.

As Banphot will act as the Ploughing Lord, his deputy Suthiporn Jiraphand will be responsible for making the prophecy after the completion of the ceremony. The rice seeds and grains used in this year's ceremony weigh 2,011 kilograms. They come from the experimental project at Chitralada Palace.

At the end of the ceremony, the Thai public will storm the grounds of Sanam Luang to bring home the grains to augment the auspices for their lives.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture will prepare royal-sponsored seeds in 10,300 packages for free distribution to farmers nationwide.

Why the Siamese king does not take part in the royal ploughing ceremony?

Thu, May 10, 2007
The Nation (Thailand)

Throughout Asia, kings and their family members traditionally took part in royal ploughing ceremonies.

It was considered a sacred ritual.

In his book, "The Burmese Lost Their Independence" (Phama Sia Muang), the late MR Kukrit Pramoj provided an insight into ceremonies in which ancient Indian and Chinese kings took part. By doing so, he said, the monarchs restored honour to farmers. In the old days, farming was considered an honourable profession because it brought prosperity to countries.

In Thailand, Kukrit wrote, the Siamese kings had not been taking part in ploughing ceremonies for quite a long time. There was only evidence that they assigned a minister of agriculture, or Phraya Pholathep, to act as a Ploughing Lord on their behalf.

But as Burmese kings had been participating in such ceremonies since ancient times until the period that coincided with the reign of King Chulalongkorn, the question was raised of why the Siamese kings were not directly involved.

Kukrit explained that this probably had to do with the belief of the ancient Siamese people. If the start of the harvest season went well, farming for the whole year would bear good yields. It affected the economy of the Kingdom as a whole. If the farm yields were bad, then the Ploughing Lords, who launched the official start of a new harvest season, would have to take the responsibility.

The dilemma was that if the Siamese kings were to directly take part in the ceremony, they could not escape the blame in the event that the harvest season was bad. The ancient Thai administration held that the king could do no wrong, a concept similar to that of the western monarchs. For this reason, when there were any royal activities that could bear unforeseen consequences, there must be ministers acting on the kings' behalf. When something went wrong, the ministers would have to assume the responsibility instead.

Kukrit also wrote that King Vajiravudh, or King Rama VI, treated this issue with delicacy. He appointed his halfbrother Kromluang Rachaburi Direkrit as agriculture minister. But when the ceremony took place, he had another person act as a Ploughing Lord instead. For if Kromluang were to be blamed, King Vajiravudh would also feel the repercussions because the minister was his elder halfbrother.

In this sense, Kukrit said, democracy took hold in the Thai way of administration because the Siamese kings could also bear the responsibility if things went wrong.

The last king of Burma, King Hsipaw, who reigned between 1878 and 1885, was reluctant to travel outside his palace. He failed to follow the tradition of taking part in the ceremony. He felt it might not be safe for him to venture outside his palace, so he had the ceremony performed within the palace grounds.

This meant ordinary Burmese people could not have access to the ceremony. They were not aware of what was going on. Gradually, the ceremony lost its significance and relevance. The farmers were discouraged and lost their morale.

There were all kinds of prophecies about the adverse events that might happen to King Hsipaw, who witnessed his kingdom being taken away by the invading British.

King Ekkathat, the last Ayutthaya king, shared a similar fate to that of King Hsipaw. He was also reluctant to venture beyond his palace. He had a royal pavilion built at the city wall so that he could watch the river and the scenes outside.

Back to the contemporary scene, last Saturday Cambodia performed its own ploughing ceremony. King Norodom Sihamoni presided over the sacred ritual, performed in an open field near the palace. Thousands of people took part.

Hun Sen, the prime minister, prayed for the sacred beings to help provide good weather and improve the farming of the Cambodian people.

As the Sacred Cow ate only 45 per cent of the maize provided, court astrologer Kang Ken forecast that Cambodian farmers might suffer from drought and see a reduction in their yields.

Political Cartoon: Royal Plowing Ceremony, 2007

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Royal Ploughing Day '07

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, center, greets officers during the annual royal plowing ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, May 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Prince Norodom Singharath is carried by Royal Palace guards in a procession to the annual royal plowing ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, May 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Royal oxen is paraded during the annual ploughing ceremony in Phnom Penh May 5, 2007. Cambodia's royal oxen predicted on Saturday the country's worst harvest in more than a decade following a ritual ploughing ceremony. After three rounds of ploughing near the royal palace, a couple of oxen were given the choice of eating dishes including rice, water, beans, sesames, corn, and rice wine, in an ancient ceremony to predict the future of the farming season. The oxen ate only half the corn and ignored the other crops, signalling a bad harvest. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian Royal ox eats corn during the annual ploughing ceremony in Phnom Penh May 5, 2007. Cambodia's royal oxen predicted on Saturday the country's worst harvest in more than a decade following a ritual ploughing ceremony. After three rounds of ploughing near the royal palace, a couple of oxen were given the choice of eating dishes including rice, water, beans, sesames, corn, and rice wine, in an ancient ceremony to predict the future of the farming season. The oxen ate only half the corn and ignored the other crops, signalling a bad harvest. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Holy cow! Royal cows predict poor harvest to come

Saturday, May 05, 2007
Royal cows predict poor harvest in Cambodia

Cambodia's royal cows signalled a drought and poor harvests in an ancient ceremony Saturday to mark the beginning of the kingdom's planting season.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen joined thousands of Cambodians for the annual ceremony as royal astrologers fed the cows seven dishes -- rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water and rice wine -- laid out on trays.

Hun Sen, who rebuked royal astrologers for failing to predict the deadly floods in 2001 that claimed 59 lives, said he was hopeful that the kingdom would be blessed with good harvests.

"We hope all spirits will help Cambodian farmers to get good agricultural production," the prime minister said at the start of the traditional ceremony held at a park near Phnom Penh's Royal Palace.

But the cows only ate corn, meaning Cambodia, one of the world's poorest nations struggling after three decades of civil war, could suffer this year.

"The royal cows ate only 45 percent of the corn, which means Cambodia could suffer a severe drought and bad harvests," chief astrologer Kang Ken told onlookers.

Cambodia frequently suffers from drought and flooding, threatening the livelihoods of millions in the impoverished nation.

While still taken seriously by many rural Cambodians, the ploughing ceremony predictions have been called into question in recent years.

Cambodia stops to watch royal oxen predict the future

May 5, 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodians celebrated Royal Ploughing Day Saturday, with thousands watching with baited breath to see what foods two royal oxen would choose in a colourful ceremony designed to predict the future of the new farming season.

The result was mixed as the two fractious beasts, bedecked in red head cloths and golden silk rugs, turned their noses up at the majority of the seven golden dishes laid out before them, signaling a lean if mostly peaceful year ahead for the overwhelmingly agricultural country.

Six oxen ceremonially ploughed a field located adjacent to the Royal Palace, watched intently by thousands of Cambodians and some of the most important people in the land in a ceremony presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni and carried live by every national television station.

Two chocolate brown oxen were finally brought forward to choose from a feast including fresh grass, wine, water, corn, rice and sesame, but one refused to eat altogether and the other ate just 45 percent of a dish of corn before turning his back on the proceedings.

If they had eaten the grass or drunk the wine, Cambodia would have braced itself for war, chaos and turmoil. However their refusal to touch the water signals scarce rains for the coming rice season, according to palace Brahman priests present for the ceremony.

Corn growers will enjoy an average season, but the untouched dish of rice sends an ominous sign of tough and mostly dry times ahead for a nation which relies heavily on paddy rice as its staple crop, soothsayers predicted.

The ancient ceremony is held annually and signals the end of the dry season and the time to begin preparing the fields for the rains which herald the new rice season.

It was reintroduced by former king Norodom Sihanouk after his return from exile in 1993 as part of an effort to return Cambodia to its cultural history after years of civil war and the destruction of so many ancient traditions under the brutal 1975 to 1979 Khmer Rouge regime.