The Royal Ploughing Ceremony
The
Royal Ploughing Ceremony was initiated by King Rama IV as an auspious ceremony
to give blessing to
the annual
agricultureal produce. This ancient ceremony was revived in 1960 after
a period of discontinuation. in its
present
form, a high official of the Ministry of Agriculture is appointed as His
Majesty the King' s representative. The
Lord
of the Ceremony then ploughs an area on the Sanam
Luang ceremony ground. Four maidens representing
deities
follow the plough with baskets of rice grains.
This royal ceremony is a symbolic announcement to the nation's farming
community that the farming season
begins.
The rice grains used in this ceremony are much coveted by farmers: they
mix the grains with their own seeding
stock for
luck.
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