Oxen Predict Break in Drought (Maybe)

This Reuters yarn at Independent Online provides a delightful snapshot of a centuries-old ritual still in vogue today.

In a ploughing ceremony overseen by King Norodom Sihamoni, a pair of sacred oxen create a symbolic furrow outside Phnom Penh's gilded Royal Palace to mark the start of the season for rice harvesting. Then the oxen are offered a choice of seven dishes - rice, corn, beans, sesame, water, wine and grass.

Depending on which dishes they consume, Royal astrologer Soeung Kimleang can then make proclaimations as to the type of season ahead.

The oxen consumed 90 percent of the rice, and 95 percent of the corn and beans, and steered cleared of the water, signifying a plentiful harvest.

But some farmers who had travelled to the capital to witness the ceremony had their doubts. "I saw the oxen drinking the water. That means maybe there will be a lack of rain," said farmer Ly Sophat, 41, from north-west province of Pursat.

But even after witnessing this, farmer Ly Sophat still has a strong desire to believe the Royal astrologer that an end is on its way to the worst drought in living memory.

"I only believe about half of what they are predicting," [he said].

In a similar ceremony two weeks ago in neighbouring Thailand, sacred oxen predicted abundant rains and healthy crops, the same prediction as last year, which saw one of the worst droughts on record.

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