One TV participated in traditional Royal Ploughing Ceremony

On May 17-18, 2014 One TV participated in the Royal Ploughing Ceremony held under the highest presidency of H.E. Noromdom Sehamoni – the King of Cambodia.  

This year the Kandal Province, where the event took place, gathered 6 ministries, representatives from 11 districts of the Kingdom and private companies. The event attracted hundreds of local and foreign visitors.

“The Ploughing Ceremony is an ancient royal rite marking the traditional beginning of the rice growing season, - said Mr. Heng Seakkhim from the One TV office in Phnom Penh. – By our participation in the Ceremony we showed once again that One TV is a Khmer company that respects the traditions of the Kingdom”.

Since ancient times, royal oxen were used to plough and predict agricultural yields and weather in the year. In this year's event, H.E. King Sehamoni assigned the Kandal provincial governor Phay Bunchhoeun as the King of the ploughing ceremony and the governor's wife as the Queen of sowing ceremony. The designated King ploughed the rice field by using royal oxen and the appointed Queen sowed seeds on the furrow as the symbol of planting.

After three rounds of ploughing across the field, the oxen were offered 7 plates of food: rice, corn, green beans, sesame, water, fresh-cut grass, and wine. Customarily, if the oxen eat a lot of agricultural items, it is believed that agricultural crops will give good output in the year, but if they eat little, it is thought that the yields will be low. If the oxen eat grass and wine, it will be predicted that cattle will be plagued by epidemics, and if they drink a lot of water, floods will be expected.

At the event, the oxen ate green bean, corn and rice. A court soothsayer predicted that the three types of crops would give fairly good yields this year.