With the plough and a goad he received from the Brahmin priest presiding over the ceremony, the Lord of the Ploughin
g Ceremony ploughed three ceremonial furrows in an oval shape, then scattered the grains from the baskets carried by the Celestial Maidens, amidst the blowing of conches by five Brahmin priests. As he ploughed, a man in front sprinkled lustral water on the earth before him.
After the seeds had been scattered, the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony again ploughed the earth over the seeds for three more rounds.
Following the ceremonial ploughing, the sacred bulls were unleased and presented with platters containing seven feeds, namely rice, corn, beans, sesame seeds, alcohol, water and glass. The bulls' choices would predict the agricultural produce for that year.
According to predictions by Brahmin astrologers, a choice of rice or corn would mean abundance of grains and plentiful fish; beans or sesame meant plentiful fish and meat, water or grass indicated plentiful rain, food, meat and agricultural crops; and alcohol foretold a more efficient transportation system, good trade relations with other countries, and prosperous economy.
The Ploughing Ceremony was observed in its entirely until 1936, when there was a change in the political structure of the country . It was revived in 1960 by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, as an annual ceremony to boost the farmers' morale. The role of the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony was assumed by the Under-Secretary of State (now known as Permanent Secretary) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and the four Celestial Maidens were civil servants from the same ministry.
Each year, the 40 kilograms of the rice grains and the 40 other grain species used in the ceremony are supplied by His Majesty the King's experimental plot in the Chitrlada compound. What is not used in the ceremony is distributed to farmers throughout the country.
Since 1986, the day on which the Ploughing Ceremony takes place has also been declared Agriculture Day, with activities ranging from a grain contest to agricultural exhibitions at Sanam Luang.
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