Royal Plowing Ceremony

ASU Libraries undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collections. If you can identify a landmark or person please send details to: digitalrepository@asu.edu, opens in a new window. Thank you for helping describe and caption this important historical image.

This ceremony usually takes place at the end of the dry season in early May when Khmer farmers begin preparing their fields for new crops. The field beside the Royal Palace is plowed by specially chosen oxen, who are then led to trays containing various grains, grasses, and water. Based on what the oxen choose to eat, farmers make predictions about the upcoming harvest and agricultural season. The King himself often attends this ceremony, which has been observed for many centuries.

Source for information about the object depicted in the image: Fillieux, Claude. Merveilleux Cambodge. Paris: Societe Continentale d'Editions Modernes Illustrees, 1962. Ceremonies des Douze Mois: Fetes Annuelles Cambodgiennes. Phnom Penh: Cambodge Commission des Moeurs et Coutumes, 1950.

To request permission to publish please complete the form located at the Department of Archives and Special Collections web site: http://hdl.handle.net/2286/7f5bakntwx1, opens in a new window.