Royal Plowing Ceremony

**Royal Plowing Ceremony** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Cambodia and some other countries during this special day .

## Information

**Royal Ploughing Ceremony**, also known as **The Ploughing Festival**, is an ancient royal rite held in many Asian countries to mark the traditional beginning of the rice growing season. The royal ploughing ceremony, called *Lehtun Mingala* (လယ်ထွန်မင်္ဂလာ) or *Mingala Ledaw* (မင်္ဂလာလယ်တော်), was also practiced in pre-colonial Burma until 1885 when the monarchy was abolished.

### Cambodia

The ploughing ceremony is an ancient royal rite observed annually in Cambodia under the auspices of the king to announce the arrival of the rice-planting season and predict the crop productivity of the coming season. The ceremony is known as "ព្រះរាជពិធីច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល" *Preăh Réach Pĭthi Chrát Preăh Neăngkoăl*, composed of Khmer (*preăh*: sacred or royal title, *chrát*: to press or to plough) and Pali-Sanskrit words.
His Majesty, King Norodom Sihamoni of the Kingdom of Cambodia at the Royal Ploughing Ceremony in Phnom Penh.
In Cambodia, the history of the Ploughing Ceremony can be traced back to Funan period (1st-6th century) and was introduced from ancient India. The ceremony is also appeared in Reamker, the Cambodian version of Indian epic Ramayana and some other Buddhist literature.

In Angkor Borei (former capital of Funan), a statue of Balarama holding plough dated to 6th century was found. This deity statue was sculpted for the ploughing ritual and is considered to be the earliest evidence relevant to the ceremony.

The ploughing ceremony is considered to be one of the most important Khmer royal ceremonies and performs annually in Cambodia. The 2020 Cambodian Royal Ploughing Ceremony was set to be held on May 10 and was postponed as a measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the kingdom.

### Myanmar

A 1907 painting depicts the Burmese royal ploughing ceremony.
Burmese chronicles traditionally attribute the start of this rite to the late 500s CE during the Pagan dynasty, when it was performed by the kings Htuntaik, Htunpyit and Htunchit, all of whom bear the name 'htun' or 'plow.' However, this costly ritual did not occur annually nor was it performed by every monarch. During this ritual, the king plowed a specifically designated field outside the royal palace called the *ledawgyi* (လယ်တော်ကြီး) with white oxen that were adorned with golden and silver, followed by princes and ministers, who took turns to ceremonially plow the fields. While the plowing was undertaken, Brahmin priests offered prayers and offerings to the 15 Hindu deities, while a group of nat votaries and votaresses (နတ်ဆရာ, နတ်အုပ်, နတ်စော) invoked the 37 chief nats (indigenous spirits). The ploughing ceremony was a ritual to propitiate the rain god, Moe Khaung Kyawzwa (မိုးခေါင်ကျော်စွာ) in order to ensure a good harvest for the kingdom, and also a way for the king to present himself as a peasant king (တောင်သူကြီးမင်း) to the commoners.

### Thailand

In Thailand, the ploughing ceremony dates back to the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238–1438). According to Quaritch Wales, a former adviser to King Rama VI and Rama VII of Siam (1924-1928), in his book *Siamese State Ceremonies*, the Thai adopted the Ploughing Ceremony *in toto* from the Khmers when they obtained the freedom from Khmer Empire upon the Independence of Sukhodaya in mid-13th century.

In Thailand, the common name of the ceremony is *Raek Na Khwan* (แรกนาขวัญ) which literally means the "auspicious beginning of the rice growing season". The royal ceremony is called *Phra Ratcha Phithi Charot Phra Nangkhan Raek Na Khwan* (พระราชพิธีจรดพระนังคัลแรกนาขวัญ) which literally means the "royal ploughing ceremony marking the auspicious beginning of the rice growing season". This *Raek Na Khwan* ceremony is of Hindu origin. Thailand also observes another Buddhist ceremony called *Phuetcha Mongkhon* (พืชมงคล) which literally means "prosperity for plantation". The royal ceremony is called *Phra Ratcha Phithi Phuetcha Mongkhon* (พระราชพิธีพืชมงคล). The official translation of *Phuetcha Mongkhon* is "Harvest Festival".

King Mongkut combined both the Buddhist and Hindu ceremonies into a single royal ceremony called *Phra Ratcha Phithi Phuetcha Mongkhon Charot Phra Nangkhan Raek Na Khwan* (พระราชพิธีพืชมงคลจรดพระนังคัลแรกนาขวัญ). The Buddhist part is conducted in the Grand Palace first and is followed by the Hindu part held at Sanam Luang, Bangkok.

Series 2 banknotes first issued in 1925 during the reign of Rama VI and continuing into the reign of Rama VII depicted the Royal Ploughing Ceremony on the backs of all six denominations. Rama VII discontinued the practice in the 1920s, to be revived in 1960 by Rama IX, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

In both Cambodia and Thailand, the ceremony is typically presided over by the monarch, or an appointee. Sometimes the monarch himself has taken part in the ceremony and actually guided the plough behind the oxen.

At present, the day on which *Phra Ratcha Phithi Phuetcha Mongkhon Charot Phra Nangkhan Raek Na Khwan* is held is called *Phuetcha Mongkhon* Day (วันพืชมงคล *Wan Phuetcha Mongkhon*). It has been a public holiday since 1957.

In recent years in Thailand, King Vajiralongkorn Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Rice grown on the grounds, home of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is sown in the ceremony, and afterward, onlookers swarm the field to gather the seed, which is believed to be auspicious.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.