Royal Ploughing Ceremony

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony (ព្រះរាជពិធីបុណ្យច្រត់ព្រះនង្គ័ល ; වප් මඟුල් Vap Magula; พระราชพิธีจรดพระนังคัลแรกนาขวัญ Phra Ratcha Phithi Charot Phra Nangkhan Raek Na Khwan), 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 (, lɛ̀thʊ̀ɰ̃ mɪ̀ɰ̃ɡəlà) or Mingala Ledaw (), was also practiced in pre-colonial Burma until 1885 when the monarchy was abolished. In the various versions of Ramayana, Sita, the heroine appears from the ploughed earth as a baby when Janaka, the king of Videha ploughs the field in the royal ceremony. This is the earliest historical account of this agricultural ritual. This tradition is a pan-Greater Indian agricultural ritual. 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. 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.