PHNOM PENH: Oxen predicted a plentiful harvest of rice this year at an ancient plowing ceremony. Royal two oxen are given offerings after plowing a field, marking the start of the rice-growing season in the Southeast Asian country.

The oxen ate 85% of the rice and beans on offer and 90% of the corn in decorated bowls – indicating a bountiful harvest.  Palace astrologers make their predictions each year depending on the oxen’s choice of crops and the amount they eat.

“I pray … for seasonal rain and regular weather,” Korng Ken, a Brahmin priest dressed in traditional white robes, said at the ceremony in Takeo province.

He prayed that “Cambodia avoid any natural disasters that would destroy the agriculture harvests which are the lives of the people and country.” (Agencies)