Rice goddess worship gets revived in Thailand

The relationship between rice and the Thai people is inextricable. In fact it has been grown in the kingdom since ages. According to many, growing rice is more than a crop or a livelihood. It gives rise to culture and traditions. Thus, it came as a pleasant surprise to most of the Thais, when the country announced the revival of the ceremonial worship of the Rice Goddess.

To boost the morale of the country’s 3.7 million rice-farming families, and to commemorate the queen’s upcoming birthday on Tuesday the 12th of August, The Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday held a ritual to worship Mae Phosop, or the Rice Goddess, at a demonstration farm in Ang Thong province. The ceremony was presided over by Queen Sirikit, the royal consort of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Worship of Mae Phosop was once common among Thai rice farmers, but the practice had greatly waned in recent years as Thailand’s rural population had become more modern and educated. The resurgence of the ceremony clearly portrays the strong undercurrent of Hindu and animism that suffuses Thailand’s traditional belief system and ceremonies.

Agriculture Minister Somsak Prissananatakul said the last time a Rice Goddess ritual was performed in front of a royal audience was in 1961. According to him the practice will help heighten the self-esteem of rice farmers all over the country.

disputes over the Preah Vihear Temple to resolve soon!

The much hyped controversy and disputes over the Preah Vihear Temple on the Thai Cambodian borders, had gripped much attention last month. The two south Asian neighbour’s foreign ministers had agreed to resolve the matter soon. The time seems to have come when both of them have decided to resolve all differences through bilateral mechanisms which include meetings between the foreign ministers, the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and the General Border Committee (GBC).

Thailand and Cambodia have in common a 798-kilometre land border. To stay together as good neighbours for tens of thousands of years to come, it is understood that peaceful and amicable discussions will mutually benefit both countries’ economic, political, social and other spheres as also the people of both countries living along the Thai-Cambodian border. Thus, understanding the severity of the matter, Thailand’s foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat announced the second ministerial meeting between Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Nam Hong.

Thailand seems to have agreed with Combodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, that the second meeting between the two foreign ministers should be able to make good progress and pave the way for both sides to find a solution. It is scheduled to take place on August 18-19 at Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan. Keep watching this space to know if the two countries finally bridge up all differences.