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.