Cambodian plowing ceremony yields prediction for bumper crop

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | 10:48 a.m.

Optimism prevailed at the lavish event presided over by King Norodom Sihanouk, with royal astronomer Din Prum interpreting the hearty appetite of the oxen as a harbinger of adequate rain and a surplus harvest.

"This is a sign that rice will be plentiful - there will be no shortages," he told the royal family and top government officials.

Monsoon rains have arrived early this year, a blessing for chiefly agrarian Cambodia, where low-tech farming techniques rely heavily on the mercy of the weather.

The ceremony also showcased a new generation of the royal family, with two of Sihanouk's grandchildren leading the oxen as they plowed a sacred furrow outside the Royal Palace.

The two - Prince Sisowath Chivonarith and Princess Norodom Rattana-Devi - recently followed in the footsteps of their parents by joining Cambodia's often-turbulent political scene.

Cambodia's royal family has played a key role in Cambodian politics since Sihanouk led the country to independence from the French colonial empire in 1953.

Sihanouk, 77, has recently warned he is ailing, setting the stage for a succession that will be a major test of the country's newfound peace.