Cambodia holds royal ploughing ceremony after 4-year-hiatus

STORY: Cambodia holds royal ploughing ceremony after 4-year-hiatus DATELINE: May 9, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:59 LOCATION: KAMPONG THOM, Cambodia CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of the royal ploughing ceremony 2. SOUNDBITE (Khmer): SIM NAVETH, 53-year-old spectator STORYLINE: Cambodia celebrated a traditional royal ploughing ceremony on Monday after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was to mark the annual beginning of the farming season, and royal oxen were used to plough and predict agricultural yields and weather in the year. Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni presided over the elaborate ceremony held in central Kampong Thom province's Kampong Svay district, attracting thousands of local visitors. At the event, King Sihamoni assigned Kampong Thom Provincial Governor Nguon Ratanak as the King of the ploughing ceremony and the governor's wife, Hong Phanny, as the Queen of the sowing ceremony. The assigned King ploughed the rice field by using royal oxen and the designated