Thai Buffalo Race Marks Start of Rice Growing Season

By Napat Wesshasartar and Thomas Suen

CHONBURI (Reuters) – Thai farmers marked the start of rice cultivation throughout the monsoon season on Sunday with their annual water buffaloes race which dates again to the 1800s.

Greater than 60 buffaloes took half within the race alongside a 200-meter filth observe within the Napa sub-district of Chonburi province, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of the capital Bangkok.

Samart Suksawang, mayor of Napa, mentioned the occasion honours the buffalo’s conventional position as beast of burden in rice farming.

“The aim is to preserve cultural traditions, permitting the youthful era to know that we have been training rice cultivation with the assistance of buffaloes for a very long time inside our native communities,” he mentioned.

Although many farmers now use tractors for rice ploughing, water buffaloes are nonetheless stored for different duties like carrying.

On the race, younger males ran behind pairs of buffaloes, yoked on the neck, utilizing whips to drive them by a waterlogged observe. Between races, they splashed water on the animals.

“When it is sizzling, we’ve got to pour the water to make the fatigue go away,” mentioned racer Noppadorn Ponpaiparn, 26.

“Similar to boxers, throughout breaks, we’ve got to wipe them.”

The race occurred in sizzling dry climate, with a 5% drop in rainfall forecast for the July-October monsoon, in keeping with the nation’s Meteorological Division.

“It is a lot enjoyable and exhilarating,” mentioned spectator Ratsamee Chomkhun, 48. “However it’s additionally shocking. We’re afraid the buffaloes would possibly soar in direction of us, however the workers are protecting them below management.”

(Reporting by Napat Wesshasartar and Thomas Suen; writing by Panu Wongcha-um; modifying by Andrew Cawthorne)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.