The Asian Reporter
Pacific Northwest News q Volume 29 Number 15 q August 5, 2019 q www.asianreporter.com
Thai farmers race their
buffalo in show of gratitude
START OF SOWING SEASON. A Thai farmer controls a pair of buffalo while competing in a flooded field during the annual Wooden Plow Buffalo Race in Chonburi province, southeast of Bangkok, Thailand. The farmers
were celebrating the start of the sowing season by racing their buffalo, whose usual duty is to plow the field. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) — Farmers
in eastern Thailand celebrated the start of
the sowing season by racing their buffalo,
whose usual duty is to plow the fields.
The annual Wooden Plow Buffalo Race
in Chonburi, about 37 miles southeast of
Bangkok, is held to express gratitude to
the buffalo for working for the farmers all
year long.
“It’s a long-inherited tradition that has
been passed down from generation to
generation,” said Supanee Saengue, one of
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the race organizers.
Around 60 buffalo were registered for
the race, with the farmers coaxing and
goading the animals to the finish line.
Another
competitor,
Apichart
Kongtrupjareon, said his two buffalo had
to be trained from the ground up, starting
by slowly walking them abreast 10 times a
day until their rhythm matched.
“They’re just like humans — if they don’t
exercise, their muscles get sore,” Apichart
said.
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