Spring ploughing in Tibet: opening the plateau harvest "plough"

[Narration] March 16 is the 13th day of the first lunar month in the Tibetan calendar. According to the Tibetan tradition and climate characteristics, Tibet has entered the annual spring plowing season. On the same day, mulberry smoke curled up in the farmland of Chabalang Village, Qushui County, Lhasa City. The villagers dressed up to symbolize the "Chema", more than 40 carefully dressed tractors and several large machines drove into the farmland. The spring plowing ceremony of Chabalang Village kicked off here.

[SYNCH] Wang Dui, director of the village committee of Chabalang Village, Qushui County, Lhasa

Today is the spring ploughing and spring sowing ceremony of our Chabalang Village in 2022. For our farmers and herdsmen, such a ceremony is held to pray for good weather, good harvest in the coming year, disaster free and disease free. We hold today's celebration ceremony in accordance with traditional customs.

[Narration] In Tibet, farming has gradually entered the era of mechanization, but the traditional spring plowing custom full of "ritual sense" continues.

At the spring ploughing ceremony on that day, the villagers of Chabalang Village presented Hada, Chema and highland barley wine to each "Iron Bull" driver, wishing them to start the first plough of spring ploughing. Then, the villagers formed a circle in the farmland and threw tsamba into the sky. The melodious singing began. They sang and danced to pray for good weather and good harvest.

Nima Ciren, the head of the agricultural technology promotion station in Qushui County, Lhasa City, said that before spring plowing, the county had organized land preparation, prepared agricultural materials, irrigation canal desilting, agricultural machinery maintenance, etc., and distributed subsidized grain and organic fertilizer free of charge to farmers and herdsmen.

[SYNCH] Nima Ciren, head of Qushui Agricultural Technology Promotion Station in Lhasa

The mechanical operation rate of our (Qushui County) may be slightly higher than that of other counties and districts, because we have been implementing a project of agricultural production socialization in recent years, and then guiding people to make (agricultural production) large-scale, intensive, modern and mechanized, and then gradually realizing modernization from farming to sowing A process of mechanization.

[Narration] On the same day, a festive spring plowing ceremony was held in Lhasa, Shannan, Shigatse and other places in Tibet. The first plow of spring plowing was launched in all parts of Tibet.

Reporter Gong Sanglam reports from Tibet

Original title: Tibetan spring ploughing: opening the plateau harvest "plough"

key word: Plateau harvest