Thai Water Buffaloes Trade Fields for Pageants
CHONBURI,Thailand (AP) – It was 5-year-old Tod’s frist time competing in a beauty pageant,and the bright red interior of his ears turned out and popped against his black fur.
The main stud for his owner, food vendor and farmer Thawatchai Daeng-ngam, Tod was one of the competitors Monday at the annual water buffalo racing festival in Chonburi, a city about an hour drive from Bangkok.
Formerly considered humble draft animals, water buffaloes have become prized show animals in Thailand. They are celebrated at the festival,held at the end of the 11th lunar month to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season and put a spotlight on the animals that once were vital to Thai agriculture.
These days, tractors have replaced buffaloes, once prized for their strength and ability to plow fields and transport heavy loads. If the animals are not competing in shows, they are sold for meat.
Buffaloes were the main attraction at the fair in Chonburi, which kicked off with a parade featuring students performing customary Thai dance. Some of the buffaloes wore flower crowns as they pulled traditional wooden carriages with wheels 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall carrying their owners and women dressed in traditional thai garb.
The festival also featured a race with buffaloes ridden by jockeys sprinting down a 100-meter (328-foot) track.
Pitun Rassamee came to compete with his 3-year-old buffalo with white fur.The albino already had won local competitions, and he hoped Lookaew, meaning marble in Thai, would place in the top five.
Ther was good reason to be hopeful. Another albino thai buffalo was sold in 2024 for 18 million baht ($672,000) after winning multiple pageants.
Changing the role of Thai buffaloes
The shift from farm animals to prized symbols has transformed the role of water buffaloes in Thai society, offering a glimpse into the country’s changing agricultural landscape and cultural values.