Food
Rice is intrinsically bound to the diet and eating habits of the majority of Asians. It is consumed in many ways - steamed, parboiled, fried, as rice cakes, sushi, briyani, and pilaf, not to mention in the form of hundreds of snacks made from rice flour, powdered rice, puffed rice, and flattened rice. The list is endless and each region has its own variations. Rice flour is also used to decorate houses, while rice straw is used to thatch roofs and as fodder for cattle.

Customs and Rituals
Rice is revered in most Asian countries. In many communities, there is a goddess or mother figure associated with rice. In Bali, it is Dewi Sri or Bhatari Sri. In India, she is Annapoorna and she promises those who come to her what a mother gives naturally and freely—food. The Hindu goddess Lakshmi is usually associated with wealth and prosperity, but such prosperity is based on rice. In Thailand, the Thai call rice Mother Rice.

Rice Rituals in Thailand
In the northern part of Thailand, farmers observe the Hag na ritual in preparation for rice cultivation. They tell Mother Rice that they are going to plant rice. They humbly request her to protect the crop from insects, disease or any calamity which would damage their rice crop. They tell Mother Rice that it is only with her blessing that they will have a bountiful harvest and therefore, have enough rice to eat.

Farmers in the north-east province of Thailand celebrate the commencement of the sowing season with the Pi Ta Hat ceremony. This ceremony is usually performed on the auspicious day of Thursday. The farmers here believe that holy spirits live in the rice field. As such, the oldest member of the family selects the perfect corner of the field to perform the ceremony. A whole boiled chicken from which the kidney, heart and liver have been removed is offered as food to Mother Rice along with candles, incense, flowers and a piece of sarong. Seven stems of rice are also offered with special chants.

In central Thailand, just before the harvest, the field is considered to be pregnant with rice and Mother Rice is honoured with the special ritual, Rub Kwan Khao. Just as pregnant women are treated with extra care, given special food and dressed up lovingly, the pregnant mother of rice is also treated with tender loving care. The deeply personal and spiritual relationship that farmers have with rice is obvious in the love with which these women treat the pregnant Mother Rice -- as if she were a real relative.

Rice Rituals in Bangladesh
The Bangla people think of the harvest as a time when the goddess Lakshmi comes to their homes and that they must, therefore, welcome her with the respect and reverence she deserves. Farming is a community activity here as it is all over Asia. Farmers tie the sacred first harvest as a separate bundle and hand it to their wives for safe-keeping. The courtyard is cleaned and covered with a mixture of fresh cow dung and mud. The farmers take the sacred first harvest and thresh it by beating it over drums. This rice will be the seed for the next crop and is threshed carefully and respectfully. Once threshed, the farmers toss the leftover straw onto the roofs of their houses. It remains there as a sacred object. The rice seed is then collected and cleaned. A farmer’s wife would salute it with her left hand to ward off the evil eye.

Rice Rituals in Indonesia
In Java, communities gather to celebrate the rice harvesting festival. The harvesting ritual starts with an offering made in the field. The offering consists of vegetables, andong mushrooms, and a special preparation called “Pencok Bakal” that consists of betel, slices of tobacco, lime, gambier leaves, rice and coconut leaves. These offerings are carried to the field. The ritual is led by the leader of the community, Tukino. He makes offerings in the four directions and leads the community in prayer. After the prayers are concluded, the actual harvest begins. The custom is to request the community leader to start the harvest.

Rice Rituals in India
The Tamil festival of Ponggal is celebrated over three to five days. The first day of Ponggal is Bhogi and features a ceremonial house-cleaning where old, worn-out items are burned and new ones are brought out. The next day, women draw intricate designs in front of their houses using wet or dry rice flour. India, being a large country, has different ways of celebrating the same harvest festival depending on the region. The festival honours the cycle of death and rebirth and takes place at the solar equinox when, according to Hindu mythology, the day of the gods begins after six months of night. In ancient astronomy, this day is called "Makara Sankranti" or "the Sun's journey into the house of Capricorn". It is believed that the Earth begins to shift on its axis on this day, bringing in spring and then summer. Ponggal is called Lohri in Punjab, Uttarayan in Gujarat, and Bihu in Assam.

The word Ponggal means “to boil over,” and is the name of the dish prepared from newly harvested rice for the festival. The Ponggal dish is prepared by boiling rice with coconut, peanuts, jaggery (unrefined sugar), chickpeas, and milk until the pot overflows - this signifies good luck and an abundance of blessings. Women draw a kolaam or auspicious design with rice flour on the floor. Then they create a small stand with cow dung on which they will later place the Ponggal pot. Prayers and bowls of ponggal are offered to Surya (the sun god), Bhogi (the rain god), and Indra. The farmers then take the ponggal rice, mix it with water and sprinkle it over their fields. They believe it is a good natural pesticide. The third day of the festival is called Maatu Ponggal and is dedicated to the cows which have faithfully assisted in the cultivation of the crop. As a reward, the animals are bathed and decorated with paint, flowers, beads, and bells.

Rice Rituals in the Philippines
In the Philippines, the harvest festival is marked by the land owner ceremonially sacrificing a pig. This sacrifice symbolizes thanksgiving for a good harvest. An important part of the festival is the examination of the sacrificed pig's gall bladder by a village elder. If it is healthy and big, it is a sign of a good harvest the following year. If it is small and pale, then next year's harvest will not be good. The gall bladder is nailed to the wall of the house as a sign of good luck. The meat of the sacrificial pig is distributed among all the people who participated in the harvest. The highlight of the festival is the communal feast.