In northern Thailand ,
affected by drought, the inhabitants of a village carried out a ritual
to invoke rain, using a stuffed animal of the popular Doraemon as a substitute for
the traditional live cat that is sacrificed in this type of ceremony. Concern
over possible accusations of animal cruelty led the community to turn to the
iconic anime character, known for being a time-traveling robotic cat.
The ritual consisted of loading the Doraemon
stuffed animal in a wooden cage and carrying it throughout the town, located in
the province of Phrae. Local farmers, mainly engaged in
growing corn, are struggling to irrigate their fields due to lack of rain,
which has severely affected their crops.
The choice of Doraemon as a substitute was
due to the impossibility of finding a more realistic cat plush, according to
the report. The ceremony included taking the
stuffed animal to sacred places around the town and culminated with a ceremony
at a nearby monastery, according to media reports in Thailand.
The rainy season in Thailand usually begins
in May and lasts until November , but until now, the
country is still waiting for the arrival of drought-relieving precipitation.
However, Doraemon's curious sacrifice did not go unnoticed:
- « The
last time it was done, it rained heavily and Doraemon was consecrated in a
temple by the happy villagers. Doraemon is a god in Thailand .
- « The
Ayutthaya temple is dedicated to Doraemon to wish good health and good
fortune to children, and he is treated as an almighty god .»
- « But,
wasn't Doraemon a raccoon? ».
- « According
to the series and the comics, he is originally a robot cat. He likes to
make Mii-chan his girlfriend. He has a cat's tail and whiskers. Although
he is afraid of rats (according to the episodes, it was the rats that ate
his ears, hence Doraemon's fear of them). Shortly after losing his ears,
he cried a lot and sank into his own puddle of tears, which caused his
color to turn from the original yellow to blue. The lack of ears and those
big oval eyes along with his short stature (it's all the manufacturer's
fault) make any stranger perceive him as a blue raccoon ."
- " Doraemon
seems happy to be recognized as a cat even though he doesn't have ears ."
- " This
is a particularly kind world ."
Source: Blog Esuteru
