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In human culture

Rice plays an important role in certain religions and popular beliefs. In Hindu wedding ceremonies, rice, denoting fertility, prosperity, and purity, is thrown into the sacred fire, a custom modified in Western weddings, where people throw rice. In Malay weddings, rice features in multiple special wedding foods such as sweet glutinous rice. In Japan and the Philippines, rice wine is used for weddings and other celebrations. Dewi Sri is a goddess of the Indo-Malaysian archipelago, who in myth is transformed into rice or other crops. The start of the rice planting season is marked in Asian countries including Nepal and Cambodia with a Royal Ploughing Ceremony.