The farmers who live and earn their living in rural areas relies heavily on cattle for their livelihood. Cattle are animals which the rural Myanmars cannot do without, thus we can still witness the buying and selling of this animals there. And in that region they still have the cattle market which opens once a week for the buying and selling of these animals. In this programme are will be presenting the Okkan Cattle Market in Yangon Division which opens every Saturday, 8 to 11 am is the most busiest time at the market.
At this cattle market, cattle are sold here, milch cows and cattle to be bred for working, ouch as draught cattle are sold, draught cattle for individual farm work is also sold, and cattle that does not meet standards are sold off for beef, some of the cattle are exchanged to get petty cash and in some cases trade-off one's cattle for a better one.

The buying and selling are mostly done on draught cattle which are between the age of 4 to 8 years, are most responsive and docile. The age of the cattle is decided on their teeth. A cattle is considered 6 years, if it has 8 teeth, 5 years if it has 6 teeth. If the two middle teeth which came out first becomes concave, then the cattle is roughly considered to be 8 years old. While the age of the cattle is considered by it teeth, let's see what the buyers of cattle look for when they select their breed.
The cattle must have a single cowlick, strong feet, good and even physique, a strong cheek and wide-nostrils, a big and strong neck hump, and a frayed tail. If the cattle have these above-mentioned characteristics, the next thing to look for is the colour. The colour mostly preferred by the buyers is bluish-yellow (mostly white with a bluish tint) bluish -red (colour of faded brown), yellow (white with reddish brown sport) and the dark (which colour is black with reddish streaks on the back).

Myanmar draught-cattle have on average height of 4/2 inches and a length of 6 feet 3 inches. And they have quick reflexes and good stamina and are steadfast. So, after having chosen the cattle of their choice, the buyers take the cattle to an empty space where they are tested and if they are satisfied with their choice, they make the deals of purchase. As the cattle are being trade-off and sold, commodities for people and accessories for cattle are also sold at the cattle market. As we come to the end of this program, we would like to mention the fact that in the rural areas, the cattle market is clearly a part of farmer's way of life. To mention the good characteristics of a cattle draught: firstly they have to have a wide-forehead, and wide-chest and also wide-buttocks.
And the neck must be short and the stomach flat and trim and the tail must be close to the buttocks. And it is also important that the limbs are strong and sturdy. The hooves must be circular in shape and curved downwards. Another thing to look for is the body, which shall be stout and sturdy. And the last, but not the least is the colour of the cattle you will be buying. It should be in the range of bluish-red and bluish-green.