The unique custom of "beating the stick and praying for rain" was excavated and sorted out by cultural cadres

"Playing with a stick and praying for rain" is a popular folk custom in Yinlong Village, Banshu Township, Jingde County. Recently, cadres from the Wenguang Station in the township interviewed the 88-year-old Fang Xiaocai, the only inheritor of the folk custom, to rescue, excavate and organize valuable intangible cultural heritage.

According to historical legend, during the late Yuan Dynasty (1320 AD), the Yin Dragon people worked hard and bravely to create more than 30 acres of Bitian Lake (also known as Yuxiu Lake) and thousands of acres of fertile farmland. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there was frequent droughts. There was a Western Mountain in Wuhuali in the west of the city. It was located high and there was drought if there was no rain. The people of Gaotan Village (Jiangkeng Administrative Village) went up the mountain to plant flags, and used a twent-foot-high flagpole to stick a big white flag made of tissue paper. It was planted on the top of the mountain, and gongs and drums were knocked to show that the drought was serious and called on the surrounding people to pray for rain quickly. At that time, it was said that "no flag was planted in the three capitals, and no one asked for rain." In the late Ming Dynasty, on the east side of Meiwangjian (Yinlong) Mountain, there were two shepherd boys grazing cattle on the mountain. Due to the long drought, there was no rain, and the vegetation everywhere withered, and the cattle had no food and grass. They were so angry that they took a firewood knife and each cut off a cypress tree as a stick. They jumped and beat each other while praying for rain. Because the cypress trees were hard, the loud sound of "pa, pa, pa" shook the valley, and the black clouds on the top of Meiwangjian Mountain rolled. The two of them were very happy when they saw it, saying," God doesn't rain, we will use a stick to pray for rain." The more they fought harder and harder, the more and more dark clouds became, and soon it rained heavily, the drought was alleviated, and a bumper harvest was achieved after autumn. Later, whenever the drought was severe, the people of Yinlong would beat gongs and drums and use sticks to pray for rain, which became a local folk custom.

During the interview, Fang Xiaocai gave a live performance and explanation of the complete set of basic movements of "beating the stick and praying for rain". The staff compiled the folk customs lost since 1952 into written materials based on the old man's performance, making the protection system of folk folk culture more and more perfect.

Interview with Fang Xiaocai, the elderly man,

Fang Xiaocai, the elderly man explained the performance