This festival falls between the 24th and the 27th of the fifth lunar month and is separate in origin from the Han people’s festival of the same name. The Miao once believed in many gods, worshipping nature’s power and their ancestors; they needed blessings from them in order to fend off evil spirits and get rid of disease.
The festival’s origins lie with the legend of the black dragon which lived in the Doushui River and it was cruel to the river people. One day, the dragon kidnapped the son of an old fisherman, who then decided to kill the dragon and rescue his son. Diving into the dragon cave under the sea, carrying kindling and a steel knife, he fought with the dragon for nine days and nights, chopped the dragon in three, rescued his son and set fire to the cave. The corpse of the burning dragon sent waves of thick smoke over the river and both heaven and earth were in darkness and chaos. A Miao girl dropped her ladle into the river and reached in with her shoulder pole to retrieve it. When the pole reached the ladle, heaven brightened with the splash, the darkness disappeared and the earth became bright again. Dragon-shaped boat rowing contests are now held on the Doushui River by the Miao people to celebrate the bravery of the fisherman and the girl.
The Miao dragon boat is made from three canoes attached to one another – two small ones either side of a larger one – made of fir. These are known as son boats (or just boats) and the mother boat; the bow of the mother boat is decorated with a dragon head over a metre high.
All the dragon boats are freshly painted for the contest and the coxswain straddles the dragon’s neck, beating a drum to set the pace for the oarsmen, who are all dressed in rich costume. As the contest begins, the oarsmen row as fast as they can while singing folk songs.
Some old customs have been retained until today, including the one of sending the boats downriver after the 16th but before the festival, on the condition their fields have been properly weeded. The boats on the river are symbolic of the fields having been weeded efficiently, because it is thought to be better to start the festival only after the weeding has been done.
It is also a way for the oarsmen, who may not get on in real life, to shake hands on board and co-operate for the contest. At the end, a big duck is placed in the river by the organisers and the oarsmen chase it until they arrive at the end.
In every Miao village, a wooden-framed shelter houses the dragon boats to protect them; this means they can last for years.
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