ECura Collaborates with Community at the 2025 Bai Agriculture Festival
On May 19, 2025, Qifeng Village in Fengyu Town, Eryuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, celebrated its annual Traditional Kai Yang Men (Rice-Planting Festival). Organized spontaneously by the local villagers and supported by the ECura project, the event aims to preserve the Bai ethnic group’s agricultural heritage while praying for favorable weather and bountiful harvests.Since 2018, when ECura project PI Lijuan Qian first participated, this tradition has been maintained and grown significantly. This year’s festival was notably vibrant and grand, attracting numerous participants and villagers from surrounding villages. ECura project postdoctoral researcher Keyi Liu also traveled to the site this time and actively participated throughout the festival’s preparations, rehearsals, and the event itself.
On the day of the event, the rice-planting flag fluttered in the wind, accompanied by the sounds of suona horns, drums, and gongs echoing through the village. Dressed in festive attire, villagers of all ages gathered to sing and dance in celebration. A solemn ritual honoring the “Seedling Flag” unfolded at the heart of the ceremony. In front of the flag, a respected elder (villager Jifan Yang 杨吉繁) recited traditional verses before handing over a copper gong—symbolizing the authority to begin planting—to the designated Seedling Officer. Holding the gong, the Seedling Officer declared: “May this year bring a bountiful harvest and granaries full of grain!” He then struck the gong and announced loudly, “The gate of rice planting is now open!” In response, the crowd echoed back, “Let’s go!” Amid the sounds of firecrackers, gongs, and the festive melody of rice-planting tune played on suona, a procession of hundreds set out with the flag leading the way. Singing and playing music as they paraded through the village lanes toward the fields.
The villagers demonstrated remarkable dedication and creativity throughout both the preparation and the performance stages. In the weeks leading up to the event, they handcrafted an impressive array of traditional props. These included intricately woven willow-leaf dragons, symbolic rice-planting flags, brightly colored ethnic costumes, lifelike buffalo outfits that honored the animal’s role in farming, and hand-made straw sandals. Each element reflected the community’s deep cultural memory and pride, turning the entire event into a vivid expression of Bai identity.
A particularly special aspect of this year’s festival was the temporary stage constructed by the villagers beside the rice fields—an open-air platform framed by mountains and sky. Here, villagers of all ages presented carefully choreographed performances of traditional song and dance, honoring the rhythms of planting and community life.As one villager Bingcui Wang (王炳翠) explained, “The more joyful and lively the fieldwork, and the more beautifully the planting songs are sung, the better the rice will grow—and the bigger the harvest will be.”
TThe director of the Eryuan County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, who attended the festival, praised it as an exemplary model of grassroots cultural revival. He noted the event’s significant role in preserving traditional agricultural rituals and emphasized its dynamic and innovative spirit. In addition, villagers documented the entire festival digitally, producing video recordings that serve as valuable cultural records for future generations.
Kai Yang Men vividly showcases the Bai people’s profound reverence for nature and their zest for life. Through this vibrant celebration, Qifeng Village strengthens community bonds, actively promotes traditional cultural practices, and contributes to the sustainable cultural development of the rural area.