The "Fish Killing Festival" is also called the Rain Festival by local people. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a dragon who was dissatisfied with the Miao people's industrious weaving, and the valley was full of Man Cang, so he turned into a fish and came to the world, casting spells to make the world dry for a long time without rain, and the Miao people ran away from home one after another. On the way to escape, the villagers got an old man's advice: "If it rains heavily, you must defeat the dragon." A young man named Gu Bing volunteered to get even with the dragon. Finally, the dragon was subdued, and Gu Bing died of his injuries. In memory of the hero Gu Bing, the Miao family decided to hold an annual "Fish Killing Festival" to kill fish and pray for rain by the Qingshui River, so as to make the voting smooth and fruitful.
Of course, today's "Killing Fish Festival" is no longer a battle with dragons. People who take part in killing fish only need to collect some Chinese herbal medicines such as "Flower", "Bao Zhong" and "Bitter Jar" and give them to the "fishermen" in the village, so they can get the qualification to kill fish. Collecting herbs in the mountains is a patent for girls and boys. The herb picking season is also a good opportunity for young people to fall in love. The girls are in groups of three and five, dressed in costumes, picking herbs and singing jingles. If both sides are in the same mood, girls will take the initiative to invite boys to eat fish and rice at the "Fish Killing Festival". "Fisherman's Head" is generally held by the venerable elders in the village, presiding over the ceremony of "Killing Fish Festival".
On the day of the program, there were people in Miao townships in four counties. Men carry harpoons and medicine bags on their shoulders, and women are dressed up and carrying rice wine and fish rice. Men and women can't go the same way. Men go to the water, women go down the river and gather from all the mountain roads to the river. When the sun is at the top, people on both sides of the river are crowded and split like a forest. Under the command of "Fisherman", the men piled the medicine mud on the rocks in the river, holding steel forks and standing majestically, waiting for the "Fisherman" to order the fish to be killed.
At about three o'clock in the afternoon, "fisherman" grabbed the medicine mud and muttered, threw a handful of medicine mud into the river and shouted "Let go"! Suddenly, tens of thousands of kilograms of medicinal mud were pushed into the river at the same time, and the river instantly turned into a "black dragon" rushing down. The man waiting by flew away, and the big fish that lost self-control under mild anesthesia was killed. Fishermen chase the "Black Dragon", climbing and hurdling, just like stepping on the ground. Shili River Beach is like an ancient battlefield of Shili, with passionate feelings, screaming and cheering, which is extremely spectacular. The "black dragon" rolled forward, people rolled forward, and people's laughter shook the valley like magnificent music.
At dusk, the fisherman came to the sandbars and lawns on both sides of the river pier with a big fish on his shoulder. Dressed women have set fish rice and rice wine to welcome family and friends. In the circle, piles of people, such as thorns flower in full bloom, toast each other and guess the order, so lively.
Eating fish rice at the "Killing Fish Festival" is like a big picnic. The quality of fish rice represents a woman's virtue. Whoever cooks well and has many guests is the most respectable in the eyes of women. While greeting their men for dinner, they stare at other fish baskets and show off their men's achievements. If the fish rice is sent by an unmarried girl, there must be dumplings. Tangyuan is a souvenir for girls and boys to express their feelings. When young men look at girls, they will take the initiative to beg for dumplings. Whose rice ball is finished, which means that this girl has many suitors and is at home.
On the day of "Killing Fish Festival", if foreign guests come, the Miao people will certainly warmly welcome them. This family will invite them over, and that family will pull them over, toast and pick meat, guess boxing, and order one after another. After eating the fish meal, the old man and the children went home one after another, and the unmarried men and women hid in the night, hiding in the jungle and telling each other their worries.
The last activity of the fishing and hunting festival is to kill torch fish. People walked from one end of the river with torches in one hand and steel forks in the other. Two "fire dragons" are on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, winding up. Overlooking the mountains, the flames are majestic, the waves are full of phosphorus, and the mountains and rivers complement each other, which is unique and interesting.