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Straw Dragon Dance (草龙求雨)
Source: http://www.cultural-china.com
Straw dragon dance is a recreation of Mulam ethnic minority. As the name suggests, the straw dragon is woven with straw. A long straw curtain is woven first, which is divided into three branches that stick up to signify "dragon tail"; the other head of the straw curtain is bend over to make two corns as the "dragon head"; a small bunch of oval straw is tied on the "dragon body" every two meters and stringed together with bamboo. A straw ball is made in front of the dragon head as its "treasure" (dragon ball). Some ornaments are put up, for example, putting up some colorful paper on the head, body and tail of the dragon. After the Spring Festival, the straw dragon is burnt beside the river and sent back to the dragon palace. If any disaster occurs in the village, or there is a drought, people also make a straw dragon and burn it beside the river, impetrating the "dragon king" to ward off calamities, give blessing or bestow a rainfall.
