March 3rd is a common traditional festival of Buyi people, commonly known as "March 3rd". The source of festivals and the content of activities are different with different living areas. Buyi people in new castle Township, Wudang District, Guiyang City call "March 3rd" also as "Silkworm Festival", commonly known as "Silkworm Club". Legend has it that there was a plowman in ancient times who found that many ground silkworms killed their seedlings after spring sowing every year. After repeated observation, he thinks that the ground silkworm is the "heavenly horse" that the gods put on the earth. In order to prevent young acres from being damaged by pests, he used many methods to sacrifice the handles, but none of them worked. Later, when he was sowing in spring, he fried corn flowers to feed the ground silkworm, and as a result, he saved the seedlings. The news soon spread to Buyi families far and near.
Since then, in order to protect crops and strive for a bumper harvest, Buyi people in this area have sacrificed "God and Ground Silkworm" to nearby hillsides in groups of three on the third day of each year, so as not to let the Ground Silkworm kill the seedlings in the fields and let the grain harvest. After the sacrifice, people sang folk songs while walking along the ridge of the field, and scattered corn flowers into the field. It is believed that offering sacrifices to ground silkworms can not only confuse them, but also seal their mouths, so that the seedlings in the field can be protected from pests. Later, March 3 was designated as the "Song Festival". Buyi people in the southern suburb of Guiyang call "March 3" the "Fairy Song Festival". The content of the festival is basically the same as that of new castle Township in Wudang District, but they pray for the gods to avoid disaster by singing. On this day, young men and women went up the mountain to sing songs. Legend has it that whoever sings the most beautiful song will give you a golden voice after listening to it. Wherever you work, you will hear the golden voice singing, and pests will not dare to hurt crops when they hear this sound.
"March 3rd" is a grave-sweeping festival for Buyi people in Luodian County, Guizhou Province. On this day, two families or clans collectively went to the ancestral graves to hang green flowers, kill pigs and chickens, set up tables and flowers and glutinous rice as a memorial service. After sweeping the graves, people have fun, hunting and picnicking on the graves. In the area of Hongshui River in the south of Luodian County, "March 3" is also called "Maple Leaf Festival". In the area around Bawanghe River in the north, due to the low temperature, the maple leaves are still too small to be colored at this time, and March 13th is regarded as the "Maple Leaf Festival". On this day of the festival, people go for a spring outing in Shan Ye. Children pick tender maple leaves and throw them into balls, while women pick several tender maple leaves and put them in the bun. In addition, every family dyed glutinous rice into colorful colors and cooked glutinous rice. Young people go to the hillside to blow konoha leaves and sing folk songs. If you meet a satisfactory opponent, you will be invited to Buyi village in the evening and sing songs all night. When leaving, the host used banana leaves to wrap glutinous rice and chicken leg meat for the singer as a holiday gift. Buyi people in Wangmo County, Guizhou Province say that the third day of March is a "cold day", and eating dog meat can drive away the cold. There is a custom that dogs treat guests on this day.
Some Buyi people in Anlong County, Guizhou Province say that March 3rd is the birthday of the shadow "Mountain God". In order to prevent the mountain gods from releasing locusts to harm crops and ensure a bumper harvest in agriculture, people used the custom of sweeping villages and offering sacrifices to the mountain gods. On the third day of March, people set up roosters, knife heads and other offerings in front of the shrines in the villages and mountains, and they also killed a dog, sprinkling blood on paper flags, paper horses and stones at the entrances and exits of the stockade. Then the "Old Devil" and other personnel carried paper flags drenched with dog blood, and paper horses went to every household to sweep away monsters. A bench should be set up at each gate, and a "water bowl" filled with clear water and a bowl filled with rubble and stone particles should be placed on the bench. The "Old Devil" recited the "Magic Sutra" at the gate, played several "agricultural divinations", and then scattered rubble and stones at the house, splashing the water in the water bowl everywhere, overturning the bench in front of the gate and buttoning up the water bowl, meaning to sweep away the devil. Finally, put a paper flag with dog blood on it, put a paper horse on it, and go to his house to sweep it. After all the residents in the village have finished their rounds of sweeping, the "Old Devil Gong" went to the altar to suppress the demons and ghosts swept away in front of the gods, and then the men in the whole village had a meal on the spot at the altar, which was called "eating with the gods". Dewo Town in this county called "March 3rd" as "catching Chinese fir trees" and also called "Chinese fir tree song festival", which lasted for three days and attracted tens of thousands of people.
March 3rd of Buyi people in Badahe River area of Luoping, Yunnan Province is a festival for young men and women to sing in opposite directions. On this day, men, women and children came to the river to listen to young people singing folk songs and watch children rowing bamboo rafts and shooting water guns. Some people also make flowers and glutinous rice for their children and distribute it to the side and the village; Others put eggs and all kinds of food in small cloth pockets for teenagers who play and participate in competitions. Young Buyi men and women in Luoping niujie will hold a grand tour of mountains, singing songs and making friends during these three days. Dozens of young people from all ethnic groups in Fiona Fang will also come to the mountainside of Maba to participate in and watch this traditional song exchange activity. Singers can show their talents in such occasions, and with the talent of improvising poetry and singing, they can sing with their opponents for three days and nights or even longer. Many young men and women have established love relationships through these activities.