Before Queen Modjadji premiered, we looked at queens around the world in honour of the Balobedu rain queen. Now that we’ve watched the Rain Queen reign and make rain, we thought we’d trip across the globe again, but this time to look at a few rainmaking rituals in other parts of the world.
Romania
Paparudă is a pagan ritual performed in Romania. In times of drought, a young girl dances through the streets of her village, draped in flowers and leaves. As she moves from door to door, she chants a ritual song. She is often joined by village women, and together they will sing, dance, and clap their hands throughout the village and in the fields. Other villagers may offer gifts that signify abundance like eggs, corn, wheat, milk, and fruit. Once they have finished traversing the streets and fields, the women make a doll out of wheat, burn it, and throw it in the water. Similar rituals are performed in other southeastern European countries like Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Moldovia.
Thailand
The Isan people believe that droughts are a punishment from the gods for veering off the moral path. To call for rain, the Isan beg for mercy by performing a ritual, reciting verses. This is known as hae nang maew. The ritual involves a cat being splashed with water. Since cats do not like being wet, a dry cat is believed to cause droughts. Once they are splashed, their meows are thought to act as a plea to the gods for rain. Cats are usually carried through the village in a basket during this ritual, followed by villagers reciting the rain-making verses.
United States
The Native American Pueblo Peoples known as the Zuni also have a rainmaking ritual. Residing in the Pueblo of Zuni in New Mexico (a state known for its arid climate), their rainmaking ritual involves a Rain Dance. While performing the dance, they wear feathers and blue items to represent the wind and rain.
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