The game of throwing flower bags has a long history. Although there is no literary record about its earliest form, it is believed to have become a custom during the Song Dynasty according to Zhu Fu’s description of Miao customs, Yao, Liao, Geling, and Gelao ethnic groups in his book Xi Man Cong Xiao.
Throwing Flower Bag Folktale
There are many impressive folktales of the origin of throwing flower bags.
Once upon a time, there lived a young man named Wei Suogang who was good at growing rice. Across the river lived a girl named Jin Zhutanhuaai who lived alone and made a living by growing cotton for spinning and weaving. Though separated by the river, the two often communicated by singing, both cherishing a deep love for each other.
In order to exchange their seeds of rice and cotton, Wei Suogang wrapped the best of his seeds in a kerchief, bundled it into a square bag and threw it across the river towards Jin. And in the same way, Jin gave her cotton seeds to Wei and the two again expressed their appreciation by singing.
This way of exchanging seeds later became a routine for both and the love between them grew deeper every time they met each other across the river. Miraculously, after throwing the bags 99 times, some fairies were so touched by the genuine and persistent love between the two that they set up a rainbow bridge above the river so they could connect with each other. As a result, Wei and Jin finally married one another and lived happily ever after.
Later, in order to have a happy marriage like the folktale couple, people of the Bouyei ethnic group turned the bag throwing routine into a custom designed to help them find their true love, passing it on from generation to generation. The cloth bags filled with seeds were later replaced with beautiful bags with embroidery and colorful ribbons on them, which are now referred to as flower bags by the Bouyei ethnic group.
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