The Rainmaking Ceremony on October 22 within the Lovedu Tribe of South Africa is a religious celebration. Religious celebrations commemorate transhuman powers which are regarded as the cause of a natural phenomenon (Turner 1982: 201). The Lovedu people dance and sacrifice gifts of cattle heads in hopes of pleasing The Rain Queen. In turn, the Queen will use her powers to provide the tribe with the cooling, life-giving natural phenomenon known as rain. This ceremony has become a cornerstone in the Lovedu society over the years, slowly becoming the identity of the Lovedu Tribe.
Each year on October 22, the Rainmaking ceremony occurs. The Lovedu society revolves around the Queen, and showering her with gifts and dancing in order to please her. This is one display of her importance to their society. The Rain Queen is divine; she is so bound up with nature that her emotions control the rain. The efforts of the Lovedu people are constantly focused on keeping the Queen in a happy state because they believe that if she is not content, this will be reflected in the weather.
Even though she is renowned as the greatest rainmaker in South Africa , the Rain Queen rarely works alone. She always works with a rain doctor, an assistant from within the tribe, whom she chooses. She may exchange him for another rain-doctor if the people complain that the rain is bad. Bad rain is defined as rain that is insufficient or accompanied by too many thunderstorms. The rain doctor's role is to cooperate with the Queen in some of the things that she cannot do. He figures out what forces are hindering the Queen's powers, and uses his medicines to right what is wrong. Rain doctors inherit their art from their fathers, and can even be called upon as primary rain makers by outside tribes. The payments they receive are their own, however the Queen is a priority to them, and they always remain loyal to the Queen (Krige 1943: 273). The coexistence between the Queen and rain doctor, shows the close relationship between she and her Lovedu people. This affects the religion and social structure of the Lovedu society.
Socially, this relationship between the Queen and the rain doctor immediately puts the rain doctors on a higher social level than the rest of the society. In a tribe that centers around The Rain Queen, those who are able to work along side the beloved Queen are deemed more important than others in the social construct of the Lovedu tribe.
Religiously, the Queen is the center of the Lovedu universe. She controls nature, and nature is the center of many Lovedu beliefs. Rain is the ultimate good. “Rain is regarded as not merely the material source of life and happiness and the physical basis of man's sense of security, it is also a symbol of spiritual well-being and a manifestation that the social order is operating smoothly” (Lovedu 1999: 68). Going along with this theme, coolness signifies a state of euphoria. This makes heat the antithesis of the cooling, life-giving rain. Heat is regarded as an evil, destructive force. The Queen is capable of steering the Lovedu people clear of the evil which heat brings. The Queen is the only one capable of saving the Lovedu from what they believe is evil, which is why the tribe worships her.
The annual ceremony reinforces the importance of their Queen. It reinforces the idea that she is the changer of the seasons, the mover of the clouds, and the maker of rain. The dependence upon this ceremony within the Lovedu tribe is tremendous. Agriculture, religious beliefs, loyalty, and faith all intertwine to create this culturally significant ritual of the Lovedu people.