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Encyclopedic overview
A rain dance being performed in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia Rain dance, ca. 1920 (from the Potawatomi agency, presumably Prairie Band Potawatomi people) Rainmaking is a weather modification ritual that attempts to invoke rain. It is based on the belief that humans can influence nature, spirits, or their ancestors who withhold or bring rain.
Among the best known examples of weather modification rituals are North American rain dances, historically performed by many Native American tribes, particularly in the Southwestern United States. Some of these weather modification rituals are still implemented today.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “rainmaking rites” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.