Pictures of frogs were etched on the inside of the bronze drums, and the beating of the bronze drums was thought to represent the croaking of frogs. Thus the ritual is said to have signified a prayer for thunder and rain. The village celebrates the new year by holding the Magwai festival. These five stages basically correspond to the funeral process of the village. In the first stage, the search for the Magwai, all the villagers enter the rice fields to look for hibernating frogs.
Young males carry the casket containing the frog and visit all the houses in the village.
After the visitation has been completed, the casket is placed in a hut especially built for the Magwai festival. This corresponds to the time taken by wakes in the village's funeral rites. The custom prior to 1950 was to begin on the evening of the second day of the first month of the agricultural year and continue until the eve of the burial of the Magwai. Villagers would assemble around the Magwai hut and place offerings of incense, liquor, fruits, chickens, and pigs. Today, this stage has been simplified, and the beating of drums and the song exchange are only performed for short periods each evening.