In times of peace, the dance was performed when offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors, or during military drills. The dance embodied people's sacred worship and could build up people's bodies and increase their strength.

 Protective efforts

At a national conference on protecting China's traditional culture held in April 2004, the Kasi Dawen Dance of Heishui County in Sichuan Province, along with other 28 items, was included in the second phase of the National Folk Culture Protection Project.

After the conference, the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance in China issued a notice saying: "It is an important obligation of governments at different levels to protect the folk cultural heritage," and requiring local financial departments to include this protection in their financial budget. The notice also called on local authorities to set up related institutions to take charge of the protective measures.

It is reported that the Ministry of Finance has earmarked a special fund of 6 million yuan (US$723,000) for the preparatory work and research of the National Folk Culture Protection Project.