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The Wa people ( Wa: Vāx; my, ဝလူမျိုး, ; ; th, ว้า) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in Northern
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, in the northern part of
Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...
and the eastern part of
Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
, near and along Myanmar's border with China, as well as in China's
Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
. Historically, the Wa have inhabited the
Wa States The Wa States was the name formerly given to the Wa Land, the natural and historical region inhabited mainly by the Wa people, an ethnic group speaking an Austroasiatic language. The region is located to the northeast of the Shan States of B ...
, a territory that they have claimed as their ancestral land since time immemorial. It is a rugged
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
ous area located between the
Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...
and the
Salween River , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...
, with the
Nam Hka Hka River or Nam Hka is a river of Shan State, Burma. It is a left hand tributary of the Salween. Historically this river separated the Wa States and the northern Shan state of Manglon from Kengtung State. Course The Nam Hka forms the boundary b ...
flowing across it. The Wa traditionally practiced
subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
by cultivating
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, peas, beans,
poppies Poppies can refer to: *Poppy, a flowering plant *The Poppies (disambiguation) - multiple uses *''Poppies (film)'' - Children's BBC remembrance animation *"Poppies", a song by Patti Smith Group from their 1976 album ''Radio Ethiopia'' *"Poppies", th ...
and
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
s. They bred
water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
es, which they used mainly for sacrificial purposes. Generally, the traditional customs of the Wa, as well as their lifestyle, are very similar to those of the
Naga people Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administered ...
further to the Northwest. The Wa people speak the
Wa language Wa (Va) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Wa people of Myanmar and China. There are three distinct varieties, sometimes considered separate languages; their names in ''Ethnologue'' are Parauk, the majority and standard form; Vo ( Zhen ...
which are part of the
Mon-Khmer The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
group of languages. Many of the Wa are
animists Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hu ...
and a small proportion of the population follows a derivative of either
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
or
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. The Wa were once known as the "Wild Wa" by the British due to their practice of
headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such as ear, nose or scalp) are taken instead as trophies. Headhunting was practiced in hi ...
.


Cultural history

According to Sir George Scott in the Wa
origin myth An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have stor ...
s the first Wa originated from two female ancestors ''Ya Htawm'' and ''Ya Htai'' who spent their early phase as
tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...
s ''(rairoh)'' in a small lake known as ''Nawng Hkaeo''. The lake is located in the northeastern Wa territory in the border area between China and Myanmar. Very little is known about the early history of the Wa. What is known is mostly made up of local legends telling that in the distant past the historical
Wa States The Wa States was the name formerly given to the Wa Land, the natural and historical region inhabited mainly by the Wa people, an ethnic group speaking an Austroasiatic language. The region is located to the northeast of the Shan States of B ...
and all the territories of eastern Shan State, as well as large swathes of the adjacent areas of present-day China had belonged to the Wa. In the area of the former
Kengtung State Kengtung ( my, ကျိုင်းတုံ; shn, ၵဵင်းတုင် ''Chiang Tung;'' ), known as Menggen Prefecture ( zh, 孟艮府) or Möng Khün Chiefdom or Mueng Khuen Fu (Tai Khün: ) from 1405 to 1895, was a Shan state ...
the Wa were displaced around 1229 and were later defeated by King
Mangrai Mangrai ( nod, ; th, มังราย; 1238–1311), also known as Mengrai ( th, เม็งราย),The name according to historical sources is "Mangrai", and this is used in most modern scholarly applications. "Mengrai", popularised by a 19 ...
. At the time of
British rule in Burma ( Burmese) , conventional_long_name = Colony of Burma , common_name = Burma , era = Colonial era , event_start = First Anglo-Burmese War , year_start = 1824 , date_start = ...
the Shan were the majority in Kengtung state, with other groups such as Akha and Lahu forming sizable communities. The Wa now form a minority of only about 10% in Kengtung District despite having been the original inhabitants.Donald M. Seekins, ''Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'', p. 251 The Wa originally had
animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
religious beliefs centered around ritual blood sacrifices. Villages had a spirit healer ''(Tax Cao Chai)'' and the traditional way of dealing with sickness or other problems was to sacrifice a chicken, a pig or a larger animal, depending from the magnitude of the affliction. According to local legend, the practice of cutting a
human head In human anatomy, the head is at the top of the human body. It supports the face and is maintained by the skull, which itself encloses the brain. Structure The human head consists of a fleshy outer portion, which surrounds the bony skull. Th ...
was intended as a ritual sacrifice in order to improve the
fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
of the rice fields. Traditional villages had also shrines ''(Nyiex Moeg)'' where a buffalo was sacrificed once every year at a special Y-shaped post named ''Khaox Si Gang'' with an offering of the blood, meat and skin performed at it. Animals were also sacrificed at celebrations such as marriages and funerary rituals among the traditional spirit-worshiping Wa, a practice that still endures among the Christian Wa. However, the Wa that were under Buddhist influence developed different traditions. In the traditional Wa society
monogamous marriage Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyga ...
was the norm and there was sexual freedom for both men and women before marriage. The chewing of
betel The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plan ...
with
areca nut ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name ...
was formerly also an important custom. The Wa have different kinds of traditional dances. One important dance in their culture is accompanied by the beating of a large hollow wooden drum. This way of dancing, among other Wa dances such as the hair dance and festivals, is being promoted as a tourist attraction by the Yunnan tourism authorities in China. The Wa people also have a well-engrained
drinking culture Drinking culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a recreational drug and social lubricant. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the w ...
, with large amounts of local moonshine being produced and are widely believed to on average consume the largest amount of alcohol in China.


Language and script

The
Wa language Wa (Va) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Wa people of Myanmar and China. There are three distinct varieties, sometimes considered separate languages; their names in ''Ethnologue'' are Parauk, the majority and standard form; Vo ( Zhen ...
forms a language group belonging to the
Palaungic The nearly thirty Palaungic or Palaung–Wa languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages. Phonological developments Most of the Palaungic languages lost the contrastive voicing of the ancestral Austroasiatic consonants, with the disti ...
branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It formerly had no script and the few Wa that were literate used
Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
, while others used the
Shan language The Shan language (written Shan: , , spoken Shan: , or , ; my, ရှမ်းဘာသာ, ; th, ภาษาไทใหญ่, ) is the native language of the Shan people and is mostly spoken in Shan State, Myanmar. It is also spoken in ...
and its script.
Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such ...
ary work among the Wa began at the beginning of the 20th century first in the Burmese and later in the Chinese areas of the Wa territory. It was led by William Marcus Young of
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
. The first transcription of the Wa language was devised by Young and Sara Yaw Shu Chin in 1931 with the purpose of translating the Bible. This first Wa alphabet was based on the
Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Italy ...
and the first publication was a compilation of Wa
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s in 1933, the Wa
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
being completed in 1938. This transcription, known as "Bible orthography" is known as "" () in Chinese, and is now used mainly in the Burmese Wa areas and among the Wa in Thailand. A revised Bible orthography has been adopted as "official Wa spelling" by the authorities of the
Wa Self-Administered Division The Wa Self-Administered Division ( my, ဝ ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရ တိုင်း ) is an autonomous self-administered division in Myanmar (Burma). Its official name was announced by decree ...
in Pangkham, which have published a series of primers in order to improve the literacy of the United Wa State Army troops. Also, after 2000 Wa people in social networks such as
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
and other online media, as well as Wa songwriters in
karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...
lyrics of Wa songs use this Myanmar (revised Bible) "official Wa orthography" in its main variations. In China, a transcription adapted to the new
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
, known as "PRC orthography" or "China official orthography", was developed for the Wa people in 1956. However, its publications, mainly propagated through the Yunnan administration, are yet to reach a wider public beyond academics. This new Wa alphabet is treated as the first formal script of the Wa. The Western Lawa are officially considered part of the Wa minority in China and are also known as 'tame Wa'.


British rule and enduring prejudices

Very little has been written about the Wa people except in the
Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...
.Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, ''Myanmar's Wa: Likely losers in the opium war''
/ref> The area where they live had been traditionally administered by a ''
Saopha Chao-Pha (; Ahom language, Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the T ...
'', a Shan hereditary chief. In the second half of the 19th century, the British authorities in Burma judged the Wa territory remote and of difficult access. Thus, excepting
Mang Lon Mang Lon, Manglon, Manglun, Manglön, or Mang Lön a state in the northern Shan states of Myanmar, was formerly the chief state of the Wa people. It is a mountainous territory, including the valleys of the Salween and its tributary the Nam Hka. I ...
where the ''Saopha'' resided, the British left the Wa State without administration, its border with China undefined. That situation suited the Wa well, for throughout their history they had consistently preferred being left alone. The Wa were largely portrayed by colonial administrators as wild and dirty people owing to their practice of headhunting. However, Chinese documents written prior to the twentieth century rarely mentioned the Wa as headhunters and yet it is this aspect of Wa culture that has been cited more than any other in order to emphasize the primitiveness of the Wa. The prejudice continues in modern times when the Wa, who are economically not that different from other ethnic
hill tribe Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...
s in the area such as the
Lahu people The Lahu people ( Lāhùzú; Lahu: ''Ladhulsi'' / ''Kawzhawd''; vi, La Hủ) are an ethnic group of China and Mainland Southeast Asia. Etymology The Chinese name "Lahu" literally means "to drag favour from heaven" (拉, lā, "to drag" ...
, are largely known for their rebel army and as being involved in drug trafficking, overshadowing other aspects of their culture.Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, ''Opium: Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy'', Harvard University Press


Post World War II

The international border that had been defined between Burma and China made that the Wa people were divided between the two countries. The Wa regions in Burma were largely left alone until the 1950s, when remnants of
Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
's
National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
fled the 1949
Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...
. A decade and a half later, the region was under the influence of the
Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is a clandestine communist party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fought ag ...
, which was very active in the area. During that time opium cultivation and sales grew and the ancient traditional life became disrupted, but also an administrative system that collected revenue and maintained a significant armed force, as well as a rudimentary infrastructure, ushered the Wa region into the modern era.Ronald D. Renard, ''The Wa Authority and Good Governance, 1989 – 2007'' In 1989 the Wa authorities expelled the Burma Communist Party and negotiated a cease-fire with the then leader of Burma's military junta
Khin Nyunt General Khin Nyunt (; ; born 23 October 1939) is a Burmese military officer and politician. He held the office of Chief of Intelligence and was Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004. Early life and education Kh ...
. They founded the
United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
and
United Wa State Party The United Wa State Party (UWSP) is the ruling party of Wa State, an autonomous region in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, no ...
with a centralized command. In return for agreeing to the ban of poppy cultivation and opium production the region experienced a massive influx of international development aid. The Wa Special Region 2 was created within the northeastern Shan State, with its de facto capital in
Pangkham Pangkham (; zh, c=邦康, p=Bāngkāng; Wa: ''Bāng kam''), known before 1999 as Pangsang (), is a border town in Myanmar's far eastern Shan State. It is situated at a bend on the Hka River near the border with Yunnan Province, China, opposit ...
.


Military activity and drug production

The
United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
was one of the world's largest narco-armies, with up to 10,000 men under arms. Until 1996 the UWSA was involved in a conflict against the
Mong Tai Army The Mong Tai Army ( my, မိုင်းတိုင်းတပ်မတော်; sometimes transcribed Muang Tai Army; abbreviated MTA), was an insurgent group consisting of soldiers from the Shan minority in Myanmar, founded in 1985 by ...
which suited the objectives of the
Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
in the area. During this conflict the Wa army occupied areas close to the Thai border, ending up with the control of two separate swathes of territory north and south of Kengtung. In 1999 when the Burmese military requested the Wa fighters to return to the northern area the UWSA refused. During the 1990s the areas controlled by the UWSA were involved in heroin production. During the 2000s, the United Wa State Army shifted focus into amphetamine production. Records of official seizures compiled by the United Nations suggest that in 2006 Myanmar was the source of half of Asia's methamphetamine, known in Thailand as yaba, and some experts believe that most drug labs are in areas under Wa control.


Geographic distribution

The land where the Wa have been traditionally living is divided between Burma and China. The international border cuts the ancestral Wa region roughly in half.


China

The Wa are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. In China, the Wa live in compact communities in the
Ximeng Va Autonomous County Ximeng Va Autonomous County (; Va: or ) is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Pu'er City, in the southwest of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Myanmar's Shan State to the west. Wa/Va people, who speak the Wa language Wa (Va) i ...
(in Wa: ''Mēng Ka'' or ''Si Moung''),
Cangyuan Va Autonomous County Cangyuan Va Autonomous County (; Wa language, Va: ) is under the administration of Lincang City, in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. Wa people, Wa/Va people are the main inhabitants here. Wa language is common here. Cangyuan Washan Airpor ...
,
Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County Menglian Dai, Lahu and Va Autonomous County () is an autonomous county in the southwest of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Ximeng County to the north, Lancang County to the north, northeast, and east, and Burma's Shan State to the south and we ...
(''Gaeng Līam''),
Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County () is located in Lincang City, in the west of Yunnan province, China. History In 1988, the county was affected by two strong earthquakes. It killed a total of 939 people and caused major destruction. Administ ...
(''Gaeng Mīex'' or ''Gaeng Māx''),
Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. History Lincang was previously called Baihuai during the Shang dynasty. On December 26, 2003, the state council approved the cancell ...
(''Mēng Lām''),
Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County () is a county in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Lincang. Administrative divisions Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Bulang and Da ...
(''Si Nblāeng'' or ''Mēng Mēng''),
Zhenkang County Zhenkang County () is located in the west of Yunnan province, China, bordering Burma's Shan State to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Lincang. Ethnic groups Ethnic Bulang are found in the following village ...
, and
Yongde County Yongde County () is a county in the west of Yunnan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Lincang. Administrative divisions Yongde County has 3 towns, 5 townships and 2 ethnic townships. ;3 towns * Dedan ...
in southwestern Yunnan. Their population in China is estimated at around 400,000.


Benren

The "Benren" () of Yongde County and Zhenkang County, Yunnan are officially classified as Wa by the Chinese government, but consider themselves to be a separate ethnicity from the Wa. Their autonym is "Siwa" (). The Benren are distributed in: *Menggong Township (recently incorporated into Dedang Town ), Yongde County: in Menggong , Daba , Songlin , Dapingzhang , Hunai , Xiaodifang , Lielie . There are 10,289 Benren in the township as of 2010. *Desili Township ,
Fengqing County Fengqing County () is located in Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. History Lincang was previously called Baihuai during the Shang dynasty. On December 26, ...
*Mangka Township , Cangyuan Va Autonomous County


Burma

The Wa are one of the 135 officially recognized ethnic groups of Myanmar. Their proportion to Myanmar's total population is 0.16. Although little is known about the ancient history of the Wa, they are acknowledged by other dominant ethnic groups in Shan State, such as the Tai Yai, to be the original inhabitants of the area. In Burma, the Wa live mostly in small villages near
Kengtung th , เชียงตุง , other_name = Kyaingtong , settlement_type = Town , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Myanmar , pushpin_label_position = left , ...
and north and northeastwards close to the Chinese border, as well as a small area east of
Tachileik Tachileik (also spelt Tachilek; my, တာချီလိတ်, ; shn, တႃႈၶီႈလဵၵ်း, ; th, ท่าขี้เหล็ก, , ), is a border town in the Shan State of eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Ta ...
. The Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State or
Wa State Wa State, my, ဝပြည်နယ် is an autonomous self-governing polity in Myanmar (Burma). It is ''de facto'' independent from the rest of the country and has its own political system, administrative divisions and army.29 December 2 ...
was formed by the
United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
(UWSA) and the remains of the former Burmese Communist Party rebel group that collapsed in 1989. The Wa State and the UWSA are in a fragile cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military government. They have been accused by Western governments of involvement in drug trafficking but have banned opium production since 2005 and have received United Nations aid in improving legitimate agriculture. As stipulated by the 2008 Burmese Constitution, on 20 August 2010 the
Wa Self-Administered Division The Wa Self-Administered Division ( my, ဝ ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရ တိုင်း ) is an autonomous self-administered division in Myanmar (Burma). Its official name was announced by decree ...
has been established. It is set to be administered by the Wa people and its territory is between the gorges of the Mekong and Salween, in the east part of the Shan State, near the border with the Chinese province of Yunnan.


Thailand

In recent times some Wa communities from Burma have crossed the border and settled in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, where they have no official status as a
Hill Tribe Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...
. The Wa live mainly in the Mae Sai District and
Mae Yao Mae Yao ( th, แม่ยาว) is a ''tambon'' (subdistrict) of Mueang Chiang Rai District, in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in South ...
subdistrict of Chiang Rai Province, as well as in Wiang Pa Pao District in southern Chiang Rai Province and
Chiang Dao District Chiang Dao ( th, เชียงดาว, ) is a district ('' amphoe'') of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand. It is nicknamed "little Tuscany" and several wines are produced in the area. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the northe ...
in
Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...
. In Thailand the Wa having come recently from Burma are often referred to as ' Lawa', although they do not strictly belong to the latter ethnic subgroup.


See also

*
Pangkham Pangkham (; zh, c=邦康, p=Bāngkāng; Wa: ''Bāng kam''), known before 1999 as Pangsang (), is a border town in Myanmar's far eastern Shan State. It is situated at a bend on the Hka River near the border with Yunnan Province, China, opposit ...


Bibliography


A Bibliography of materials in or about Wa language and culture

Journal of Burma Studies 17.1 (2013), a special issue on the Wa people
*Harvey, G. E. ''Wa Précis''. Rangoon, 1933. * Lintner, Bertil. ''Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948''. Chiang Mai, 1999. * Marshall, Andrew. ''The Trouser People: a Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire''. London: Penguin; Washington: Counterpoint, 2002. . * Mitton, Geraldine ''Scott of the Shan Hills''. London: John Murray, 1936. *Scott, J. G. ''Burma and Beyond''. London, 1932. * Scott, J. G. ''Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States''. 5 vols. Rangoon, 1900–1901. *Winnington, Alan. ''The Slaves of the Cool Mountains''. Berlin: Seven Seas, 1959. *Winnington, Alan. The Slaves of the Cool Mountains: The Ancient Social Conditions and Changes Now in Progress on the Remote South-Western Borders of China. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1959. *Fiskesjö, Magnus. "Introduction to Wa Studies." Journal of Burma Studies 17.1 (2013), 1-27. *Fiskesjö, Magnus. "The autonomy of naming: Kinship, power and ethnonymy in the Wa lands of the Southeast Asia-China frontiers." In Charles Macdonald & Yangwen Zheng, eds. Personal Names in Asia: History, Culture and Identity. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2009, pp 150–74. . *Fiskesjö, Magnus. "Slavery as the commodification of people: Wa 'slaves' and their Chinese 'sisters'." Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology 59 (Spring 2011), 3-18. *Fiskesjö, Magnus. "Mining, history, and the anti-state Wa: The politics of autonomy between Burma and China." Journal of Global History 5.2 (June 2010), 241–64. *Fiskesjö, Magnus. "Participant intoxication and self-other dynamics in the Wa context." The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology 11.2 (June 2010), 111–27. *Takano, Hideyuki. "The Shore Beyond Good and Evil: A Report from Inside Burma's Opium Kingdom." Tokyo: Kotan Publishing, 2002. In English. *Kramer, Tom. "The United Wa State Party: Narco-army or ethnic nationalist party?" Washington, DC: East-West Center Washington; Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007. *Kramer, Tom. "From golden triangle to rubber belt?: The future of opium bans in the Kokang and Wa regions." Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2009. http://www.tni.org/


Fiction

*Scott, J. G., and Mitton, Geraldine. ''In the Grip of the Wild Wa''. London, 1913. *Winnington, Alan. "Kopfjäger" ns Deutsche übertragen von K. Heinz Berlin: Verlag Volk und Welt, 1983. Series: Roman-Zeitung; Heft 398. erman translation of the novel "Headhunters"


References


External links

* *
Wikisource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...

The Wa ethnic minority
(Chinese government website, in English)

from China Style site
Wa page
from Ethnologue site
Wa people Facebook groupPeoples of the World - The WaSway long hair dance by Wa peopleUnited Wa State Army - South Asia Analysis GroupWa leaders ask Thein Sein for autonomous stateShan speak out against Thailand’s support for the Wa
*http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) * http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-7BBF-9@view Parauk in RWAAI Digital Archive {{Authority control Ethnic groups officially recognized by China Headhunting Ethnic groups in Yunnan Ethnic groups in Myanmar