The Wa are famous for their former headhunting and involvement in the opium trade. The Wa value their independence and tend to live at high altitudes, away from other tribes. Their name means "mountaineer," indicating that from ancient times they have dwelled in the mountain areas along the border of China and Burma (Myanmar).

Population and Location

The majority of Wa live in Myanmar, where about 700,000 are found in the Wa autonomous region in the northeast. Wa State in Myanmar is made up of many different ethnic groups, of which Wa and Lahu are the major groups. There are also Bouyei and Han Chinese.

Wa State can be divided into two parts, North and South Wa. North Wa is in the northeast of Myanmar and is located near the China border. It has a population of around 700,000 people, who live in a large region of about 15,000 square miles. South Wa is located near the Myanmar and Thailand border. It is in a mountainous region called Doi Larng, which controls the major commercial flow of the Golden Triangle. The population here is around 60,000 people.

There are also 351,000 Wa in China, where they are known as Va. An estimated 10,000 Wa are also found in Thailand.

Culture

The Wa are known as the Bamboo Culture. They live in bamboo homes, eat bamboo shoots and rice (cooked in bamboo tubes) from bamboo bowls, while sitting on bamboo stools, before sleeping in their bamboo beds. Their homes are two stories, with people on the second floor, while the pigs and chickens take the first. Most homes have two hearths, one for cooking and one for making offerings to the spirits. The monogamous family is the basic unit of Va society. Family property is inherited by the youngest son, while daughters have been denied the right to inherit.

Silver jewelry is part of the Wa traditional costume. Women load themselves with silver headbands, earrings and necklaces, many strings of beads, rattan hoops around their waists and large silver bracelets on their wrists and arms.

Language

Wa is a Mon-Khmer language with three primary dialects. Many Wa speak Mandarin Chinese as a second language. Wa does not have its own written language. Therefore, the Wa in Myanmar and China have adopted written Chinese as their chief written language. Wa children are being educated in Chinese.

Livelihood

The Wa are an agricultural people. Even today, many practice slash-and-burn agriculture. They burn a patch in the mountain forest to plant rice, sweet potatoes and corn, then they move on when the soil’s fertility is exhausted. They supplement their diet through hunting and picking wild mountain vegetables and fruits. Opium has been and remains a major cash crop for the Wa. Until recently, the Wa were fighting the Myanmar government and neighbouring groups for Wa autonomy. This political struggle diminished normal agriculture and increased the appeal of a lucrative crop like opium.

Religion

The Wa religion is animistic. Frequent religious activities are held to obtain protection from the deities and ghosts. In the past, the Wa were worshippers of nature, believing that all mountains, rivers and natural phenomena had their deities, which will bring good or bad fortune to people. They believe that after death, a man’s spirit becomes a deity or a ghost. An enormous amount of time and money is spent on various superstitious observances, which is one reason why the Wa are still economically backward.

Until several decades ago, some Was still practised "Latou" or headhunting. Whereas their neighbors the Lahu used food sacrifices to placate the evil spirit world, the Wa sacrificed humans. But this barbarous act was gradually abolished with the influence of the more civilized neighboring ethnic minorities and their own conversion to Buddhism. About 800 years ago, some of the Was were introduced to Hinayana Buddhism. Later, as Mahayana Buddhism swept over the area, many Wa turned to this religion. Today, the Wa of Myanmar practice of mixture of animism and Buddhism. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in Christianity due to cross-border contact with Chinese missionaries.

Christianity

In the early 20th century Christianity spread among the Wa living at the Burma-Yunnan border area. The first Wa Christian in Lanchang was baptised in 1908 when some American Baptist missionaries came to preach the gospel along the Burmese-Yunnan border. The Wa language Bible was completed in 1938. New Testaments and hymnals in Wa have been printed inside China. Since 1985, there has been some mission work among the Wa at the Myanmar-Thai border area.

Pray for the Wa church as it struggles to come to terms with the modern world. The high rate of illiteracy, and the lack of theologically-trained pastors and evangelists are factors which may impede its spiritual growth.