Editing Wa people (section)

==Cultural history==
{{See also|Wa States}}
[[File:Wa tribe depiction, 1900s.jpg|thumb|left|An early Burmese depiction of Wa]]
[[File:翁丁村01.jpg|thumb|[[:zh:翁丁村|Om Diem]], a Wa village in [[Cangyuan Va Autonomous County]], Yunnan]]
British journalist and colonial administrator [[James George Scott|Sir George Scott]] described how in the Wa [[origin myth]]s the first Wa originated from two female ancestors ''Ya Htawm'' and ''Ya Htai'' who spent their early phase as [[tadpole]]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.<ref>Scott, James George, Sir. 1935. ''The Wa or Lawa: Head-Hunters. In Burma and Beyond.'' p. 292</ref>

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]] 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]] the Wa were displaced around 1229 and were later defeated by King [[Mangrai]]. At the time of [[British rule in Burma]] the [[Shan people|Shan]] were the majority in Kengtung state, with other groups such as [[Akha people|Akha]] and [[Lahu people|Lahu]] forming sizable communities. The Wa now form a minority of only about 10% in Kengtung District despite having been the original inhabitants.<ref name="DM">Donald M. Seekins, ''Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'', p. 251</ref>

The Wa originally had [[animism|animist]] religious beliefs<ref name="reuters.com">{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBKK83023 |title="Headhunting days are over for Myanmar's "Wild Wa"", Reuters, Sep 10, 2007. |newspaper=Reuters |date=10 September 2007 |access-date=July 5, 2021 |archive-date=May 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527013150/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBKK83023 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[headhunting|human head]] was intended as a ritual sacrifice in order to improve the [[fertility rite|fertility]] 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. Additionally, among the traditional spirit-worshiping Wa—a practice that still exists among the Christian Wa—animals were sacrificed at festivities like weddings and funerary rituals. However, the Wa that were under Buddhist influence developed different traditions.<ref>Interview with Sara Yaw Shu (Joshua) Chin, co-inventor of the Wa alphabet and long-time Wa Baptist Church leader, 27 February 2006</ref>

In the traditional Wa society [[Monogamy|monogamous marriage]] was the norm and there was sexual freedom for both men and women before marriage. The chewing of [[betel]] with [[areca nut]] was formerly also an important custom.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.people.com.cn/102774/7566393.html |title=The Va ethnic minority (People's Daily) |access-date=2014-04-21 |archive-date=2014-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423050352/http://english.people.com.cn/102774/7566393.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90782/7689629.html |title=Folk dancing of Va ethnic group attracts tourists in SW China (Xinhua) |access-date=2014-04-21 |archive-date=2013-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112025026/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90782/7689629.html |url-status=live }}</ref> such as the hair dance<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLZfxYDNaz4 |title=Grawng klieh yam lih khaing sigien rang, sigang lih dix. |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-12-02 |archive-date=2016-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229220501/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLZfxYDNaz4 |url-status=live }}</ref> and festivals,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yunnanadventure.com/tour-p131-6day-cangyuan-wa-ethnic-minority-monihei-carnival-tour.html |title=6 Days Cangyuan Wa Ethnic Minority Monihei Carnival |access-date=2014-04-21 |archive-date=2014-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423062744/http://www.yunnanadventure.com/tour-p131-6day-cangyuan-wa-ethnic-minority-monihei-carnival-tour.html |url-status=live }}</ref> is being promoted as a tourist attraction by the Yunnan tourism authorities in China.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yunnanadventure.com/index.php/Attraction/show/id/639.html |title=The Wa Ethnic Scenic Region in Ximeng Autonomous County |access-date=2017-12-19 |archive-date=2017-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053415/http://www.yunnanadventure.com/index.php/Attraction/show/id/639.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Wa Women's Association]] also promotes dance, as well as other cultural and philanthropic activities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Steinmüller |first=Hans |date=2021 |title=Para‐nationalism: Sovereignty and authenticity in the Wa State of Myanmar |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nana.12709 |journal=Nations and Nationalism |language=en |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=880–894 |doi=10.1111/nana.12709 |issn=1354-5078}}</ref>

The Wa people also have a well-engrained [[drinking culture]], with large amounts of local moonshine being produced and are widely believed to on average consume the largest amount of alcohol in China.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/drinking-tour-ximeng-222/| title=Drinking Tour: Ximeng| date=27 December 2014| access-date=17 September 2017| archive-date=28 November 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128112348/http://www.vice.com/en_uk/video/drinking-tour-ximeng-222| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Language and script===
[[File:Wa4886.JPG|thumb|Wa writing and cultural symbols on a T-shirt]]
The [[Wa language]] forms a language group belonging to the [[Palaungic languages|Palaungic]] branch of the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic language family]]. It formerly had no script and the few Wa who were literate used [[Chinese characters]], while others used the [[Shan language]] and its script. [[Christian mission]]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]]. 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]] and the first publication was a compilation of Wa [[hymn]]s in 1933,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.humancomp.org/wadict/young_family.html |title=The Young Family's Work with the Wa People |access-date=2014-04-15 |archive-date=2014-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416210157/http://www.humancomp.org/wadict/young_family.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the Wa [[New Testament]] being completed in 1938. This transcription, known as "Bible orthography" is known as "{{lang|zh|老佤文}}" ({{zh|labels=no|p=lǎowǎwén |l=old Wa orthography}}) 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]] 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]] and other online media, as well as Wa songwriters in [[karaoke]] lyrics<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hv57b2WZx4 |title=Wa Song (Lox rhax meung vax) |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-12-02 |archive-date=2016-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229220559/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hv57b2WZx4 |url-status=live }}</ref> of Wa songs<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63cU34x25UY |title=Krax moh aux daux ju pa hoik luan mai pa simie sivoe ngai. |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-12-02 |archive-date=2016-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229220558/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63cU34x25UY |url-status=live }}</ref> use this Myanmar (revised Bible) "official Wa orthography" in its main variations.<ref>Justin Watkins, ''Wa Dictionary'', 2 vols. Introduction</ref>

In China, a transcription adapted to the new [[pinyin]] [[romanization]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.humancomp.org/wadict/wa_orthography.html |title=SOAS – Writing of the Wa Language |access-date=2014-04-15 |archive-date=2014-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416210645/http://www.humancomp.org/wadict/wa_orthography.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This new Wa alphabet is treated as the first formal script of the Wa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat5/sub31/item181.html |title=Large Minority Groups in Southern China – Wa Ethnic Group |access-date=2014-04-27 |archive-date=2014-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415205118/http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat5/sub31/item181.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Lawa people|Western Lawa]] are officially considered part of the Wa minority in China and are also known as 'tame Wa'.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=15375&rog3=TH |title=Lawa, Western in Thailand |access-date=2014-02-28 |archive-date=2013-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214012326/http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=15375&rog3=TH |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== British rule and enduring prejudices ===
[[File:Wa headmen.jpg|thumb|Wa headmen in British Burma.]]
Very little has been written about the Wa people except in the [[Chinese language]].<ref name="ReferenceT">[https://web.archive.org/web/20040201221535/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FA24Ae06.html 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]]'', 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]] 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.<ref>N Ganesan & Kyaw Yin Hlaing eds. ''Myanmar: State, Society and Ethnicity''  Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, February 1, 2007, p. 269</ref>

The Wa were largely portrayed by colonial administrators as wild and dirty people owing to their practice of headhunting.<ref name="reuters.com"/> 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.<ref>Magnus Fiskesjö, ''The Fate of Sacrifice and the Making of Wa History'', 2000: 3–5</ref>

The prejudice continues in modern times when the Wa, who are economically not that different from other ethnic [[Hill tribe (Thailand)|hill tribe]]s in the area such as the [[Lahu people]], are largely known for their rebel army and as being involved in drug trafficking, overshadowing other aspects of their culture.<ref name="ReferenceA">Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, ''Opium: Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy'', Harvard University Press</ref>

=== Post World War II ===
[[File:Wa5364.JPG|thumb|Wa woman feeding a little girl]]
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]]'s [[National Revolutionary Army]] fled the 1949 [[Chinese Communist Revolution]]. A decade and a half later, the region was under the influence of the [[Communist Party of Burma]], 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.<ref name="ReferenceB">Ronald D. Renard, ''The Wa Authority and Good Governance, 1989 – 2007''</ref>

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]]. They founded the [[United Wa State Army]] and [[United Wa State Party]] 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 State|Wa Special Region 2]] was created within the northeastern Shan State, with its de facto capital in [[Pangkham]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

=== Military activity and drug production ===
The [[United Wa State Army]] was one of the world's largest [[narcotic|narco]]-armies, with up to 10,000 men under arms.<ref name="reuters.com"/> Until 1996 the UWSA was involved in a conflict against the [[Mong Tai Army]] which suited the objectives of the [[Tatmadaw]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5430:wa-will-not-budge-from-thai-border-areas&catid=86:war&Itemid=284 |title=Wa will not budge from Thai border areas |access-date=2014-04-03 |archive-date=2014-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204232130/http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5430:wa-will-not-budge-from-thai-border-areas&catid=86:war&Itemid=284 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 1990s the areas controlled by the UWSA were involved in heroin production.<ref name="Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud & Meissonnier, Joël">{{Cite web|url=http://www.geopium.org/yaabaa-methamphetamine-production-traffic-consumption.htm|author1=Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud|author2=Meissonnier, Joël|name-list-style=amp|title=Yaa Baa. Production, traffic, and consumption of methamphetamine in Mainland Southeast Asia|publisher=[[Singapore]] University Press, 2004|access-date=2006-03-13|archive-date=2010-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922162713/http://geopium.org/yaabaa-methamphetamine-production-traffic-consumption.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.janes.com/security/law_enforcement/news/jir/jir041119_1_n.shtml |first=Anthony |last=Davis |title=Thai drugs smuggling networks reform |publisher=[[Jane's Information Group]] |date=19 November 2004 |access-date=2009-03-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050308072952/http://www.janes.com/security/law_enforcement/news/jir/jir041119_1_n.shtml |archive-date=March 8, 2005 }}</ref> During the 2000s, the United Wa State Army shifted focus into amphetamine production.<ref name="Chouvy, Pierre-Arnaud & Meissonnier, Joël"/><ref name="Davis"/> 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 [[ya ba|yaba]], and some experts believe that most drug labs are in areas under Wa control.<ref name="reuters.com"/>