Who Are the Wa People?
The Wa are a Mon-Khmer speaking ethnic group of approximately 1 million people straddling the China-Myanmar border. In China (400,000), they are an officially recognized minority in Yunnan's Ximeng and Cangyuan autonomous counties. In Myanmar (600,000), the Wa State operates as a de facto autonomous region controlled by the United Wa State Army, one of Southeast Asia's largest non-state militaries. The Wa were historically infamous for headhunting practices abandoned in the mid-20th century. Today, their cross-border territory remains strategically significant in regional narcotics trade and ethnic conflict.
Headhunting Legacy
Until the 1950s-1970s, Wa communities practiced headhunting as part of agricultural rituals—skulls were believed to ensure good harvests and community prosperity. Village entrances featured skull displays; successful headhunters gained status. Both Chinese communist campaigns and missionary efforts suppressed the practice. While headhunting ended decades ago, its memory persists in outsider stereotypes and Wa self-representation—sometimes deployed as intimidation, sometimes rejected as outdated stereotype. The practice reflected the broader pattern of highland Southeast Asian ritual violence and inter-village warfare.
United Wa State Army
The United Wa State Army (UWSA), founded in 1989 from former Communist Party of Burma fighters, controls Wa State in eastern Myanmar with an estimated 25,000-30,000 troops—one of the world's largest non-state armies. The region operates virtually independently: its own government, Chinese currency and language predominating, separate from Myanmar's authority. The UWSA has been accused of major involvement in methamphetamine production. This military autonomy represents Wa resistance to Burman-dominated central government, though critics note authoritarian governance and narcotics involvement. The situation remains unresolved in Myanmar's ongoing civil conflicts.
Chinese Wa Regions
China's Wa population in Ximeng and Cangyuan counties experienced rapid transformation under Communist development policies. Headhunting suppression, agricultural collectivization, infrastructure development, and education dramatically changed traditional life. The Wa are showcased as examples of development lifting "primitive" peoples into modernity—a narrative that can erase Wa agency while celebrating state achievement. Cross-border connections with Myanmar Wa remain, though the two populations now experience very different political contexts. Chinese Wa benefit from development while losing traditional autonomy.
Wooden Drum Festival
The Wooden Drum Festival (Muge Festival) is the Wa's most important celebration, honoring the wooden drums sacred in traditional religion. Large drums, carved from single tree trunks, were beaten to communicate with spirits, celebrate harvests, and unite communities. The festival, held around April, includes drum ceremonies, buffalo sacrifice, singing, and dancing. While traditional religious significance has diminished under modernization, the festival continues as cultural celebration. The wooden drums remain symbols of Wa identity, displayed in museums and cultural centers on both sides of the border.
References
- Scott, J. C. (2009). The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia
- Fiskesjö, M. (2010). Mining, History, and the Anti-State Wa
- Kramer, T. (2007). The United Wa State Party: Narco-Army or Ethnic Nationalist Party?