Va people

Va
(Wa, Ava, Parauk, Ba rāog)

Burmese depiction of the Wa in the early 1900s
Total population
approx. 1.2 million
Regions with significant populations
Burma  (Shan State, Kachin State) 800,000[citation needed] China  (Yunnan Province) 400,000[citation needed]
Languages
Va language, Yunnanese Mandarin (both in Wa state of Burma and in China)
Religion
Animism, Buddhism

The Va nationality (Va: Vāx, Burmese: ဝလူမျိုး [wa̰ lùmjóʊ]; Chinese: 佤族; pinyin: Wǎzú) lives mainly in Northern Burma, in the northern part of Shan and eastern Kachin States, near and along the border with China. Their defacto capital is Pangkham in the unofficial Wa State in North Eastern Shan state. The majority of the Va live in Burma. They were known as the 'Wild Wa' by British administrators.

In China, they live in compact communities in the Ximeng (in Va: Mēng Ka or Si Moung), Cangyuan, Menglian (Gaeng Līam), Gengma (Gaeng Mīex or Gaeng Māx), Lincang (Mēng Lām), Shuangjiang (Si Nblāeng or Mēng Mēng), Zhenkang, and Yongde counties in southwestern Yunnan Province of China. Their population in China is estimated at around 400,000.

The Va language belongs to Mon–Khmer group of the Austroasiatic family. In China, a written language was created for the Va people in 1956.

The Va are one of the 136 officially recognized ethnic groups in Burma. The Va are also one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China.

In Burma, the Va have formed the United Wa State Army, a former communist rebel group that is in a fragile cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military government. They have been accused by Western governments of involvement in drug trafficking.

See also

• Wa State
• Pangkham
• United Wa State Army

External links

• The Va ethnic minority (government website, in English)
• A Dictionary of the Wa Language with Burmese (Myanmar), Chinese, and English Glosses
• ワ語の発音と表記 (Pronunciation and spelling of Va; in Japanese)
• Wa page from China Style site
• Wa page from Ethnologue site

Bibliography

• 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. ISBN 1-58243-120-5.
• 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.

Fiction

• Scott, J. G., and Mitton, Geraldine. In the Grip of the Wild Wa. London, 1913.