Va people

Va
(Wa, Ava, Parauk, Ba rāog)

Total population
approx. 1.2 million
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar  (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 Myanmar and in China)
Religion
Animism, Buddhism

The Va nationality (Burmese: ဝလူမျိုး; IPA: [wa̰ lùmjóʊ];Chinese: 佤族; pinyin: Wǎzú) lives mainly in Northern Myanmar, in the northern part ofShan and eastern Kachin States, near and along the border with China. Their defacto capital is Bangkang in the unofficial Wa State in North Eastern Shan state. The majority of the Va live in Myanmar. 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. A written language was created for the Va people in 1957.

The Va are one of the 136 officially recognized ethnic groups in Myanmar (formerly Burma). The Va are also one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China.

The Wa in Myanmar form 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
• Bangkang
• 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

• J. G. Scott, Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. 5 vols. Rangoon, 1900-1901.
• J. G. Scott, Burma and beyond. London, 1932.
• G. E. Harvey, Wa Précis. Rangoon, 1933.
• G. E. Mitton, Scott of the Shan Hills. London: John Murray, 1936.
• Bertil Lintner, Burma in Revolt: opium and insurgency since 1948. Chiang Mai, 1999.
• Andrew Marshall, The Trouser People: a Story of Burma in the Shadow of the Empire. London: Penguin; Washington: Counterpoint, 2002. ISBN 1-58243-120-5.

Fiction

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

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