Cultural characteristics of Wa nationality

Wa (Wa Sansheng) is an ancient resident of Wa Mountain.

Wa nationality is one of the ethnic minorities in China. The existing population is over 350,000. It is mainly distributed in the mountainous and semi-mountainous areas of Cangyuan, Ximeng, Lancang, Menglian, Shuangjiang, Gengma, Yongde and Zhenkang counties in southwest Yunnan. Namely, the Awa Mountain between Lancang River and salween and the southern section of Nujiang Mountain. Mixed with Han, Dai, Brown, De 'ang, Bo and Lahu nationalities.

After the Han Dynasty, there were "ordinary people" living in Yunnan. In the Tang Dynasty, "Pu people" and "Wang Ren" were distributed in JD.COM and Weishan in the east, Tengchong and Lianghe in the west, Zhenkang in the south and Yongping Town in the north. "Pu people" may be the collective name of the ancestors of all ethnic groups living in this area. "Look at people" may mainly be the ancestors of the Wa nationality. The names of Wang Man, Wangmao and loanwords in historical documents are basically the same as or very similar to the Wa nationality's self-proclaimed "Wa" at present.

Wa people call themselves Wa, Baraok, Bulok, Awa, Awa, Awalai and Lewa. He called it "La", "Me", "Awa" and "Wawa". Historical names such as "Hala", "Hawa" and "Kawa" mean "people who live in the mountains". According to the wishes of the nation, 1962 was named "tile".

Wa people have their own language and writing. Wa language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language family of South Asian language family, which is divided into three dialects: Balaok, Awa and Wa. The old text was compiled by British missionaries to spread Christianity, which is relatively rough. After the founding of New China, the Party and the people's government created new Chinese characters.

The Wa people's economy is dominated by agriculture. I like eating Redmi, drinking strong tea, eating peppers, chewing betel nuts and drinking. Housing is dominated by two-story bamboo buildings. Traditional clothing is based on black. Men often wear black buns, black jackets and wide-leg pants. Women's wear varies from place to place. The most distinctive thing is to wear shawl-style collarless sleeveless dresses, skirts, hair bands, collars, necklaces, waist bands, bracelets and other jewelry made of silver or bamboo strips.

The Wa people mainly believe in primitive religions. A few people believe in Buddhism or Christianity. The New Rice Festival is the most solemn festival. Literature and art are rich and colorful, and bamboo culture is unique. Cangyuan rock paintings are well-known at home and abroad.

"Wood Drum Dance" is full of national characteristics and has won many awards in national dance competitions.

Historically, the legend of "Four Gangli" was widely circulated in Wa areas. The Wa people in Ximeng explained that "Sigang" is a cave, and "Li" came out, indicating that human beings came out of the cave very early. Legend has it that the Wa people first came out of caves. The cave is located in the middle of Awa Mountain, about 60 miles west of Ximeng County. Up to now, Wa people in Ximeng and other places regard caves as "holy places". The Wa people in Cangyuan explained that "Sigang" is a gourd, and when "Li" comes out, it means that people come out of the gourd.

Although the Wa people in different areas have different interpretations of "Sigangli", they all regard Awa Mountain as the birthplace of mankind, and at the same time they all reflect that they are the earliest residents in Awa Mountain area. "Four Gangli" is the Wa people's memory of their ancient cave life.

well-behaved

Wa people are generous and hospitable, and treat guests with wine first, thinking that there is no wine as a gift. Wa people have various customs of entertaining guests and toasting. One is that the host of the toast takes a sip from himself first to dispel the various warnings of the guests, and then hands it to the guests in turn. Guests must drink the wine offered to them and try their best to dry it to show honesty, otherwise it will be regarded as disrespect for the host; Another form is that both the host and the guest are squatting on the ground, and the host hands the wine to the guest with his right hand. After the guest takes it with his right hand, he touches the ground slightly or bounces the wine on the ground with his right hand to show respect for his ancestors. Then the host and the guests drink together. Wa people have the habit of not toasting ignorant and unkind people. Whenever the son goes out and the guest leaves, the host will also send a "farewell gift". That is, to propose a toast to relatives or guests. At that time, the host will use a gourd (a container for holding wine) to hold wine, take a sip first, and then send it to distant guests or relatives. Guests need to drink all the gourds to show that their feelings and friendship will never be forgotten.

build

The furnishings of the Wa room are simple, with no tables and chairs, bamboo mats and wooden boards as beds and no bedding. They only use quilts or linen sheets as quilts, pillows and clothes to sleep.

Wa people's housing varies from region to region. The areas greatly influenced by the Han nationality are generally straw houses with four walls touching the ground, as well as straw houses with earth walls and individual tile houses. However, the structure and shape of houses in most Wa areas are similar to those of Dai people, and the building materials are all bamboo (bamboo rattan, bamboo pole, bamboo chips, bamboo strips, etc. ) and grass (thatch, rafters, sandalwood, boards, etc. ). Branches are reserved at the top of the wooden column to support the beam, some thin bamboos are supported on the beam, and then thatched to build an overhead "bamboo building". The house is divided into two floors, with people living upstairs and livestock activities downstairs. Some blacksmiths also have bellows and a set of tools for ironing downstairs.

prescribe a diet

The Wa people live on rice. Wa people in Ximeng area like to cook vegetables, salt and rice into thick and rotten rice. Wa people in other areas eat more rice. Eat three meals in busy farming season and two meals at ordinary times. Chicken porridge, such as camellia porridge, is the top grade in home cooking. Now I often eat upland rice, and all men, women and children eat Chili. There is a saying among the people that "Chili is not short of food".

The meat of Wa people mainly comes from family feeding, including pigs, cows and chickens. In addition, there are habits of preying on mice and insects. Wa people in some areas also have the habit of preying on insects, and even eat more than ten kinds of pupae, red caterpillars parasitic on herbs, broom insects, wax gourd insects parasitic on wax gourd trees, etc. Generally eat insects and rice to cook porridge, add vegetables, salt and pepper, spicy and delicious.

Beekeeping by Wa people is very common, but the method of beekeeping is very special. First, use a hollow log, seal both ends, leave a few small holes for wild bees to go in and out, and put them in the forest or under the eaves to breed and make honey. They are cut two or three times a year and eaten with pupae.

Wa people generally like drinking and drinking bitter tea. All the drinks are brewed by ourselves. Drinking sparkling wine often is not only harmless to the body, but also beneficial to health. In recent decades, Wa people began to drink shochu.

Wa people prefer bitter tea. Some bitter Chata thick, almost became tea cream. Bitter tea is bitter, but it feels cool after drinking. For the Wa people in the hot climate area, it has a magical thirst quenching effect.

Chewing betel nut is the common hobby of Wa men, women and children. They usually chew a piece of betel nut in their mouth when they are resting or chatting. Chewing betel nut is a substitute cooked with oak leaves and lime. It is said that chewing betel nut has the function of strengthening teeth.

Typical foods are: camellia porridge, roasted snake meat, fried ant eggs with green peas, fried firewood worms and so on.

Holidays and festivals

Because of the sacred position and function of wooden drum, "Lamu Drum" has become a very grand religious sacrifice activity for Wa people.

The so-called "pulling wooden drums" is the activity of cutting down trees from the forest outside the stockade, pulling them into the stockade, making new drums and replacing the old ones. More than the lunar November (January). At that time, first of all, the village leaders' meeting will determine the time of pulling the wooden drum and the priest (the person who will bear the cost of the activity), and prepare a number of buffaloes to be slaughtered, a cow taken out of the liver, and water, wine and food. On the day of pulling wooden drums, cows are sacrificed to the gods during the day, and at night, young people go up the mountain to cut down pre-selected trees and prepare materials for making drums. The next morning, all the men, women and children in the village (some women can't attend) wore festive costumes to play drums. Everyone sang and danced and dragged wooden drums to the village with ropes. But wooden drums can't enter the village that day, and they have to stop outside the village. After the sacrifice, you should enter the village on another auspicious day.

On the day when the new drum entered the village, the whole village was full of joy. People in neighboring villages also beat gongs and drums to congratulate them. Everyone sang and danced, slaughtered cattle and pigs, and drank to amuse themselves.

It takes about 20 days to make a new wooden drum. On the day of digging, the bell should be rung immediately to announce the good news to the whole village, and a new wooden drum laying ceremony should be held. In the evening, the whole village gathered around the wooden drum room, singing and dancing again to celebrate the success of making the new wooden drum. At this point, the whole "Lamu Drum" sacrificial activity ended.

It is said that the Wa people play wooden drums to worship the god Mo Wei. Wa people believe that "Mo Wei" is the embodiment of human ancestors. I usually live in the Heavenly Palace and don't ask about human affairs. Only when he hears the sound of wooden drums will he come down to save mankind from danger or enjoy happiness.

Love "string sisters"

Most Wa marriages are concluded through free love. The age of marriage is generally around 20 years old, and there are many boys and girls. However, young men and women can begin to participate in social and recreational activities in love affairs from the age of fifteen or sixteen. This kind of love activity is commonly known as "string sister".

"String sisters" is carried out in a group way. Before the formal establishment of the relationship, there were few individual activities. In this kind of activity, men always take the initiative.

String girls mainly perform at night. There is no specific place, mostly in girls' homes. Whenever night falls, young men and women will get together in groups of three or five. Boys will play sanxian and flute to the girls' home waiting for them. Everyone sang and danced together, gave each other cigarettes and betel nuts, combed their hair, laughed and played, made eyes at each other and told their hearts. After passing several girls, the young man will give her some gifts such as bracelets, necklaces, combs and headscarves after seeing a girl. If you don't see a girl reciprocate in a few days or a period of time, you can assume that she has a special liking for herself and is willing to be her lover. As for the girls, they took all the gifts, no matter who sent them. Because they think that the more gifts young people give, the better their appearance, personality and other conditions, the more glorious they feel. Girls' parents will also be happy and proud of the number of visiting daughters. But for young people who don't want to continue this relationship, the gift will be returned to him soon. In the process of stringing girls, if a young man takes a fancy to a girl, he will take the opportunity to steal her jewelry, headscarf and other things and propose to her. At this point, whether girls like it or not, they will make a hullabaloo about and pretend to resist. If you don't make a request within two or three days, it means that you have accepted the boy's courtship.

Young men and women who have established a lover relationship will leave the group and start to communicate alone. Then formally propose to the media, get engaged, get married and tie the knot.

Xinmi Festival

Wa nationality is an agricultural nation, with low productivity and weak ability to resist natural disasters in the past. Therefore, around agricultural production, many sacrificial activities have been formed, some of which have been gradually customized and developed into festivals. "New Rice Festival" is one of them.

The "New Rice Festival" is a day for rice to ripen, celebrate harvest and taste new rice. Due to the difference of climate, the time of grain ripening varies from place to place, so the holiday time of different regions, villages and even every household is different, but it used to be held in July and August of the lunar calendar (September of the lunar calendar). To determine the date, one is to choose an auspicious day according to the maturity of their respective grain. Second, the best date for parents or grandparents to die. It is intended to invite the souls of ancestors to come back, taste new rice with their families and have fun. And ask them to bless future generations' families with happiness, good weather and abundant crops in the spirit of heaven. In order to let the Wa compatriots from all over the country celebrate the "New Rice Festival" at 199 1, Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County and Ximeng Wa Autonomous County jointly decided to designate August 14th of the lunar calendar as the "New Rice Festival" for the Wa people.

The traditional New Rice Festival is held by many families alone. On the festival day, the host gets up early to prepare food, wine and meat for the festival. Then go to the field and cut a new valley. Hanging a string of cut millet on the door means inviting the soul of the grain into the house. Crush the remaining grains, put them in an iron pot and bake them with low fire, and pour out new rice to make rice. Then, a family sacrifice ceremony was held: a bowl of new rice was placed on the altar with various dishes on it, and the wizard was asked to recite a spell to offer sacrifices to the Valley God and ancestors. After the ceremony, under the leadership of the wizard and the old man, the whole family enjoyed the new rice. After that, the host opened the door and told the neighbors the news of his holiday. So people came to congratulate with all kinds of gifts. The host kills chickens, pigs and even cows to entertain guests. Everyone is singing and laughing and enjoying the harvest.

Culture and art

rock paintings in cangyuan

Cangyuan rock paintings are mainly distributed in the Mengdong River valley between Nuoliang Mountain, Bankao Mountain and Gongnong Mountain in Cangyuan County, Yunnan Province. It is one of the earliest ancient cliff murals discovered in China. Since 1962, rock paintings of 1 1 have been found in Lemmon, Dinglai, Mankan, Heping, Mangyang and Meng provinces in the north-central part of Cangyuan County. Most of these rock paintings are painted on vertical rock walls a few meters above the ground.

The contents of Cangyuan rock paintings mainly include figures, animals, villages, hunting, sacrifices and dances. Each painting has a central content, which truly depicts a picture of primitive life, simple, vivid and vivid. It reflects the wisdom and rich imagination of the Wa ancestors.

Cangyuan rock painting adopts flat painting method, which is concise and vivid. The human body is mostly represented by triangles, and the five senses are not drawn, but the posture of the limbs is changeable and dynamic. Through the different postures of arms and feet, we can see the activities of the characters. So do animals. Although the five senses are not clear, they can be identified by the characteristics of angle, tail, feet and ears.

The images of Cangyuan rock paintings are mostly ochre. Painting pigments can be made from hematite, shellac and animal blood. According to preliminary research and analysis by experts, these rock paintings may be Neolithic works dating back more than 3,000 years. The local Wa people have always worshipped it as a sacred object.

Wooden drum

Wooden drum is the symbol of Wa village, which is called "Crocker" in Wa language. It is a traditional sacrificial tool, musical instrument and alarm device of Wa nationality. Generally, it is made of red-haired tree, peach tree or chestnut tree segments hollowed out according to a certain shape. They vary in size, generally about 2 meters long and 0.5 to 1 meter in diameter. There are two kinds of drums: male drums and female drums. Male drums have low syllables and heavy timbre. The mother drum has high syllables and crisp timbre. Many of them are stored in pairs in wooden drum houses in the village.

The wooden drum house is an important landmark building of the Wa nationality. Every village has one or several. It's a shed made of bamboo or thatch with six columns and three beams, and there is no fence around it. Although the wooden drum room is small in area and simple in structure, it is quite sacred, because it is a place for storing wooden drums and has the functions and status of other ethnic temples.

The wooden drum is a symbol of the Wa nationality and a sacred object worshipped by the Wa people. In their view, the wooden drum is a "connecting device", a "drum reaching the sky", and "life depends on water and prosperity depends on the wooden drum". Therefore, you can't move around at ordinary times, and you can only knock at the door when you are engaged in major collective activities such as sacrificing the police and festivals.

Historical event

Wa people are a hardworking and brave people. In the long-term historical development process, it not only made important contributions to the development and construction of Wa mountainous areas and the prosperity of economic and cultural undertakings in the southwest frontier, but also made immortal contributions in the struggle against foreign powers' aggression and defending the territory and sovereignty of the motherland.

/kloc-from the end of 0/9 to the 1930s, the British imperialist forces invaded the Wa areas for many times, and carried out such aggressive activities as spying on intelligence, surveying and mapping topography, and spying on mineral deposits, which were met with heroic resistance from the Wa, Dai, Han and other local ethnic groups.

1890 (16th year of Guangxu reign in Qing dynasty), a British "expedition" invaded Awa Mountain and other places under the protection of 500 British troops, and the Wa people "held weapons in their hands" and rose up to resist, scaring the British leaders to "look forward and run away".

1898 (25th year of Guangxu reign in Qing dynasty), when China and Britain demarcated the Yunnan-Myanmar border in Mengding, Awashan and Menglian, the Wa, Dai and Han nationalities once again took up arms, and the British invaders attempted to occupy our territory.

Banhong and Banlao areas in Cangyuan County are rich in silver and lead resources. The coveted Britain began to spy on mineral deposits and steal slag from 1927. 1933, emergency repair of highway, preparing to occupy this area and seize mineral deposits. After resistance and rebellion, at the beginning of 1934, a large number of troops were dispatched to occupy the mining area. The brutal invasion of the British army aroused the anger of the Wa people. In February of that year, King Ban Hong and King Ban Lao invited many tribes around him 10 to gather in Ban Hong, and they swore that they would rather be a river of blood than a slave of the British emperor. Immediately after the meeting, the three armed forces were organized to launch an anti-British struggle, which was the "Ban Hong incident" that shocked China and foreign countries. The Wa, Dai, Han and other ethnic groups in Shuangjiang, Lancang and Gengma also organized 1000 volunteers to rush to the Banhong area to participate in the war, and the people of the whole country also gave support in various forms, which dealt a heavy blow to the British army.

Later, due to the concession and compromise of the Nanjing Kuomintang government, this vigorous anti-British struggle, mainly Wa people, was suppressed. However, this struggle fully demonstrated the Wa people's high patriotism and played a positive role in inspiring the local and even the whole country's anti-imperialist patriotic enthusiasm. Now, Banhong's "Banhong Anti-British Site Monument" has become an important local patriotic education base and a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit in Yunnan Province.

Astronomical calendar

In the long years of struggle against nature, the Wa people have gradually accumulated knowledge about astronomy, meteorology, mechanical principles and medicine from hard work, production and life practice, and produced simple scientific budding technology. These science and technology reflect the development level, wisdom and creativity of Wa social productive forces. ?

1. Ephemeris?

Through long-term production and living practice, the ancestors of Wa nationality found that there was a certain correspondence between the cyclical process of flowers and trees flourishing, flourishing and declining on the ground and the cyclical process of Jupiter and the moon meeting, leaving and meeting again in the sky. After long-term observation and exploration, a unique "star-moon calendar" was gradually created for the Wa people to guide agricultural production and arrange activities. Because there are no characters in the history of the Wa nationality, the "ephemeris" has been passed down from generation to generation among the Wa nationality. ?

Wa people call the moon "Kay" and Jupiter "Starwood temperature". The "Star Calendar" takes 360 days as a year and is divided into 12 months. There are three rounds every month, each round is ten days, and each round is counted by nine planets (some villages have 10). ?

The names of the days from 1 day to the 9th are Bula (1 day), Heila (2nd), Pusi (3rd), Erlong (4th), Gong (5th), Shilong (6th), Erlai (7th) and Menmen. These names cycle three times in a month (30 days).

The names from January to December are: January (opening the railway), February (opening the second pull), March (opening the road), April (opening the collapse), May (opening the temple), June (Liu Kai), July (opening along), August (opening the stone), September (opening the stone) and October. ?

Wa people call the day when the earth, Jupiter and the moon meet in motion "Ama Xing Mu Wen" (meaning that the stars fight with the moon). This day is the first day of the year, which is usually called the first day of the year. The villagers set a certain day as the most unlucky day and always regarded it as a taboo day. In the "Star Calendar", the date of "Ama Xing Mu Wen" is about Gregorian calendar 1 February 10, which is also called "Blah La Tie" (i.e. 65438+ 10/). ?

The "Star Calendar" of the Wa nationality is the crystallization of the long-term labor experience and hard-working wisdom of the Wa ancestors. Although the Wa people's observation of astronomy is in the stage of naked eye observation, the "star-moon calendar" created through this observation and exploration plays a great role in the development of Wa agricultural production. ?

The following table shows the agricultural production and living activities arranged by the Wa people's "Star-Moon Calendar":

Calendar month, lunar month, agricultural production activities and other activities?

12 1 1 open the iron ("Greer" month) to harvest winter buckwheat and take the sink?

1 12 Keira (the month of Gu 'an) chose "lazy fire place" to build a new house?

2 1 Kailu ("tolerant" month) planting grain and preparing soil for planting potatoes?

3 2 "Kaibeng" ("Ai Qi" month) planted sweet potatoes and sowed upland rice seeds in the Songkran Festival?

4 3 In the slope bank (A Mu month), planting corn and ploughing paddy fields?

On May 4th, Liu Kai ("Double Month") sowed seedlings and collected potatoes for men to hunt?

6 5 Qilun ("sweeping the floor" month) weeding and repairing the wooden drum room?

7/6: Did Gesi harvest early corn and pick pumpkins in the month of "Gera"?

8 7. Will the dry rice in Keshidin ("Ngapoi" month) mature, strengthen management and clean the stockade?

9 8 brother Kay (month of Dai Yi) trimmed his palm (terrace)?

10 9 kaige railway ("gaoha banner" month) harvests rice for the new rice festival?

1 1 10 grams of Guerra ("Gauharrow" month) Young people get married?

In the history of calendar creation in the world, the Wa nationality's "star-moon calendar", like the ancient "lunar calendar" of the Han nationality and the "ten-day ephemeris" of ancient Egypt, is an outstanding contribution of mankind in the field of astronomical science.