For a relatively small ethnic group couched in a remote region along Burma’s eastern border, the Wa have a particularly colorful cultural presence, though they rarely have the chance to show off for visitors. Late last month, however, when the Wa welcomed ethnic leaders from all over the country for a major summit at their Panghsang headquarters, the group’s lively traditions were on full display.
The most striking part of the summit’s opening ceremony may well have been a performance by more than 80 dancers. While some of them performed traditional styles unique to Wa Special Region, others had also skillfully mastered dances representative of other parts of the country. Couples showed off steps iconic to each of the region’s main ethnic groups, while others entered the ensemble later carrying the flags of members of the United Nationalities Federal Council, a coalition of ethnic minorities. The ornately dressed men and women wove throughout the venue belting out a song with the lyrics: “We welcome our ethnic leaders who work for peace, and we bless you all to reach an agreement for peace in this country.”
In Wa culture it is customary for visitors to have a taste of traditional wine, which each dancer held in a bamboo cup as they glided across the room. Some of the ethnic leaders do not ordinarily drink, but they obliged out of politeness to their hosts. Chan Don, a member of the New Mon State Party, confessed he was “a little worried” about what would happen to his party’s chairman, as he “did not drink alcohol for a long time.”
The mood was lighthearted, however, as San Khun, a spokesman for the United Wa State Army’s foreign affairs department, joked that, “If you guys don’t drink our wine, our Nat will possess you. Our Nat will not be happy if you don’t drink.”
After the wine was a tremendous display of local foods. The Wa ordinarily eat with chopsticks, but traditional cuisine gets a slightly different treatment. Platters of various dishes were laid out on a long bench-like table, around which everyone sat together and ate with their hands.
The Wa region has its own Ministry of Culture, which puts a lot of value on preserving aspects of traditional life such as food and dance. Ai Lu Chit, who is currently a traditional dance instructor employed by the ministry, explained a bit about his work. He said that young people were scouted out and brought in from villages all around the region to learn the dances we saw at the opening ceremony.
“We bring our Wa children from other townships, those who stay on the mountains. We teach them how to dance, and we also let them study. We offer many different subjects here, including Wa, Burmese, English and Chinese languages,” Ai Lu Chit said.
Those selected to perform at the ceremony trained for about a month in advance, he said. Daytime, night time, whatever it took. Training was rigorous because the dancers had to perfect so many different routines. In one number, dancers acted out the parts of farmers growing paddy in a field. In another, they played young lovers on a date, a traditional bit during which the woman combs the hair of her boyfriend.
The dance most dear to the Wa, however, is a wild thrashing number in which women fling their hair back and forth. Female dancers are required to have long hair for the purpose of performing this particular move.
“We have to train them a lot for the hair dance,” Ai Lu Chit said. “It’s very hard to train them; they often get dizzy if we do not train them daily. For this dance you have to shake your head a lot, then your back. That’s why it’s so easy to get dizzy.”
Beyond the food and the unconventional dance moves, traditional clothing is also a source of pride for the Wa. That’s one area, however, where many feel the culture may be dying out. Ai Lu Chit and others in the ministry said they worry that Chinese influence is slowly eroding some of the region’s traditional flair.
“I noticed this a lot among the students I brought here from the mountain,” Ai Lu Chit said. “Their families stay on the mountain, and those who stay there dress very politely and culturally. But after being in Panghsang for about one month, the kids change their style of dress. The boys and the girls, they change their style.”
About 75 percent of the population in Wa Special Region are believed to be ethnically Wa, while the remainder represent other ethnic groups including Chinese. The region has enjoyed a ceasefire with the government for 26 years, during which it has developed much more rapidly than some other parts of the country, though much of that development was funded by eastern Burma’s expansive drug trade. But with development came exposure to foreign cultures, particularly of the Chinese variety.
“We are people who stayed very close to the border with China, and we worry a lot about their cultural influence,” Ai Lu Chit said. “This is why we work hard to maintain our traditions. We do not want our ethnic [identity] to disappear.”
