Hair band is the most distinctive headdress of Wa women. It is half-moon-shaped, wide in the middle and narrow at both ends, and about 30 cm long. The middle width is about 10 cm. It is made of silver or aluminum. Wa women usually have long hair, but they don't wear braids, and their hair is scattered on both cheeks and shoulders. The hair band is used to fix the hair from the forehead to the back of the head, which can ensure that the hair will not spread out in front of the eyes and affect the line of sight. It is also beautiful and elegant, and it is extremely simple and convenient to use. This kind of hair band is only used by Wa people in China, so it has become one of the simplest and clearest signs to identify Wa people.
Another remarkable sign of the traditional dress of Wa women is that they wear several or dozens of bamboo or rattan rings around their necks, arms, waist and legs. Underage women will add an anklet every year, so there is a saying that "if you want to know your age, count your feet". This feature is the embodiment of Wa bamboo culture in clothing. Since ancient times, the Wa people have thrived in the Wa mountainous area in southwest Yunnan, where the climate is warm and the bamboo forests are dense. They live in bamboo houses, eat bamboo shoots, use bamboo bowls, chopsticks and spoons, sit on bamboo benches and sleep on bamboo beds. Bamboo plays an important role in the life of Wa people. According to the clothing custom, it is made of bamboo sticks into large and small circles and hung on all parts of the body.
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.
Wa people like drinking and chewing betel nut. Chewing betel nut makes many people dye their red lips, which is beautiful. Drinking utensils are mostly made of bamboo tubes. On holidays, weddings, funerals and entertaining guests, we should toast according to traditional etiquette, so there is a saying that "no wine is no 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 without knowing their heart.
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. Wa men and women generally have tattoos. Men often draw flowers and birds, cows and tigers on their necks, chests, backs and limbs, while women draw flowers and plants of various shapes on their necks, arms and legs.
Wa people have the following taboos: they can't ride into the village, but must dismount at the entrance of the village; Avoid others touching their heads and ears; Avoid giving people peppers and eggs; Avoid entering the wooden drum room at will; Taboo to send decorations to girls; Taboo guests sitting on the drum pier where women sit or counting money at home; If you put a wooden pole in front of the door, it means that there are patients at home and outsiders are forbidden to enter.
In the past, the Wa people believed in primitive religions and held many large-scale "ghost-offering" ceremonies as usual every year. So the wooden drum became a unique sacrificial tool. Wooden drum, called "Crocker" in Wa language, is a traditional ritual tool, musical instrument and alarm device of Wa people. 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. They believe that the wooden drum is a "device that connects the gods" and a "drum that reaches the sky". Life depends on water, prosperity depends on wooden drums. 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. 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.
Throughout the ages, Wa people worship wooden drums as gods, believing that knocking wooden drums can enlighten gods, ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. At that time, in case of war and other emergencies. Warn people with wooden drums; Hunters catch wild animals such as tigers and leopards, and also beat drums to show their respect. The wooden drum is an inspiring musical instrument during festivals or religious sacrifices. When people beat the drum body with a big wooden stick, they can make four different sounds, which are powerful and staggered in rhythm, forming a specific "drum language". After 1970s, the wooden drum became the most representative musical instrument of Wa nationality after reform, and entered the literary stage in the new period.
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.