Achang
Bai
Blang
Bonan
Bouyei
Chaoxian(Korean)
Dai
Daur(Tahur)
Deang
Derung
Dong
Dongxiang
Ewenki(Owenk)
Gaoshan
Gelao
Han
Hani
Hezhen
Hui
Jing
Jingpo
Jino
Kazak
Kirgiz
Lahu
Lhoba
Lisu
Li
Man
Maonan
Miao
Monba
Mongol
Mulam
Naxi
Nu
Oroqen
Primi
Qiang
Russian
Salar
She
Shui
Tajik
Tatar
Tu
Tujia
Uygur
Uzbek
Va
Xibe
Yao
Yi
Yugur
Zang
Zhuang
The population of Va Nationality
is about 350,000 according to the census in 1990. All of the people live
in the southwest of Yunnan Province with other tribes of Yi, Dai, Hani,
Lahu, Jingpo, Bulang, Deang and Lisu.
Almost same languages among Va, Bulang and Benglong tribes show their
close oriJings and relationships. The three ethnic groups are regarded
as the earliest minorities residents of southwest China and Indochina.
Different from their ancient language, Va records their life through object
or wooden-carving or counting or message transferring instead of any written
word. Such as the sugarcane, banana and salt mean friendship, chili means
angry and cock feather means urgent.
If someone in the Va village is about to build
a new house, each villager will bring the materials of wood or grass and
help him to finish the house in a day. The nice custom of helping each
other can be seen frequently today. Two floors are in a house, the first
for cattle and the second for man. Three fireplaces with different names
are in a house, including the "host" for cooking, the "guest"
for making food of hog and the "ghost" for sacrificing.
Since they live in the mountains, people are good at making daily articles with bamboo and rattan.
Va use round timber hollowed as the coffin for the dead. Usually the graveyard is not far from the village. Before the dead is buried, all of the villagers have to stop working as the Va's tradition said.
"New Water Festival", a folk festival is celebrated during the new year of the lunar calendar. For welcoming the festival, villagers come together to repair and clean the well. People would rather sit until the daybreak instead of sleeping at the festival day, in order to fetch the first pail of water of this year in the well. Who got the No. one will be visited and be asked for the lucky water. Va tribe thinks that the water is obliged from the King Dragon, so the "New Water Festival" is also for thanks him.
Va ethnic group believes not only the primitive beliefs, but also the Buddhism and Christianism. Today about 15,000 Christians and 93 churches are in Cangyuan town since the religion was delivered to the town in 1912.
SinJingg and dancing are so important to Va people that they do it in many occasions, such as the religious activity, daily work, funeral and wedding. The contents of songs are alterable according to different situations but the melodies are unchanged. Because living with other tribes, Va people learnt a lot of dances and songs from them to enrich their local culture either.