Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wa
Myanmar's million or so
Wa
people (descended, according to one legend, from two female
tadpoles) live mainly in northern Shan and eastern Kachin states along the Chinese border
andaroundKengtung.LeftlargelyalonebytheBritishthankstotheirwildreputation(includ-
ingafondnessforanimalsacrificeandheadhunting),theWaretainedconsiderableautonomy
following independence andwereofteninarmed conflict withthegovernment until thesign-
ing of a ceasefire in 1989. Their heartlands comprise one of the country's major drug-produ-
cing areas (originally opium, more recently heroin and methamphetamine), with the lucrat-
ive trade policed and protected by the
United Wa State Army
, formerly one of the world's
largest drug militias, with as many as ten thousand men under arms.
Naga
PerhapsMyanmar'smosttrulyremotepeople,the
Naga
tribesarespreadacrossnorthwestern
Myanmarandnortheastern India,livingmainly -ontheBurmese sideoftheborder-around
the Chindwin River and in the hills of western Sagaing Region. A patchwork of tribes, all
speaking different languages, the Naga had little contact with the outside world under the
British colonial era. Headhunting was formerly a popular pastime, although the practice
largely died out following widespread conversion by Christian missionaries (rumour has it,
however, that the practice continued into modern times). The Naga people are now increas-
ingly Burmanized, although some traditional settlements and customs remain. Naga men tra-
ditionally wear few clothes but many tattoos, while the Naga are also known for their ex-
uberant dancing, drumming and singing, at its most flamboyant during the Naga New Year
celebrations, when the men also don their extraordinary traditional headdresses.
