The Mysterious Wa Rituals of the Wa People

The wooden drum, known as "Kro" in Wa language, is a sacred weapon that can reach the sky in the minds of Wa people. It originated from the totem worship of ancestors in the matrilineal society. In every Wa village, there is a wooden drum room where the drum is worshiped. For thousands of years, when the wooden drums were played, the mountains shook, so that they could talk to the ancestors and the gods, drive away evil spirits, pray for peace in the villages, and summon and motivate the members of the tribes to defend themselves against foreign invasions. Nowadays, with the progress of society, the wooden drums have become essential instruments and props in Wa festivals and celebrations. Pulling the wooden drums is an important religious ceremony of the Wa people and an important content of their spiritual life, and its cultural tradition of uniting people's hearts, pursuing happiness, showing toughness and expressing enthusiasm has been carried forward, so it can be said that pulling the wooden drums is the carnival of the Wa people. It is divided into four processes: selecting materials, pulling drums, making drums and putting them on the shelves. Selection of materials. Early in the morning on the day of pulling the wooden drum, dozens of strong Wa hans carrying guns, axes, knives, etc., come to the mountain beforehand to see the chicken gua selected under the big red hair tree, the first by the magic bar to read a few incantations, dozens of muskets to the big tree leaves chirping, meaning to drive away the tree ghosts, and then take turns to cut down the trees, until the tree is cut down. After the tree is cut down, the devil Ba shall take a stone and press it on the stump to show the money for buying the sacred tree and beg the tree god not to blame it. Pulling the drum. Selected a section of about 2 meters of the trunk cut down, chiseled two ear holes, tied to four thick rattan, the crowd pulled back to the wooden drum room, on the way to uninterruptedly join the team to pull the wooden drums. A magic bar walking in front of the team to spread rice, wine and other offerings, meaning that the road may hurt the small trees, grasses make way for the gods, another magic bar riding in the tree to lead the singing, everyone pulling the side of the chorus of the "pulling the wooden drums song". Drum making. After pulling the wooden drums to the gate of the village or the wooden drum room, the craftsmen who specialize in making wooden drums are invited to start making the drums. The bark of the tree is peeled off first, and on both sides of the upper part of the body of the tree, in the shape of the female genitalia (the Wa's ancestor, Anmuqiao, was a woman, so the Wa worship women and make the wooden drums into the shape of the female genitalia), there are four chiseled holes of varying depths, so that the drums will emit different scales of sound when they are struck. On the Shelf. After the production of wooden drums, the magic bus to choose an auspicious day, the organization of the villagers to carry the wooden drums to the wooden drum room. Generally a wooden drum room supported by two wooden drums. Wooden drums pulled to the side of the village, the village men, women and children dressed in costume, singing and dancing to meet.