Wa people's house-building month and celebrating new houses

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For thousands of years, building a new house has been a happy event in their lives for the Wa people. After the new house was built, the entire village people would sing songs and dance to celebrate.

The Awa Mountains are undulating and rolling. In these overlapping mountains, Wa villages inlaid with falling stars and chess cloth are inlaid. Most of the houses in the village are built of bamboo, wood, and thatched grass, and are called Wa bamboo buildings. The strongest Wa bamboo buildings will need to be renovated or rebuilt after three to five years of residence. Therefore, every year, some families want to build new houses. Building a new house and celebrating it is as lively as a festival.

October of the summer calendar every year is the Wa people's "house building month". Wa people usually prepare to build houses in October of the summer calendar. Anyone who wants a new house will ask in advance and each family will take the initiative to work to help. Before building a new house, the owner's family must prepare bamboo, wood and thatch to cover the roof in advance, and relatives, friends and neighbors will also give some materials. When building a new house, a large amount of wine, meat and rice are needed. In addition to preparing it by the host's family, relatives, friends, and neighbors will also send it, and the people who help do the wine and cooking. His family built a new house and others gave food and drink. It has become a custom for others to build a new house, and his family to give food and drink.

After starting to build a new house, a piece of land should be sorted out next to the homestead, and pots and piles should be set up to cook, soak in water and wine, and let everyone dance. Later, some people brewed wine, some cooked, and most people took turns working to build houses. Wa people are not allowed to stop and stop building houses, resulting in a gap of days. Once you start, you have to take turns working. Therefore, there were lively scenes of eating, drinking, and dancing in turn, day and night until the house was built. After building the house, the villagers happily gathered in front of the new house in the song and dance of "Hexin House", drank wine and warmly congratulated them.

There are also "big houses" built in Masan and other villages in Ximeng. When building big houses, the owners must chop oxen and become ghosts, and prepare wine and rice for those who participated in the construction and those who congratulated them. A few days before and after building the big house, there was singing and dancing throughout the village. It is a traditional custom for the Wa family to help each other in building a house. Some contribute labor, and some provide labor and also deliver building materials and food. Therefore, there are often thirty to forty people participating in the construction of houses, and even the entire village participated.