Wa State (Wa: Mēng Vax or Meung Va; Chinese: 佤邦; pinyin: Wǎ Bāng) is an unrecognised state in Burma (Myanmar) and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham (Chinese: 邦康; pinyin: Bāngkāng, formerly known as Panghsang, 邦桑). The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages. Wa State has a population of an estimated 558,000. Wa State is an undefined area that encloses eastern Shan State.
Many of the Wa are animists, and a small proportion of the population follows a derivative of either Buddhism or Christianity. The Wa were once known as the "Wild Wa" due to their practice of headhunting.
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