A Little Background
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It is believed that the ancient Ainu people were first to arrive in North America. It is also believed that they are as old, if not older, as the Japanese. In part being these people were a race not quite like many others, Ainu people are many times refered to as noble savages. Not only were they amazing at hunting, their methods and ability to gather their hunted was unique, smart actually. The original Ainu spoke their own language, one of the very few languages that are consider language isolate, or a language that has no history beyond its own, not derived from any other language. Over the years the ancient Ainu people have slowly relinguished and the language is even rarer to be spoken. It is said there exists only a handful of people left who can actually speak the language. The Ainu people were traditional animists. They believed nearly everything in nature had a spirit within it. They were very attached to mother earth, and consider it to be the most important to them. They also held ceremonies which included large group gatherings and drinking their very own created beer. Another substance the Ainu people hold dear to them includes the use of water and all that can be done with water. In the rarely spoken Ainu language they called it Wakka.
Many, many years after the Ainu people traveled to North America, an annual trip was born with many similar qualities as the ancient Ainu. Much like the Ainu language, this trip was like no other, had no origin or was not derived from any other trip. Once a year a large group of friends travel down to Hico, West Virginia to drink beer, whitewater raft, and cliff dive. Many of these friends are from the city, yet during this trip they become one with nature. They setup camp in their own little community and celebrate to no limits. The members of this trip are smart, noble savages, to say the least. The greatest substance of the trip is the use of water. During the extend of this trip water is used to raft down, jump into, and drink profusely after hours of nightly intoxication. Having administered all of the history, it is only right to bring one of the coolest words back from the ancient Ainu language and rightfully give this trip its name. A name that has so much more meaning that its five letters. This trip is like no other trip that one could experience. Only the experience itself could describe the word any further. This is known as The Wakka. |