The spiral may reach to a foot in height and weigh 20 pounds; this gives the illusion of a stretched neck, but the actual effect is that of pushing down the collarbones and rib cage to distort the chest and slope the shoulders. The Padaung women of Myanmar were famous for stretching their necksby means of coiled brass neck ringsto a length of about 15 inches (38 cm), pushing down the collarbone, compressing the rib cage, and pulling up about four thoracic vertebrae into the neck. Once in place, the neck spirals are rarely, if ever, removed. They will also cause the shoulders to slope forward and weaken the muscles in the neck. Talk:Neck ring - Wikipedia I had never seen a Westerner before. Then she said she got used it. The Padaung women were returned to the Karenni base and the boat tours continued. Tradition vs. exploitation in Thailand | The Seattle Times Among the other refugees in the makeshift camp are the two padaung women with the brass-spiraled necks. It depends whether these women are coerced, says National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis. "This is our culture. The Karennis believed that the Thais had turned over information about their base to Burmese intelligence agents in retaliation for their refusal to send the women to Chiangmai. ==. Their daughters, however, have grown up to question the humiliation of their tribe. Yes, their necks clearly will look longer after wearing them for some time, but its not a result of their neck bones somehow stretching outits because the weight and pressure of the coils on their collarbones pushes them down. They woman come out when visitors call on them. The Padaung like to live in river valleys wherever they can. "If you are Palaung, you have to wear the costume of the Palaung," he said while chopping pork for dinner. The Danbury Press. But she noted that she might have to because the chief is considering forcing everyone to wear the costume. Thai shelling drove the Burmese intruders back into Burma, but there were friendly meetings between Burmese and Thai officers at the time of the withdrawal. Since World War II, as the Padaung have become less isolated from neighboring Karen and Karenni, the neck spiraling process has been on the wane. In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son started to remove their rings, either to give them the opportunity to continue their education or in protest against the exploitation of their culture and the restrictions that came with it. Padaung women might appear to have long necks but this is an optical illusion. Treason among Padaung women has always been punished by removing the rings - a sad fate worse than death. The rings may appear cumbersome, but the Padaungs believe that beauty lies in a long neck, which is regarded as graceful as a swan's. Some say the custom have been dreamed up and perpetuated by tour guides. When the rings push down enough, they can actually cause the position of the rib cage to shift, as welltypically, wearing the rings will move the rib cage and the collarbones approximately 45 degrees below where they normally sit in the body. In Huay Puu Kaeng the women are paid by operators ti live in a village on the Pai River that can only be reached by boat. Women are never supposed to remove the rings. Business has fallen off at her souvenir stall and her family no longer has the payments that women receive for wearing the coils, a fraction of the profits made from selling entry tickets to tourists. Naheng said she even sleeps in them and only briefly takes off the rings in the shower. The problems dont stop there, though. The major religious festival is the three-day Kay Htein Bo festival, which commemorates the belief that the creator god gave form to the world by planting a small post in the ground. When tourists complained about the Padaung women's aloof attitude, the women were made to sing and play the guitar for the visitors. The longer the woman's neck is, the more attractive she is. Longest neck | Guinness World Records Does she want to escape? Unlike normal accessories, these rings are for life and may only be removed with the direst of results. This is an unusually cruel punishment as the cervical vertebrae has become deformed after years of wearing the rings, and the neck muscles have atrophied. The Padaung men were conspicuous by their absence, out in the fields tending crops. Mouse Nightshirt 12:30, 25 September 2006 (UTC) Reply [] We prefer to live here rather than being sent back to MyanmarWe want food, clothes and other necessities. The Karenni rebels refused this time, fearing that the Padaung women would disappear forever if they were sent as far away as Chiangmai. All the women and girls tried to raise extra money by selling trinkets or charging money to be photographed. [5] About 600 Kayan reside in the three villages open to tourists in Mae Hong Sorn, or in the Ban Mai Nai Soy refugee camp. At about the age of 6, girls are allowed to choose whether or not to put on the rings. The Kayans' traditional religion is called Kan Khwan, and has been practiced since the people migrated from Mongolia during the Bronze Age. We were ushered into a 50-square-yard collection of shacks where two dozen Padaung women sat and sewed or tried to sell their wares. This annoyed my guide, who said that if the villagers stop wearing traditional costumes, tourists will stop coming to visit them. None of the Padaung I spoke with wished to return to Burma, but several expressed a desire for more freedom of movement. In fact, one of the main reasons why some tribes choose to begin the practice when girls are young is because their bones are more pliant, making the desired results easier to achieve and with less pain. It has been said that many of the girls and women enjoy having their coils changed because it is the only opportunity they have to see that area of their bodies uncovered. Most women prefer to wear the rings once their clavicle has been lowered, as the area of the neck and collarbone often becomes bruised and discolored. The Amazing Long Neck Women Of The Kayan Tribe Statistics published in 2005 list 306 Kayan villages, out of which 209 are Roman Catholic, 19 Kan Khwan, 32 Baptist, and 44 Buddhist, of which 2 belong to the Byamaso civil society organization. The tour groups would usually stop at a Karenni village for a short talk by an English-speaking Karenni officer about the political and military situation of Kayah State, and then would proceed upriver to the Padaung settlement. [2], In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict with the military regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area. Some Padaung men have responded by joining the Karenni rebel army. These loops force the women to waddle when they walk and sit straight legged. Many women have removed the rings for medical examinations. Many of the residents of Ban Nai Soi Kayan Longneck village moved into the Karenni refugee camp in September 2008, but 20 families and 104 residents remain there, according to the sign at the entrance as of February 2001. These days you often women not wearing their coils and looks as if their neck is no danger of suddenly collapsing. The neck rings however, may very well become extinct within a generation or two as younger Padaung women are beginning to refuse to fit the rings around their childrens necks. It is hot and uncomfortable," she said. Loikow (five hours from Kalaw) is a medium-size town located on a lake in the Kayah State in Myanmar Most visitors come here to see the long-necked women of the Paduang tribe, a branch of the Karen tribe with only 7,000 members, most of whom live in villages within a 100 mile radius of Loikow. FEIN 23-7182593. Download this stock image: Thailand: A Padaung (Long Neck Karen) woman after removing her neck rings for cleaning, village near Mae Hong Son. Usually the daughter-in-law will move in with her husband upon marriage and in that case, the price is higher than if the man moves in with his wife. Several hundred Padaung live along the Thai-Myanmar border. The Padaung's famous long-necked women wear brass coils not rings around their necks. As of September 1989, the Burmese Army on the Pai River has been getting its supplies from Thailand - trading for rice with Thai merchants and upgrading their arms with purchases from Thai black market weapons dealers. There are about 7,000 Padaungs in Burma. Refugee practitioners in Thailand were first accessible to tourists in 1984. [9] The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.[10]. neck stretching In body modifications and mutilations: The torso The Padaung women of Myanmar were famous for stretching their necksby means of coiled brass neck ringsto a length of about 15 inches (38 cm), pushing down the collarbone, compressing the rib cage, and pulling up about four thoracic vertebrae into the neck. Mu Tu is one of the few women who knows how to . You feel very light and you have a little headache, like youve been wearing a heavy backpack and you suddenly take it off. The women also wear more brass loops around their legs which weigh up to 30 pounds. As Padaung custom dictates, she wears heavy brass rings on her neck, arms and legs. This political cartoon reveals the degree to which the "giraffe-necked woman" had become a well-known icon in the U.S. Three Burmese women members of a circus play cards as they wear the brass neck and leg rings traditionally worn by Padaung women since childhood and which cannot be removed, London, January 4, 1935. The custom is more than just a rare and strange expression of feminine beauty, the number and value of the rings confers status and respect on the wearers family. Padaung women with the full leg spirals often must sit with their legs thrust straight out in front of them, and because of the neck spirals, they must drink with long straws. One orphan girl said she was not paid at all. Girls start wearing their rings early. "Padaung" are the rings they use. Traditionally, at the age of five the first coils are placed around a young girl's neck by a medicine man who chose the date for this ritual by examining chicken bones. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. +++, Rebellion is brewing in the so-called human zoos where the long-necked women live as virtual prisoners. During the Burmese raid the Karennis became suspicious of Moli's actions, and he was executed as a spy. The cushions were removed later on. Their homes and villages are found scattered in the area between the Kayah State, east of Taungoo and Southern Shan State. The Padaung women of Myanmar were famous for stretching their necksby means of coiled brass neck ringsto a length of about 15 inches (38 cm), pushing down the collarbone, compressing the rib cage, and pulling up about four thoracic vertebrae into the neck. In late 2008, most of the young women who entered the refugee camp removed their rings. Everyday the women wash their coils with steel wool, and a mixture of lime, straw and tamarind bark. ==, Zember, whose hand darts constantly to her bare neck, admits that taking off the rings was a difficult decision. Cultural Survival envisions a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance. In Thailand, the practice has gained popularity in recent years, because it draws tourists who bring revenue to the tribe and to the local businessmen who run the villages and collect an entry fee of 500 to 600 baht per person. But with them we can live in Thailand because they want us to stay this way.Our lives are better here. Another says that it was to protect women from being taken by men of rival tribes by giving them a less-appealing look. The bride price consists of several parts: Following the pwai dance the women sprinkle the men with water using eugenia leaves. The women settled in at the rebel army base, staying with Padaung men who were in the Karenni army. But after pausing, she added: "I would much rather be here than in Burma." When a young man has decided upon a girl, his parents will approach her parents with a gift. A Paduang woman told National Geographic, "Wearing brass ring around your neck makes you beautiful.". Dont be quick to judge, thoughshe ultimately just did something other people use exercises and surgeries to achieve. The result was generally a disquieting encounter between embarrassed tourists and sullen Padaungs. 10 Interesting Facts About The Kayan People Of Myanmar The coils, which are typically made of brass, weigh around four-and-a-half pounds to start with, and then more coils are added over time. Some families said they were paid about $45 a month, while others were given a sack of rice. The Padaung have no written language and are best known for its long-necked women. Richard Lloyd Parry wrote in The Times: As many as ten thousand tourists visit Nai Soi every year to see about 50 long-neck women and girls who pose for photographs and sell postcards, bracelets and souvenirs. Embarrassed, Thaijun put on her costume and immediately tried to sell me some trinkets and handicrafts. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Most of them are animists, with belief systems similar to Karen animists. They advertise exotic sightseeing for Thai and foreign tourists alike in hill-country villagesin reality refugee camps that the women are forbidden from leavingalong the Burma border. If you want to see them, you have to go to them. One of the biggest legends surrounding the rings claim that villagers wore them as a defense against tiger attacks, which were most likely to be directed at the neck. See Separate Articles When the annual Mae Hong Son Winter Fair was to be held, they demanded that the Karennis bring the women to be exhibited. Each home had a spacious, open terrace where the Padaung sat in the shade in front to their looms, spinning and weaving cotton textiles, blankets and tunics. Unlike other tribes these Long-Knecked Karen rarely leave their villages. Wearing the rings doesnt just affect the collar bones, though. Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations, Geneva, Switzerland See Separate Article KALAW, TAUNGGYI AND SOUTHWESTERN SHAN STATE AND KAYAH STATE factsanddetails.com, National Geographic reported: Some women are rejecting the rings because the tradition has trapped them in what critics call human zoos mock villages where tourists buy tickets for a glimpse of these exotic women. Above the tour price, each tourist had to pay a Thai "departure tax" at a small customs post on the river, and then ante up an additional $20 to the Karenni rebel administration. There are about 10,000 people in the tribe. As a result, the Burmese troops have been able to occupy the Karenni base instead of the usual burn-and-retreat strategy. None of the Padaung I spoke to knew of any story or reason for wearing the rings. Anthropologists have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves, making them less attractive to other tribes. [1] - 2CC85KB from Alamy's . The Kayan have a strong belief in augury and nothing is done without reference to some form of divination, including breaking thatch grass, but most importantly consulting the chicken bones.[16]. One of the treasures of any country is its people. Asked how it feels to be stared at one told the New York Times, At first I felt frightened. The Karenni rebels' introductory lecture tried to give the affair a political overtone, but when the boat tourists came ashore at the Padaung camp there was no pretense of "cultural exchange" or learning experience. [1] The neck stretching is mostly illusory: the weight of the rings twists the collarbone and eventually the upper ribs at an angle 45 degrees lower than what is natural, causing the illusion of an elongated neck. Contrary to popular belief, the actual effect isn't stretching the neck. A study conducted in 2018 by researchers from Otsuma Womens University found that these rings had increased the distance from the suprasternal notch to the lower jaw (i.e., just above the collarbone to the chin) to as much as 19.7 cm (7.75 in). A Padaung woman is known to wear thirty seven brass rings around her neck! Text Sources: Encyclopedia of World Cultures: East and Southeast Asia, edited by Paul Hockings (C.K. A Padaung legend explains that the rings were protection against tiger bites, a constant hazard in their homeland in the north of China. [3] Among the refugee camps set up there was a Long Neck section, which became a tourist site, self-sufficient on tourist revenue and not needing financial assistance.[4]. Unless she wishes to risk suffocation the unfortunate wife must pay for the infidelity by spending the rest of her life lying down or try to find some other artificial support for her neck. Practices such as an unusual degree of male involvement in delivering babies and in child care are considered remnants of the old way of life. The Padaung woman's traditional attire consists of a colorful, elegant turban with a short thick loose shift and leggings. Annette Kunigagon, the owner of Eagle House Eco-sensitive Tours, wrote in an e-mail. "I feel bad when I take out the rings," she said. [4][5] The rings are usually made of copper or brass, usually stacked in multiples of 3. Meet the Kayan People, the Tribe With the Longest Neck in The World It is clearly true that money spent to visit them supports an artificial village from which they essentially cannot leave. [1], Padaung (Kayan Lahwi) women of the Kayan people begin to wear neck coils from as young as age two. These severe decorations express the Padaung womens own concept of beauty and social ranking but there are other theories concerning the origins ofthese rings. There were no men in sight and only a handful of tourists during my two-hour visit. Questions or comments, e-mail ajhays98@yahoo.com, Ethnic Minorities - Hill Tribes from the Golden Triangle. Cultural Survival, Inc. is a non-profit organization with federal 501(c)(3) status. Although many of the Kayan still participate in these traditional festivals, in the 19th century Italian missionaries worked amongst them for many years and today the majority of Kayan and Kayaw people are Roman Catholics. Body modifications and mutilations - The limbs and extremities Padaung women has always been punished by the removal of the rings, a fate almost literally, worse than death. The Karennis protested that the Padaung women were not "animals in a zoo," but the Thais threatened to shut down the Karenni black market trade, and the women were brought to the fairgrounds. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Then Thai officials from Chiangmai came to the Karennis to request the Padaung women's presence at a tourist fair in their city. The age of a village can often be reckoned from the size of its jackfruit trees. |Fax: +41 22 732-8919 To protect the tradition, many tribes in the area fled to nearby Thailand and, although it did help them keep the practice of wearing neck coils alive, it also turned the tribes themselves into a tourist attraction. Salvation Mountain is a man-made mountain built to spread the idea of love for one another, and visiting it is a real interesting experience. The Padaung or Kayan Lahwi or Long Necked Karen are a subgroup of the Kayan, a mix of Lawi, Kayan and several other tribes. Some fled to Burma to escape war. Political constraints generally prohibited the tours from entering neighboring Laos or Burma, but the Pai River was an exception. Article copyright Cultural Survival, Inc. El Golpe Militar de Myanmar Plantea Dificultades para los Pueblos Indgenas, Myanmars Military Coup Poses Hardships for Indigenous Peoples. Most of Chiangmai's trekking tour agencies displayed the women's pictures in front of their offices to attract tourists. Mae Hong Son's public relations officer, Chanerin Samintarapanya, told the Bangkok Post that "the long-necked Karen hilltribe called Padawn is expected to attract a large number of visitors to the fair.". "[Source: Amit R. Paley, Washington Post, August 23, 2009 +++], Joy Thaijun, 28, was wearing shorts and a T-shirt when I saw her. Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by their forms of dress. CPA Media - Archives - Beauty Secrets Of The Padaung Dr. John Keshishian, an American doctor, wondered what was happening anatomically to elongate the women's neck. Not only are the coils not entirely comfortable to wear, but they can also lead to permanent muscle weakness in the head when worn for long periodsits the coils that hold up the head, so the neck muscles dont get used and become weak. Amit R. Paley wrote in the Washington Post, The traditional wardrobe for Padaung women is a red, saronglike dress with a blue or magenta jacket and towellike head covering. We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory. One suggests men put the rings on their women to deter slave traders. Consequently, many women in Myanmar began breaking the tradition, though a few older women and some of the younger girls in remote villages continued to wear rings. It was off a dirt road, and a man at a booth in the front charged us 300 Thai baht (about $9) a person to enter. The tribe is named after the Padaung area, where most of them live. There have even been reports that some of the Padaung are prisoners held captive in the villages by businessmen. Padaung Modification of the torso focuses on the neck, trunk, and breasts. This special identity, paid for in some initial pain and considerable discomfort, has not been found to create health problems. If we want to be even more accurate, the Kayan tribe is actually part of the Kayan Lahwi tribe. The custom is dying out in traditional Pandaung villages in Myanmar, where people are so poor they prefer spend their hard earned money on rice rather than brass, but it is gaining new convert along the Thai border. "Padaung" is another name for their neck rings. The Karenni rebels have gone into underground guerrilla squads in other areas of Kayah State. In the village I visited they were tall and fulsome indicating a certain passage of time. Any content older than 10 years is archival and Cultural Survival does not necessarily agree with the content and word choice today. The rings are given to the women by their husbands and worn as a sign of faithfulness, and were once removed only after the women diedtoday, however, the women don't tend to wear them permanently. As the coils are added they push the collar bone and ribs down, creating the appearance of a longer neck. But in the Nation photograph, this woman, this refugee, has at last allowed herself to give a distinctly hostile glare. The women shifted poses like extremely bored fashion models, and the tourists snapped away with their Nikons and Canons and zoomed in with their camcorders. Neck rings, or neck-rings, are any form of stiff jewellery worn as an ornament around the neck of an individual, as opposed to a loose necklace. This seems to have be a myth. Contrary to what guides tell tourists, her head did not collapse on atrophied muscles; but mutiny by the most photographed woman in Nasoi Kayan Tayar village has provoked spectacular results. Burma/Myanmar-Padaung - Metal Rings On Female Stretched Necks - WUNRN This is a cruel punishment, as the cervical vertebrae become deformed after years of wearing and the neck muscles atrophy. It's becoming their own standard of beauty. +++, The women are not allowed to leave the one-acre village. The Padaung is the tribal group of the "long-necked women," and two of them had become, through a series of coercions, a lucrative tourist draw at Thailand's Mae Hong Son Resort. The women told the local Karenni villagers that they would not continue the neck spiraling custom with their daughters - possibly influenced by Christian Karennis' opposition to the practice. That means that the expression "Padaung neck rings" is correct. Of the two most notable types, one is the torc, an often heavy and valuable ornament normally open at the throat. The contract ceremony may be ended by the families eating chicken provided by the grooms family together. Other say the custom began as a tribute to a dragon-mother progenitor.According to some people, Padaung women began wearing the coils to protect their necks against tiger attacks and continued wearing them after tigers were no longer a threat because Padaung men found the coils made the women more sexually desirable. Tel: +41 22 906-9870, +41 22 906-9871 At the age of 5, girls in the Karen (or Kayan) and Padaung tribes of Myanmar are fitted with their first rings. At the age of 5, girls in the Karen (or Kayan) and Padaung tribes of Myanmar are fitted with their first rings. Answer (1 of 2): Not all Burmese females wear neck rings like this: They are a subgroup of Kayan people (Myanmar) (aka: Padaung which means copper neck) living at a small border town of Myanmar and Thai. The rings are given to the women by their husbands and worn as a sign of faithfulness, and were once removed only after the women diedtoday, however, the women dont tend to wear them permanently. Some foreigners just came to complain that some women were not wearing their costumes."
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