Padaung Ring Neck Stretchers - HubPages Anthropologists have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves, making them less attractive to other tribes. Bronze and silver bracelets also cover the womens legs and arms, a custom likely to remain. Most distinctive are the dozens of rattan rings that circle their waists. Men wear the basic Southeast Asian longji. Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, and often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity (one associated with beauty). It has also been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore. 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. Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) is a Shan term for the Kayan Lahwi (the group in which women wear the brass neck rings). Some say the custom have been dreamed up and perpetuated by tour guides. These were worn by various early cultures but are especially associated with the ancient Celts of the European Iron Age, where they were evidently a key indicator of wealth and status, mostly worn by men. This policy was relaxed in late 2008 and a small group of Kayan have left for New Zealand in August 2008. The muscles covered by the coil become weakened. She is the youngest of the three. The Padaung, commonly known as the long-necked women, are refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma) who are famous for their giraffelike appearance, which is produced by brass rings coiled around their necks. 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. If you're on social media you've probably seen people making posts trying to sell products or asking you to join their "new business" ventures. The first set of coils have a break at about the seventh rung above the clavicle to permit head mobility. 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). Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations, Geneva, Switzerland If you want to see them, you have to go to them. This is a cruel punishment, as the cervical vertebrae become deformed after years of wearing and the neck muscles atrophy. Having an elongated neck has been a standard of beauty for centuries, and its a goal some of todays women still strive for. ", The Padaung women remained in Thailand under the sponsorship of the Mae Hong Son Resort. "I have no choice. I couldn't tell if she was joking. The tourists rarely stayed overnight, the usual visit to the Padaung camp consisting of a photo session of fewer than 30 minutes. One of the most striking of these groups is the Padaung. Occasionally one or two Padaung women were brought to a town where tourists were permitted, such as Kalaw or Taunggyi in Shan State, so that tourists could observe and photograph them. Trekkers intruded on and disrupted tribal life, encouraged opium abuse, and harassed tribal women. Mae Hong Son officials were not unaware of the Padaung women's worth as a tourist attraction. Naheng said she even sleeps in them and only briefly takes off the rings in the shower. Inspired by a National Geographic documentary, a Los Angeles woman named Sydney V. Smith decided to have a set of neck rings fitted just for her. +++, "I am part of a new generation, and I do not like it. Scott there voices sound "as if they were speaking from the bottom of a well.. 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.