Why do Thai women wear rings around their necks? (6 photos)

Between Thailand and Myanmar in the mountainous area lives a small the Padaung or Kayan people. He is known for his beauties with very long neck. They are often referred to as female giraffes. It's not natural peculiarity. The necks of girls are specially lengthened by wearing many sealed rings.





Padaung girl

It looks very unusual: the small faces of local women rise above their shoulders, sometimes by 30 cm or more.

One ring, two rings...

Padaung girls begin to wear rings at five years old or a little older. First, 6 rings are immediately soldered around the neck. More often all copper, brass. Then every year the girl is added one ring, increasing them in a spiral. Similar bracelets are worn on the hands and girls legs.

And so on until the wedding. Then the addition of rings stops.



The neck doesn't get that long. But optically it seems that she is just incredibly elongated. This is because the rings heavy - 2-3 kg. Girls gradually change posture, shoulders go down. From this, the already elongated neck seems even longer. The bottom layer is made looser so that the neck underneath can be washed.

Under normal conditions, before the wedding, the size of the neck due to the rings can be increased by 25 cm or more. This is where they stop. But individual enthusiastic ladies or those who could not get married early sometimes continue to add hoops around the neck. Some Padaung women had recorded cases. Their necks were 40 cm each. And besides, that local residents are quite low.

How do the Kayans explain their strange custom?

Tigers or dragons?

There are several versions. First, here is a long and a thin neck is considered beautiful. But why such difficulties with hoops?

Some padaung tell stories that once upon women, harvesting, often attacked by tigers. This predator is trying to plunge fangs in the weakest place - the throat. Allegedly hoops around the neck and wrists give the girls a chance. But this is more like a legend for tourists.



The second local tale says that the progenitor of the Kayan was a dragon woman who fell in love with a simple man. He left her when found out the truth. But the half-humans-half-dragons that appeared in this union became padaung people.

According to another version, local beauties were often kidnapped or themselves fled to the settlements of other peoples. Padaung did not want to marry their girls to the side. Therefore, hoops on a long neck served as a label. WITH You can't hide this gem anywhere. Remove them without special preparation was difficult. Therefore, relatives quickly found the abducted or fugitives and returned to their native village.



Installation of rings on the neck

They say that a husband could remove rings from his wife for treason, which threatened her with problems due to impaired blood circulation.

Today, nothing limits the freedom of girls. To the little ones at the age of 5, they most often continue to wear hoops and lengthen the neck, as well as bracelets for hands and feet. But adult women decide for themselves whether to wear them or No. Many themselves like this decoration, they are happy to posing for tourists. But someone no longer follows the traditions, removing bracelets.



What if you take it off?

Doctors say that the copper rings around the neck in themselves are a reasonable amount of girls are not harmed. Yes, the neck is extended. But without fanaticism is not dangerous. If desired, they can be removed, but not immediately, but one one by one, allowing the neck to recover. Another thing is when the size is adjusted up to 40 cm. In such conditions, it is no longer possible to bend or turn the neck. Muscles atrophy. If all 40 cm of rings are removed from a woman at once, then she, most likely to die. Her muscles will not be able to hold a long and weak neck.