The Kayan Tribe/Padaung Women of Burma with Elongated Necks, aka ''Giraffe Women''.

[♥ Lily ♥]

Swan-Necked Women



Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by their forms of dress.

Women of the Kayan Lahwi tribe are well known for wearing neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck,
appearing to lengthen it.

The women wearing these coils are known as "giraffe women" to tourists.

Girls first start to wear rings when they are around five years old.

Over the years the coil is replaced by a longer one and more turns are added.

The weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage.
The neck itself is not lengthened; the appearance of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle.

Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested,
often formed by visiting anthropologists,
who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes.

Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire
to look more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than men.

It has also been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore.

The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.

Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, and often say
that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity (one associated with beauty).

The coil, once on, is seldom removed, as the coiling and uncoiling is a lengthy procedure.
It is usually only removed to be replaced by a new or longer coil.
The muscles covered by the coil become weakened.
Many women have removed the rings for medical examinations.
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.

Additionally, the collar feels like an integral part of the body after ten or more years of continuous wear.

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.

In late 2008 most of the young women who entered the refugee camp removed their rings.
One woman who had worn the rings for over 40 years removed them.
After removing the rings, women report discomfort which fades after about three days.
The discoloration is more persistent.

The government of Burma began discouraging neck rings as it struggled to appear more modern to the developed world.
Consequently, many women in Burma began breaking the tradition,
though a few older women and some of the younger girls in remote villages continued to wear rings.

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 250B per person.

http://www.pacross.net/Galleries/Padaung.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayan_people_%28Burma%29






0.58 in the video below is a must-see!

[LightHouse89]

paganism.

[♥ Lily ♥]

Sydney V. Smith from LA is sticking her neck out and admitting she wants to become a "giraffe woman."
She is inspired by the cultural tradition of the women of Burma.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_4980322.html

[♥ Lily ♥]

http://housesofwax.blogspot.co.uk/20...m-longest.html


Today we see a figure of the longest necked woman in the world.
Well, an example of a Padaung woman in Burma.
The longest recorded neck length is 15.75 inches.
They use copper coils to stretch the neck to the desired length.


Another view of the woman shows the sacred head
is kept away from the body via an elongated neck.


The neck itself. Unlike many world's records, this is more of a traditional practice,
and not one to acquire fame.

[Jackson]

Imagine if you had an itchy neck, or got something stuck between the rings and your neck. That'd be really annoying.

Interesting though.

[♥ Lily ♥]

[♥ Lily ♥]

[♥ Lily ♥]

[Mortimer]

i think thats bad for the health and terrible practice, not every tradition is good. they should get rid of that superstition.

[Kazimiera]

The interesting thing about this is that the neck isn't actually stretched, nor is the spine affected in any way. If the rings are taken off and the women are sent for X-rays they have completely normal necks with normal space between the vertebrae. The neck muscles themselves get stretched but there is no change to the bone structure.

The difference, however, is in the collar bone and shoulders. The weight of the rings starts forcing the collar bones down. They start wearing the rings when still young, which gives lots of time for the collar bones to become deformed and the shoulders to be forced down. With each added ring, the collar bones and shoulders get forced down even more.

They don't have speech or swallowing problems. I would assume, however, that due to shoulder/chest deformation their lung function would be affected.

Have a look at this X-ray. There is a normal skeleton on the left and a Padoung woman on the right. You can clearly see how the collar bones are affected.



If the women were children when they started wearing the rings, it is possible for them to break their necks if the rings come off. The reason for this is that the neck muscles were never developed and they have relied on the support of the rings all their lives.