Padaung
Padaung also known as the Kayan are a group of the Karenni people, a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar (Burma). They are found in a 150 square mile area of Kayah State and Shan State, wes of the Salween river and around the Pekon hills, which rise to 5,000 feet. In the 1990s, due to conflict with the military regime in Burma, many Kayan tribespeople fled into neighbouring Thailand. There they live with an uncertain legal status in the border area, in villages set up to display them to tourists willing to pay to admire their particular body modification, which consists of coiling lengths of brass around the necks of the women. There are around 7,000 members of the Kayan tribe.
An unrelated tribe in central Borneo are also called the Kayan, similar to, and neighbors of, the Kenyah tribe. They are part of a larger grouping of people referred to collectively as the orang ulu, or upriver people. They are known for being fierce warriors, former headhunters, adept in dry-rice cultivation, and having extensive tattoos and stretched earlobes amongst both sexes.
For centuries they have been objects of curiosity and were once brought to the palace of the King of Mandalay for inspection. Although known in the world as Padaung, they call themselves Ka-Kung, which means 'people who live on the top of the hill'. In recent years, many have become Catholics.
The Padaungs are often nicknamed 'giraffe women' or the 'long-necked Karens' because of the custom of encasing the neck in brass coils. When a girl is aged between five and nine, her neck is rubbed with ointment said to be made of dog fat, coconut milk and royal jelly, and first neck ring is fitted. After two years, the next set of coils is added and every year thereafter she gains a new set until she marries.
The practice has seen a surge in recent years because the custom draws tourists who buy their handicrafts. The biggest Kayan village of Nai Soi receives an average of 1,200 tourists annually and collects an entry fee of 250B per person. This money never reaches the Kayan, it stays in the hands of local Thai operators. It is not used to fund rebel military operations in Burma. Unfortunately, tour operators and tourists themselves often treat these people like zoo animals.
An ethnic group in South Africa has a similar practice. The Ndebele people of South Africa start wearing neck rings when they are married, around 12 years of age. However instead of brass coils, the Ndebele people wear individual rings closed around their necks.
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