there is an ethnic group in Southeast Asia actually nicknamed the “Giraffe Peopl
ID: 120072 • Letter: T
Question
there is an ethnic group in Southeast Asia actually nicknamed the “Giraffe People”. The true name of the group is the Karen (aka Padaung) and they live in Burma/Myanmar.Here's the thing: The Karen's 'ornate neckwear' is so notable that the Karen have become somewhat of a tourist attraction (just as New Guinea's 'cannibals' have).
Questions: Why such ornate neckwear, any health issues with such, etc.? there is an ethnic group in Southeast Asia actually nicknamed the “Giraffe People”. The true name of the group is the Karen (aka Padaung) and they live in Burma/Myanmar.
Here's the thing: The Karen's 'ornate neckwear' is so notable that the Karen have become somewhat of a tourist attraction (just as New Guinea's 'cannibals' have).
Questions: Why such ornate neckwear, any health issues with such, etc.? there is an ethnic group in Southeast Asia actually nicknamed the “Giraffe People”. The true name of the group is the Karen (aka Padaung) and they live in Burma/Myanmar.
Here's the thing: The Karen's 'ornate neckwear' is so notable that the Karen have become somewhat of a tourist attraction (just as New Guinea's 'cannibals' have).
Questions: Why such ornate neckwear, any health issues with such, etc.?
Explanation / Answer
Most people know of the Karen people from television documentaries, magazines and encyclopedias as the "long-neck" or "giraffe" tribe. But the women who wear these brass rings on their neck belong to a sub-group of the Karen known as the Padaung. There are other sub-groups who do not and never have practised this custom.These Kayan women, from Kayah state, wear brass coils around their necks to give the impression that their necks are stretched.Having a long neck is often seen as beautiful in Kayan culture.While the neck rings make the women’s necks appear long, in reality, the weight of the coils pushes down the muscles around the collarbone and compresses the rib cage - meaning their necks appear longer than they are.The women – who can start wearing the rings from the age of five - have a long piece of the brass wound in a spiral around their necks.The metal is wound manually by the women and, as brass is tough, this process can take many hours.
A full set of the neck rings can weigh as much as 10 kilos - but few of the women now wear a full set.Most women gradually increase the number of coils on their rings to steadily increase the apparent length of their necks.Despite the weight of the rings, the women wearing them experience little restriction to their movement.And, as the coiling and uncoiling process takes so long, the women rarely remove the rings – they usually only do so to replace them with a longer version.The coils can be safely removed even though the muscles underneath are weakened.However, many women prefer not to have them removed from their necks and collarbones are left bruised and discoloured underneath and they suffer discomfort when they are removed.Additionally, when they have been wearing the rings for a long time, many of the women say they feel they have become an integral part of their bodies and they feel 'naked' without them.after a few days of not wearing the rings, the discomfort fades, but the discolouration tends to remain.It is not clear exactly how the tradition of wearing the neck rings came about.There are theories that women wore them to protect against tiger bites or that they were worn to make them look more like the dragons of local legends.Other people believe they started wearing them to make themselves less attractive to other tribes so they were less likely to be taken into slavery.However, when asked, most of the women will now say they wear them to preserve their cultural identities.Kayan women are usually now given a choice as to whether or not they want to wear the neck rings.Most of those who still do, do so because they see them as beautiful or because they want to preserve the tradition.It is also likely that some wear them because they attract tourists who bring vital revenue to the community.
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