People around the globe follow innumerable peculiar traditions, some are bizarre, some are fascinating, and some seems funny while some seem insane.
In the bucket of these diverse traditions, there is a tradition followed by the women of Kayan tribes in Thailand. The Kayan women are known for their bizarre elongated neck and exquisite and incredible brass coils they wear around their neck. These bizarre neck women are usually called as ‘long necks’ or the ‘giraffe women’.
The Historic Tradition
The Kayan culture proclaims that wearing these beautiful golden brass rings enhances their beauty and these long slender necks are the symbol of grandeur.
The tradition embarks at a mere age of five. The Kayan long neck women start wearing these rings at the tender age of five. They start with wearing four to five rings and one or more turns of rings are added gradually. They wear up to 25 coils.
Myth
The myth behind this age-long tradition is that the tribe see this tradition as a form of beauty. According to Kayan culture, these glitzy golden rings prevent women from slave of other tribes for not being beautiful enough. According to age old theories, the coils give women resemblance to the dragon. Also, ancient legends claim that these rings save the women from tiger attacks, as tigers usually attack near the neck. Another myth that pertains to the tribe is that women will break their neck if they remove these rings.
The Breathtaking Mystery
The mystery behind these elongated slender necks is the heavyweight of rings, which is about 25 pounds. These heavyweights push the collarbone down and compress the rib cage. Ultimately, the shoulders fall away to give the appearance of the elongated neck.
This peculiar tradition has caught the eyes of many travelers. Each year thousands of travelers stop by the village where Kayan tribe resides just to have a sight of ‘giraffe women’ and have some photographs with them.
Now many women have started removing off their brass rings but still many of them continue with their culture.
If you ever got a chance to visit Thailand, then you should put this hill area on your bucket list. It will surely be a treat to visit this village to explore and learn about this peculiar tradition if you are an adventure and travel freak.
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