It is unknown up to this day, what kind of ancient tradition it is and why in the territories of northern Thailand, Mae Hong Son province to be exact, women in the Karen tribe, are able to elongate their necks with those brightly shining yellow brass rings in unbelievable scales.
Who Are The Karen People?
The Karen are a tribal group who have historically lived in the hills in Myanmar (formerly Burma) side of the Thai border. Best recognized for their elongated necks, the Karen women wear heavy brass rings around their necks, forearms, and shins. While the Karen men are mainly field workers and farmers, the women have a rich history of crafting from wood carving to weaving. Overall the Long Neck Tribes live a rugged, tedious, and simple lifestyle, but the fruits of their labor are colorful and very lively.
There are still around 40,000 Karen members today, but thousands have had to flee Burma over the decades due to political unrest. Fleeing to Thailand was a very safe choice for many, but the ones that came are largely illegal immigrants and do not have options for gaining Thai citizenship. While things are much better for the Karen that have fled from Burma, the lack of opportunity for the Long Necks has confined the groups to small pockets separate from most of modern Thailand.
On one hand, it is beautiful they have been able to keep their traditions alive and on the other, it is a struggle to balance the new world with the old.
https://www.bigboytravel.com/asia/thailand/karen-long-neck-villages/Why Do They Wear Brass Rings?
Some people believe, that those decorative rings are shield and a sort of protection from the tigers, while others believe, that this strange jewel brings them to the attention of the men in the neighboring tribes, but some people say, that the long neck means a kind of rank and honor. The longer the woman's neck the bigger stateliness they have within the tribe. In some form or other one thing is for sure, that they allure thousands of tourists here, that is incidentally hardly approachable place, that surrounded by mountains. However, the visitors will soon forget the long and tiring journey, because the culture of the local tribes, the appearance and the women with their long necks give them unforgettable experiences and memories.
What Are The Common Questions From The Visitors?
Of course the most questions are about the elongated necks. They start wearing the rings, when they become 5 or 6 years old. Because of wearing those brass rings it holds them to preposterous posture that leads to elongated vertebras and muscles. When it happens, new rings will be placed on their necks, this process lasts until the end of their lives. An individual ring's diameter is about 1-1.5 cm. In the local villages there are women who wear almost 40 rings. Some people stated, that if those rings would be removed from the necks those women would not be able to hold their heads. Of course this statement is incorrect. If that would be the case their "pendants" would choke them. The muscles don't waste away and they able to hold the head even when the rings are removed, which incidentally happens quite often.
The other question is what the tourists often ask, that how long they can elongate their necks. Well the local people have the answer to this question. As I mentioned earlier this process lasts for a life time. In the 50's there was a woman who died at the age of 71 and she had 50 rings on her neck. That is at least 50 cm long, which is about 3 times longer, than a normal European person's neck. This is really unbelievable, but unfortunately it seems, that it will not be beaten in the near future, because the local people nowadays don't really follow this tradition, while 20 years ago it would have been unconceivable for every woman to not to wear those brass rings. The more enlightened, more cultivated mothers do not put these rings on their daughters. Whoever follows this strange tradition, they only do it for the tourists and not because they are following to carry further the ancient tribal culture.
This is the first time hearing about them but I saw people like this in social media, the one thing that comes to my mind when I saw the Karen people, I remember Dhalsim on streetfighter if your familiar with him, anyways your content was great and gave me another knowledge to know about other culture 😊😊