THE GIRAFFE WOMEN

The giraffe women of burma myanmar - having long neck.

LOCATION :- 

           Burma myanmar.

GROUP :-

                   The Kayan are a sub-group of Red Karen (Karenni people), Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar (Burma). 

                  

                    The Kayan consists of the following groups:   

                   Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung ), Kayan Ka Khaung (Gekho), Kayan Lahta, Kayan Ka Ngan. Kayan Gebar, Kayan Kakhi and, sometimes .

WHY THEY HAVE LONG NECK ?

                  There is a tradition of wearing brass ring in the neck according to age and culture .

The ring continously increases in number and thus there necks become long as the no. of ring increases.

                 Girls first start to wear rings when they are around 5 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 calvicle . 

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

             It has also 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 .

                     .......THANK YOU......