Padaung

Padaung

Northern Thailand

December 2007

The Padaung, or Ka-Kaung as they call themselves, are a sub-group of the Karen. They live in the North and North-West of Thailand, most of them coming from Burma, where they have been forced to leave during the recent years. Ka-Kaung means 'people who live on top of the hill'. Padaung women are often referred to as 'giraffe' or 'long-necked' because of the custom of placing brass rings around their necks from when they are young girls until they marry.

Actually it is not the neck which get stretched but the shoulders which are forced down by the weight and pressure of the rings. These severe decorations express the Padaung women's own concept of beauty and social ranking but there are other theories concerning the origins of these rings.

It has been claimed that rings were first placed around the women's necks in order to make them unattractive for males of other tribes. Other theories say that originally women worn the rings to defend themselves from tigers.

The practice was fast disappearing before it became a tourist attraction. Unfortunately now they are most likely to be seen paraded like animals in a zoo, being their main activity modeling for tourists’ pictures and selling them their handicrafts.