Padaung Village Slide-show.
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Padaung Village Slide-show.
These images were taken during the RPS Travel group to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, on the 21st October 2005. They were all taken in one village and show mainly the longnecked women and two others from a different tribe but living in the same village. An identification of the tribe would be helpful please.
The longnecked women come from the hill tribes of the Padaung. Several villages of these people, part of the Karen refugees from Burma, are found in Northern Thailand, especially around Mae Hong Son.
The women of the Padaung tribe wear brass coils around their neck. Contrary to what was once believed, the coils do not stretch out the neck, but rather they push the shoulders and rib cage downward. Girls will start wearing small coils around the age of six, and the size is increased as they grow older. The coils on adults typically weigh about five kilograms (11 pounds).
The longnecked women come from the hill tribes of the Padaung. Several villages of these people, part of the Karen refugees from Burma, are found in Northern Thailand, especially around Mae Hong Son.
The women of the Padaung tribe wear brass coils around their neck. Contrary to what was once believed, the coils do not stretch out the neck, but rather they push the shoulders and rib cage downward. Girls will start wearing small coils around the age of six, and the size is increased as they grow older. The coils on adults typically weigh about five kilograms (11 pounds).