Neck Rings Worn By Burmese Tribal Women

Padaung Tribal Woman Wearing Neck Rings

The famous neck rings, seen in this photo of a Padaung tribal woman in Myanmar, are not actually rings. Rather a coil is formed from a bronze and gold alloy which when worn around their necks gives the appearance of rings. This coil, often two coils worn together, weighs up to thirty pounds. The weight pushes down the collar bones making the women look as if they have very long necks. This is a dying tradition now with many of the "rings" or coils being sold off to tourists. While it is a shame to see tourism so affect a culture, the burden of wearing such a contraption must be one the women are at least a little glad to be rid of!

Tribal Women In The Shan State of Myanmar

The woman in this photo was in the Shan state of Myanmar. I spent three weeks traveling from village to village in an area in which foreigners had now been allowed for decades. This woman had never seen a caucasian before and was fascinated with my height. She wanted to know what I ate so that she could feed her children and have them grow tall. I made the mistake of telling the villagers that my father was a farmer. They then all wanted to know how they could better grow their crops! All I could think of was to buy a tractor...but of course I didn''t say that thought out loud! Even if I had, the message would have had to be translated from English to Burmese and from Burmese to Padaung!


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