Neck Rings vs. Eye of the Tiger
Expect the Unexpected
I climbed into the back of the old military-style transport truck and sat down on one of the rugged wooden benches. The tailgate was slammed closed and the driver pulled the truck into the lead position of a small caravan headed northwest into the mountainous jungle area between Chaing Rai, Thailand, and the border of Myanmar.
The scene felt oddly familiar—I almost expected to hear the music for the 1970s television show M*A*S*H playing and my traveling companions to be Hawkeye, Trapper, and Radar. Instead, all I heard was the rattling and thumping of the old truck as it bounced along the rustic backroads.
Our destination was a Kayan Women’s Village, which was so remote we had to hike the last mile through the jungle to get there. Fortunately, the tigers, leopards, and venomous vipers let us pass without incident. I’m convinced my repetitious humming of the song “Eye of the Tiger,” kept the wild predators at bay. Either they were in the jungle rolling around laughing hysterically at me, or they were running to escape the onslaught of off-key noise bombarding their sensitive ears.
Safety Tip: To repel dangerous wildlife while jungle hiking, hum “Eye of the Tiger” off-key.
The Kayan people in Thailand are displaced refugees from the bordering country of Myanmar/Burma. Originally known as the Burmese Spring Revolution, the Myanmar Civil War, which has been ongoing since 1948, is the LONGEST RUNNING WAR in modern history. It is Asia’s version of the Hatfields and McCoys, and there still is no end in sight.
Bearing the brunt of ruthless persecution and severe ethnic marginalization from Myanmar’s military communist rule, thousands of Kayans have sought refuge in the neighboring countries of India, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
The violence escalated and exploded exponentially in 2021 when a communist military coup d'état triggered the people of Myanmar to aggressively resist their oppressors. Over 90,000 refugees fled to Thailand and filled nine refugee camps strategically located along the Thai-Myanmar border. Thousands of additional refugees entered Thailand and disappeared into the mountains and jungle.
Predictably, the surge of refugees presents a heavy burden on the already struggling country of Thailand.
Although the Thai Royal Government provides the refugees with physical safety, it RESTRICTS their access to healthcare, employment, property ownership, travel outside the refugee camps, and many other privileges and services.
Consequently, most of the Myanmar refugees still live in abject poverty with little hope of changing their situation.
The Kayan village we visited was one of the three self-sustaining communities in northern Thailand. Six hundred people from the Kayan Lahwi Tribe inhabit the villages and continue to maintain their ancient tribal practices and traditions.
The exotic Kayan Lahwi women are recognized worldwide for their custom of wearing multiple brass rings around their necks, arms, and shins. Although this tradition has become less popular among many modern Kayan women, it is still practiced in the three refugee villages in North Thailand.
Every year, 40,000 people from around the world travel to Northern Thailand to visit the Longneck Villages and meet with the famous and gracious Kayan Lahwi Women. The visitors provide an essential source of income to the Longneck Villages by purchasing beautiful handcrafted items and taking photographs of the women and children.
I can confidently say I have a robust appetite for interesting baubles, bling, and bijou, and I’m not shy about wearing my regalia. However, the Kayan women are in a completely different league than I am!
I can’t imagine wrapping 25 pounds of spit-polished, brilliantly shiny brass rings around my neck and wearing them 24/7 for the rest of my life! Neither can I fathom lugging 15 pounds of brass rings around on each of my ankles.
Although the rings appear to be separate, they are actually comprised of one long brass coil. Generally, the coil is removed once a year for cleaning and, in the case of a child or young woman, replaced with a longer coil. A soft cloth is often placed between the coil and the skin to ease the irritation— and the pain.
The necks of Kayan Lahwi women are NOT elongated. You read that right. They aren’t born with extra vertebrae in their necks, their necks don’t get stretched by the brass coils, and they have NOT had giraffe-neck-ectomies. The heavy weight of the brass coils PUSHES DOWN on the collarbone and COMPRESSES the rib cage, creating the ILLUSION of an elongated neck.
Several conflicting stories explain the origin of the Kayan Lahwi tradition of adorning tribal women and girls with brass rings.
Some claim the brass rings made the Kayan women unattractive and undesirable; thus, they served to protect the women from being kidnapped and taken into bondage by rival tribes.
Others believe the rings originated as an outward expression of beauty, strength, ethnic pride, and ownership of the unique Kayan culture.
The most popular belief ties in with the spiritual belief that the tribe was born from a beautiful Dragon Woman with a long, luxurious neck. As an act of praise and honor to the Dragon Woman, the women aspire to elongate their own necks with the brass rings.
Finally, historically, the Kayan villages were located deep in the jungles, and tiger attacks threatened the villagers. Knowing that tigers kill their prey by attacking the NECK, the Kayan women covered their necks with brass coils for protection against the tigers.
Really? They did not need to go to all the trouble of coiling brass around their necks and squashing down their collarbones and rib cages just to protect themselves from TIGERS IN THE JUNGLE! If they had just asked me, I could have told them to hum “Eye of the Tiger” off-key, and the tigers would have left them alone!
Kayan girls start wearing neck rings by the time they are five years old. Rings are added every year, allowing the girls time to adjust and grow. Kayan Lahwi women wear a maximum of 30 neck rings. Some coils weigh 20 kilos — 44 pounds!
At age 15, each girl is given the opportunity to decide whether to KEEP the rings or REMOVE them and pursue a modern lifestyle.
Most young women in the Longneck Villages in Thailand choose to continue wearing the neck rings beyond age 15. This decision is heavily influenced by the fact that the neck rings offer young women the opportunity to continue living in the financially self-sustaining Longneck Villages.
The alternative is to remove their neck rings, move to refugee camps, and participate in government education programs with the hopes of qualifying for relocation to a third country. To date, few people have been relocated.
Under Thai law, foreigners are BANNED from taking work at a job that can be performed by a Thai citizen. Consequently, the Kayan Lahwi refugees receive a long, exhaustive list of jobs they are legally FORBIDDEN from doing.
Essentially, they come a FULL CIRCLE and resort to earning a meager income by SELLING HANDMADE KAYAN ITEMS to tourists. Under these conditions, it is understandable that many young women opt to maintain the traditional roles and values of the Kayan Lahwi tribe and stay in the villages.
The Kayan Lahwi Village is governed by the Council of Elders, a group of older women who determine the village's direction and plans.
The Kayan men work in nearby fields with animals and farm crops.
However, most of the income that supports the tribe is earned by the women in the sale of their crafts and photographs to the visiting tourists.
In recent years controversy has erupted about whether it is ethical for tourists to visit the Kayan Lahwi Villages in Thailand.
The opposing point of view, propagated mostly by the media, asserts the Kayans are treated like “zoo animals” by photo-snapping tourists. They claim tourism exploits the women and holds them back from integrating into modern society. They want tourism stopped so the Kayan women can remove their painful brass coils and be free from the tyranny of the 14th-century customs they follow.
The second viewpoint recognizes the Kayan Lahwi women are free to leave the villages and move elsewhere any time they choose. However, most Kayans claim that tourism does not impact their decision to wear the brass coils. Rather, they wear the rings to honor and acknowledge the timeless beauty of their cultural ethnicity and the ultimate strength the rings symbolize.
Many longneck women are skeptical of their future in Thailand and content with their lifestyle in the villages. They prefer life in the northern reaches of the jungle to the hazardous, unpredictable warzone that they left behind in Myanmar/Burma. Some wait patiently for the time when they can return to their homeland. Until then, they encourage tourists to keep coming and welcome those who travel many miles to visit them.
It is a personal decision whether or not to visit the Kayan Lahwi Longnecks in their Villages in Thailand.
Certain guidelines make the visit pleasant and respectful. Ask before you snap a photo. Talk to the women—they enjoy visiting. Respect the grounds and their houses by picking up your trash. And, of course, remember the villages depend upon tourist income for their livelihood.
If you are REALLY ADVENTUROUS, the women might TIGER-PROOF YOUR NECK by fitting you with a set of authentic Kayan BRASS NECK COILS so you can walk through the jungle WITHOUT humming “Eye of the Tiger” off-key. The experience doesn’t get any more authentic than that!
Fascinating! Thanks for the first-hand account of the Kayan people and the great photos, too. It's interesting to note that neck rings are also used in parts of Africa, although the tradition there probably has other origins.
A fascinating place! It's wonderful you had an opportunity to visit the Kayan Villages. I like the best practices you mentioned at the end. I think anyone can apply them when they encounter people from a different culture.