The wonderful people of the Karen tribe, the padaung

Our planet is inhabited by many ethnic groups, tribes, speaking different languages, have their own traditions, national customs and mores. The wonderful people of the Karen tribe, the padaung live in Myanmar and in Northern Thailand.

This not numerous tribe, numbering more than 50 thousand people live in the mountain villages. They build their huts out of palm fronds and set them on the ground, not on stilts. Engaged in agriculture, growing rice, bred bulls, buffaloes, elephants, men working drovers of elephants, women do household chores, make Souvenirs for tourists.

What is surprising is the tribe? Women of the tribe called the padaung women — giraffes, because they have very long necks.

This is an unusual national tradition — "neck stretch". Long neck is considered a sign of beauty and prosperity.

From the age of five, the girls put on the neck of the copper ring with a thickness of about of an inch, gradually adding the number of rings. When she marries, the building of rings stops. A grown woman has up to two dozen rings, which can weigh about five pounds.

Previously it was thought that the rings elongate the neck joints, although in fact result in deformation of the shoulder area as the weight of the rings shoulders slowly lowered, and in the neck, no changes occur. There is a perception that if you remove the ring, the neck can break, this opinion is not true. Women can remove the ring and put on again. If you abandon the wearing of rings, neck restored within a year to three years.

As the padaung women wear rings on the arms and legs. The costume of the women-giraffes consists of a long white tunic with no collar, front closure and the skirt is knee-length. In our time the long neck women attract tourists and give the opportunity to earn.

Female giraffes is a kind of business, for example: the biggest village of Nai Soi receives annually 1200 tourists who are on entry pay 250 baht (one baht is approximately equal to one ruble). Women dressed in traditional costumes depict the life of his tribe, love to take pictures, buy Souvenirs.

Source: globalscience.ru