A
neck ring is a band of metal worn as an ornament around the
neckThe neck is the part of the body on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The Latin term signifying "of the neck" is cervical.-Bony anatomy: The cervical spine:...
of an individual. In a few African and Asian cultures multiple neck rings are worn usually to stretch the neck. The Kayan tribe or Padaung tribe of Karen people from the border region of
MyanmarBurma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia or Indochina. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the...
and
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
begin to wear neck rings when they are children. Gradually with age the number of "brass coils" worn increases to elongate the neck.
A
neck ring is a band of metal worn as an ornament around the
neckThe neck is the part of the body on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The Latin term signifying "of the neck" is cervical.-Bony anatomy: The cervical spine:...
of an individual. In a few African and Asian cultures multiple neck rings are worn usually to stretch the neck. The Kayan tribe or Padaung tribe of Karen people from the border region of
MyanmarBurma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia or Indochina. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the...
and
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
begin to wear neck rings when they are children. Gradually with age the number of "brass coils" worn increases to elongate the neck. The girls of the Ndebele people of South Africa wear neck rings to signify their marriages.
The custom of wearing neck rings is related to an ideal of beauty: an elongated neck. Neck rings push the collarbone and ribs down. The neck stretching is mostly illusory; the weight of the rings twists the collar bone and eventually the upper ribs to create the illusion of an elongated neck. The vertebrae do not elongate. In advanced stages the forces can cause trauma, such as occlusion of venous flow or
hematomaA haematoma, or hematoma, is a collection of blood outside the blood vessels, generally the result of hemorrhage, or more specifically, internal bleeding....
.
When the coils are removed, there is no health danger. The only concern is that the neck muscles are atrophied, and are understandably weaker than the rest of the body. However, there is no proven medical concern for the removal of the coils.
However, the neck is not actually elongated. Instead, the rib cage and shoulders grow at an angle 45 degrees lower than what is natural, causing an illusion of an elongated neck.
Tourism
Tourism is often blamed for encouraging the use of neck rings, as they are a popular attraction for tourists.
Small girls may wear brass collars from the age of two to five years old, as it is more comfortable to lengthen the neck slowly. The alternative is rapidly, and painfully lengthening the neck around the age of twelve, when girls first compete for the attention of boys.
Marco PoloMarco Polo was a merchant from the Venetian Republic who wrote Il Milione, which introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, voyaged through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for...
was the first tourist to describe the practice in c.1300, but refugee practitioners in
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
were first accessible to tourists in 1984.
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