Women of Kayan Lahwi tribe of Burma are the most renowned for their
ornaments known as neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the
neck. The women wearing these coils are known as giraffe women to tourists. These coils are first applied to young girls when they are around five years old.
Each coil is replaced with longer coil, as the weight of the brass
pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. Contrary to
popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened; the illusion of a
stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas
regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by
visiting anthropologists, who have hypothesized that the rings protected
women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other
tribes.
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