The Padaung Tribe

    Padaung Tribe 

The Padaung tribe is commonly known for the golden rings worn by the women. From a young age, girls will start to wear these rings on their wrists, necks, and knees. The Legend started thousands of years ago where it was believed an alchemist went into the forest and found a dragon. The dragon laid three eggs and each of these eggs became a tribe. The Karen, The Pa-oh, and the Padaung tribe. Taking the myth back to the present the men of the Padaung represent the alchemist and the women with elongated necks the dragon. This tradition keeps the culture alive but in current time it's quickly dying out, said only to be less than one hundred women left with hoops. 

The main acknowledged concern being if the golden wires are not placed properly on the neck it causes one to choke while trying to eat. Another problem that arises is how depending on how many bronze coils you have it could crush your collarbone. During the present time, the practice is being abandoned by more women every year, because it's uncomfortable and restricting. A major source of income for the Padaung tribe comes from tourists that come and see the women and take home a souvenir few worry with the tradition that running out tourists will stop coming by. Others were relieved never being quite fond of how their tribe was quickly portrayed by the media as Giraffe Women stating their home felt more like a zoo on more days than one. The ones who choose to participate might only see their necks three times in their lifetime and will go through the pain of having newly added coils every few years, but it demonstrates the importance of how close people choose to keep their culture close to their hearts because it's their way of living or how their definition of what beauty is and how the women choose to express themselves as a tribe but most importantly to each other.