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The Long Neck-Coiled Child of Kayan Tribe

The Long Neck-Coiled Child of Kayan Tribe

Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by their forms of dress as well as wearing neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck, appearing to l...
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Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by their forms of dress as well as wearing neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. Young girls begin to wear rings when they are around 5 years old. Over the years, the coil is replaced by a longer one and more turns are added.

The weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. The neck itself is not lengthened; the appearance of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle.

Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested that the rings protected women from becoming slaves; making them less attractive to other tribes or that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore.
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