There is a place in Asia that is known for the old tradition of neck stretching using brass rings. The Padaung, or Ka-Kaung as they call themselves. Ka-Kaung means "people who live on top of the hill". Padaung women are often referred to as 'giraffe' or 'long-necked' because of the custom of placing brass rings around their necks from when they are young girls. The way this works is that a few rings are put around the neck of a young girl, as the girl gets older, more rings are added and after time her neck has the appearance of looking very long due to the compression caused by the rings over time.
From a very young age girls were introduced to the first neck ring. Their shoulders are pushed down, making the neck look longer. By the time the woman is full grown, she may have as much as 20lbs of metal around her neck that is now around 10" - 15" long. In fact it is not the neck which has stretched but the shoulders which have been forced down by the weight and pressure of the rings. Having that much weight on top your shoulders is not comfortable and very restraining making the simplest tasks such as drinking water from a cup or looking up impossible. There are many different accounts of why the Padaung practice this bizarre custom. Their own mythology explains that it is done to prevent tigers from biting them. But there are other reports, another explanation is that it is done to make the women unattractive so they are less likely to be captured by slave traders. The most common explanation is the obvious one, that an extra-long neck is considered a sign of great beauty and wealth and that it will attract a better husband. The rings also gave the men of the tribe more power over the women. For instance, adultery, though, is said to be punished by removal of the rings. In this case, since the neck muscles will have been severely weakened by years of not supporting the neck, a woman must spend the rest of her life lying down or may even die of choking.
However, that is not totally true and the rings may be removed without harm and in most cases the muscles soon strengthen. The rings deform the shoulders, they do not really stretch the neck. The rings compress the shoulders and ribs causing the illusion. They may be taken off, but the muscles do need time to strengthen and there is a risk of choking if the head is not supported for a few months afterwards. The rumored risk of death has caused many of the elderly ladies in the region to still keep the rings on. Whatever the origin of the custom, one of the more common reasons it continues today, particularly in Thailand, is tourism. Unfortunately, the "giraffe women" are such an oddity that the woman need to go through this to make a living. Tourists flock to see them, photographers pay for pictures, and they are now pretty much a side show exhibit. One of the women had this to say; "I want my peoples traditions but we are suffering because of these rings" she said. " We are denied education and the Thai authorities will not let us go abroad, although some of us have been invited to leave for Finland and New Zealand. The authorities say the long-necked people are not allowed to go, that they will lose business".
Other women complain the camp administrators pressure them to keep the rings on so the tourists will keep coming. Women are paid $1,500 baht a month {about $42} to wear them. The average wage for a field laborer is about $3 a day in this part of Thailand, although Kayan complain they don't receive the medical and education benefits in a leaflet handed out to tourists. The practice is fast disappearing. Today the neck rings are mostly seen on the elderly woman that still hold the tradition. Some young woman also participate in the practice, but do so for financial, commercial purposes, and for tourists. There has been some talk over the practice of putting young girls through this for increased tourism and many people, even in Thailand, many see this as child abuse and some tour guides even refuse to go there in protest.
{ source; ill-use/body-modification}
