Brass Rings: Tourism vs Culture

Introduction:
 As cited by Jinranai (2008), many Third World nations in the early
1970s embraced tourism as a quick recipe for development. Staggering from
high unemployment rates and heavy indebtedness, many governments saw
tourism as a source of foreign exchange to fund balance of payments deficits
and service their foreign debts. Tourism also promised a viable source of
investments for their backward economies and a source of quick livelihood
and employment for their unskilled workers (PGX Management Committee
2000).

Anywhere in the world, tourism is the major player in a countrys

economy. A country without tourism is a country that is isolated from the
eyes of the world. The growth in tourism industry is one of the contributing
factors to increase economic activity and national development. Tourism
provides jobs, new infrastructure and upgrades the standards of living.

Today, nearly all traditional cultures are part of the global economy. For
many, this means that their cultural practices and artifacts are tourist
commodities. Under the best conditions, members of an ethnic group may
form a production co-op and engage in Fair Trade practices, which ensure
that producers or craftspeople receive a living wage and safe working
conditions. Under the most common conditions, however, most of the
income brought in by tourism goes to non-Indigenous managers or local
governments, while members of the ethnic community receive a small
percentage.

One of the treasures of any country is its people. Myanmar for

example, particularly the east with its rich and diverse ethnic minorities, is
well endowed (www.myanmargeneva.org). In addition, a place can be a
tourist attraction if it exhibited natural or unique cultural value, historical
significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure, adventure and
amusement to the tourist. One of the best examples is the wearing of brass
rings on the neck of women who originally came from Myanmar. War
happened in Myanmar causes them to move away. Being refugees, Padaung
who moved in Thailand, boosted its tourism industry because of their unique
cultural practice. Contrary to the benefits that this unique cultural practice is
exhibiting are various controversies that were lifted cultural discrimination
is an exact example.

This case study would like to find out the origin of Padaung and the
significance of their cultural practice. In addition, it would like to put
emphasis on how culture and tourism affect each other. Likewise, tackle the
reasons why they still continue in doing such practice.

Statement of the Problem:

This case study aims to answer the following questions:
1. Who are the Padaung?
2. What is the theoretical origin of wearing brass rings?
3. Why does the wearing of brass rings still practice by the Padaung?
4. Why does the Padaung Tourism become controversial?
5. How does tourism affect the cultural tradition of wearing brass rings?
Body:

Who are the Padaung?

Kayan is the name that the tribe called themselves. The lowland
Burmese called them Padaung which means long necks (Mirante 2006).
Kayan tribe is a subgroup of Karen. They dont have written language and
are best known for its long-necked women (J. Hays 2008).

Jinranai Ismail (2008) mentioned that, the word Padaung is presumed

to come from the word Paitong in Tai Yai language which means decorating
the neck with gold. Thai people called this ethnic group Kariang Kor Yau
meaning Long-Neck Karen, from the Kayan feature they see. The Kayah tribe
used to call the Kayans Lae Kur. Lae Kur means source of the river because
the Kayans were said to dwell in the highlands where a river originates. The
word also means Noble People of the Creek. In return the Kayan called the
Kayah tribe Lao Gang meaning end of the river because the Kayah tribe
usually live at the lower plains close to the river.

According to De Vos (1982: 15) Language is often cited as a major

component in the maintenance of a separate ethnic identity, and it is
undoubtedly true that language constitutes the single most characteristic
features of a separate ethnic identity. Examining Kayan language can help
identify which group the Kayans originate from. There are four main
language groups in Burma, namely Tibeto-Burman, Mon-Khmer, Karen and
Tai (Bamforth, Lanjouw & Mortimer 1998: 15). Kayan language belongs to the
Karenic branch of Tibeto-Burman language group in the Sino-Tibetan
language family (Schliesinger 2000: 222, Perve 2006: 85, Boorootpat &
Kammuang 1999: 8).
 Karenni (Red Karen) has three major subgroups: Kayan, Kayaw and
Kayah. The ancestors of Kayan dwelled in Mongolia and before they live in
Burma, their native homeland was the middle region of Yunan plateau, China.
In Burma, the Kayan can be divided into 3 smaller groups: 1.) Kayan
Kakhoun, this is the group whose women wear brass coils around their necks,
living in Yakkhu village and Kyatt village. The two villages are about 10 miles
apart, both within the township of Demawso in Karenni State; 2.) Kayan
Kangan this is the group whose women wear silver jewelry around the neck,
dwelling some 15 miles away from Demawso; 3.) Kayan Lahta or Short neck
Kayan, the group whose females neither wear brass coils nor silver rings
around their necks but wear silver bangles in the arms and legs. They dwell
in the rural areas of Shan State near the border of Karenni State (Ismail
2008).

In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict with the military
regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area. Among
the refugee camps set up there was a Long Neck section, which became a
tourist site, self-sufficient on tourist revenue and not needing financial
assistance.

Image 1: Kayans original homeland in Burma

 Source: Bamforth, Lanjouw & Mortimer 1998, Karen Human Rights Group
n.d., U.S. State Department 2007.
The Padaung's famous long-necked women wear brass coils, not rings,
around their necks. A symbol of wealth, position and beauty, the coils can
stretch their necks over a foot and weigh over 20 pounds According to the
Guinness Book of Records, the world record for longest neck---15 inches---
belonged to a Padaung woman. The Ndebele in South Africa wear rings
around their necks. Padaung means long neck."

The coils are made from brass and gold alloy. According to the British
journalist J.G. Scott their voices sound "as if they were speaking from the
bottom of a well."

Padaung women might appear to have long necks but this is an optical
illusion. As the coils are added they push the collar bone and ribs down,
creating the appearance of a longer neck. Actually stretching the neck would
result in paralysis and death. Removing the coils does not cause a woman's
neck to collapse, although the muscles weaken.
 Dr. John Keshishian, an American doctor, wondered what was
happening anatomically to elongate the women's neck. Did the wearing of
the rings create gaps between women's vertebrae? And if this was the case
was it dangerous? After X-raying several long-necked women in Rangoon he
discovered that the neck was not expanding. Rather the chins of the women
are pushed up and their collarbones are pushed downwards by the weight of
the coils, causing the shoulders to slope (Hays, 2008).
Image 2: The Male and Female Kayan
Image 2: Padaung Woman
 Image by Jeff Lovinger

The Padaung woman's traditional attire consists of a colorful, elegant

turban with a short thick loose shift and leggings. Padaung women wear a
short, dark-blue skirt edged with red with a loose white tunic also trimmed
with red and a short blue jacket A turban-like headscarf is draped around
their head. When working they wear short- sleeved smocks. Amit R. Paley
wrote in the Washington Post, The traditional wardrobe for Padaung women
is a red, saronglike dress with a blue or magenta jacket and towellike head
covering. Most distinctive are the dozens of rattan rings that circle their
waists." Men wear the basic Southeast Asian longji (Hays, 2008).

What is the theoretical origin of wearing brass rings?

There are so many tales told concerning the origin of their tradition.
According to Jeffrey Hays (2008), no one is really sure how the custom
evolved. The Kayan have no written language. Even elders don't know. There
are different theories as to how the custom originated. One suggests men
put the rings on their women to deter slave traders. Another says the rings
protected children from being killed by tigers, which tend to attack at the
neck. Other say the custom began as a tribute to a dragon-mother
progenitor. According to some people, Padaung women began wearing the
coils to protect their necks against tiger attacks and continued wearing them
after tigers were no longer a threat because Padaung men found the coils
made the women more sexually desirable. Some say the custom have been
dreamed up and perpetuated by tour guides. Most agree it is a form of
adornment and may have been a way of saving and showing off family
wealth. A Paduang woman told National Geographic, "Wearing brass ring
around your neck makes you beautiful."

In the old days it was said the women never took the coils off and that
if they did the woman's neck would topple over and she would die from
suffocation, a punishment sometimes meted out if the woman committed
adultery. This seems to have be a myth. These days you often women not
wearing their coils and looks as if their neck is no danger of suddenly
collapsing. The belief that only girls born under a full moon on Wednesday
can wear them also seems to be a myth.

Traditionally, at the age of five the first coils are placed around a young
girl's neck by a medicine man who chose the date for this ritual by
examining chicken bones. The first set of coils have a break at about the
seventh rung above the clavicle to permit head mobility. As the girl grows
taller, larger sets of coils replace the outgrown ones." A little pillow on top of
the loops cushions the chin. One 12-year-old girl told the New York Times she
started wearing the coils when she was six and had 16 around her neck that
cost $160.

The custom is dying out in traditional Pandaung villages in Myanmar,

where people are so poor they prefer spend their hard earned money on rice
rather than brass, but it is gaining new convert along the Thai border.

According to www.huaypukeng.com, the other credible origin of their

tradition are the following: 1.) the wearing of a large amount of jewellery
including the rings was a method to stop valuables being stolen by melting
them down and wearing them; 2.) the rings identified the women so that
they would not be taken by other tribes; 3.) the rings are a status symbol for
women as, according to Kayan legend, they are the descendant of the
Mother Dragon "She"; 4.) they are worn for beauty, as the various tribes vied
for attention in a kind of 'beauty contest'; and 5.) to protect their neck from
tiger bites.

Other speculates that it is done to make the woman unattractive so

they are less likely to be captured by slave traders, however the most
common explanation, is the opposite of this that an extra-long neck
considered a sign of great beauty and wealth and that it will attract a better
husband (www.thamedicalnews.com)

Why does the wearing of brass rings still practice by the Padaung?
 According to Amit R. Paley article in the Washington Post, Nae
Naheng, 52, the matriarch of the family said the Padaung believe that
women used to be angels in the past world, and that male hunters used
rattan rings to catch them and bring them to Earth. Women are never
supposed to remove the rings. Naheng said she even sleeps in them and
only briefly takes off the rings in the shower. "Once I took them off when I
was young, and I felt sick and very sad," she said. "If you do not wear the
rings, your soul will get ill and you can die."

"Why do we wear the rings?" said Mamombee, 52, whose neck seemed
particularly elongated. "We do it to put on a show for the foreigners and
tourists!" I couldn't tell if she was joking. But Mamombee said she doesn't
like to remove them except once every three years to clean herself. "I feel
bad when I take out the rings," she said. "I look and feel ugly."
[peoplesoftheworld.org; Sydney Morning Herald]

Image 4: Kayan women without Brass Rings

 Many people believe that the coils force the chin upward while pressing
down the collar bones and ribs, elongating the neck. However, chiropractor
or orthopedic surgeon will tell you that this would lead to paralysis or even
death. In fact, the stretching of the neck is actually an illusion.

The rings do not cause the vertebrae to elongate, instead the weight of
the rings pushes down the collar bone, as well as the upper ribs, to such an
angle that the collar bone appears to be a part of the neck.

Traditionally, it was only the Padaung girls born on a Wednesday of a

full moon who were destined to wear the coils, but now other youngsters are
enlisted to meet the tourist demand. (www.thaimedicalnews.com)

Since Kayan tribes are refugees in Thailand and they need to survive,
tourism becomes their solution to their problem. Even they like it or not due
to personal or health reasons, they need money for food and other basic
needs and only tourism can provide those needs. In this manner, economic
survival is more important rather than cultural preservation since they
already modified their tradition in order to meet the demand of tourism.

Image 2
http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/kayan-people-playing-guitar-picture-
id522171470

Image 3
(http://www.lovingerimages.com/-/lovingerimages/gallery.asp?
LID=&photoID= 10505620&cat=136187)
Image 4
https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/564x/7e/ce/d5/7eced563ed1b252f80eb956b1a8981be.jpg