Close to the Sudanese

border in the lower Omo Valley

in Ethiopia live a nomadic tribe
who number only 10,000 people.
Known as the Mursi, they live in
the most isolated area of
Ehiopia, surrounded on three
sides by rivers.
Until a decade ago they were a
completely oral tribe as not one
of the members could read or
write.

Lip plate, a form of body

modification that’s still
practiced in Africa among a few
indigenous tribes, particularly in the central and southern
part of the continent, as well as among some tribes in the
Amazon rain forest. Women from the Mursi tribe in southwestern
Ethiopia are particularly notable for this practice because
their village has turned into a tourist attraction for
Westerners to come and get their gawk on. This tradition is
customarily performed from 6 months to a year before a young
girl is to marry, usually around the age of sweet sixteen.
 The lip plate is made out of wood or clay and is also
known as a lip disc or a lip plug. The term “labret” is
associated with any kind of lip piercing ornament, including
lip plates. Archeologists have discovered evidence of women
adorned with labrets in Sudan and Ethiopia (≈8700 bc) and in
various countries in South America (≈1500 bc), including
coastal Ecuador (≈500 bc).It is uncertain how this bizarre
custom came into being. One theory is that lip plating
originated as a deliberate disfigurement designed to make
women and young girls less attractive to slave traders. Some
researchers claim that the size of the lip plate (the bigger
the better) was a sign of social importance or wealth within
the tribe. Another analysis indicated that the bigger the
size of the lip plate, the bigger the dowry a bride would
receive on her wedding day. For example, the larger the lip
plate, the greater number of cows the bride’s father can
demand in his daughter’s dowry. But some researchers dispute
this theory, arguing that marriage of most tribal girls, as
well as the size of their dowries, is prearranged long before
their lips are cut. Others suggest that lip plating is simply
an ornamentation meant to symbolize a woman’s strength and
self-esteem. The practice is also described as being a sign of
social maturity and reaching reproductive age, thus indicating
a girl’s eligibility to become a wife.

The objectification of African tribal women wearing lip

plates marks an unfortunate practice in the history of the US.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, African woman wearing
large lip plates were brought to Europe and North America for
exhibit in circuses as sideshow freaks. In the 1930s, for
example, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus promoted
the viewing of female members of a tribe originating from near
the Ubangi River in central Africa, popularizing the
derogative term "Ubangi lipped."

In actually, most tribes consider an enormous lip plate a

traditional sign of beauty. It’s a different story for tribal
men. For example, in some Amazonian tribes, young males
traditionally have their lips pierced as a rite of passage and
to indicate status and prestige. In the Kayapo tribe, an
indigenous Brazilian group from the plain islands of the Mato
Grosso and Pará in Brazil, senior tribal men wear saucer-like
discs up to 8 inches wide; the largest lip plate is worn by
the tribe’s great orator and leader, Chief Raoni.

The lip-plating ritual varies from tribe to tribe. The

Mursi of Ethiopia adorn their lower lips; some tribes insert
lip plates in their upper lips, while other tribes insert lip
plates in both the upper and lower lips.
Here’s how it works for women. In some tribes, an initial lip
plate is inserted at puberty. In other tribes, the first lip
plate is inserted 6 to 12 months prior to the girl’s marriage.
Other tribes perform the inaugural insertion when a tribal
girl reaches the age of 15 or 16. The ritual is performed by
the girl’s mother, a kinswoman, or another woman in her
settlement. The process is quite simple but it’s really not so
much fun for the girl. A small hole is cut into the girl’s
lip. Typically, 2 lower teeth are removed as well; some tribes
extract 4 lower teeth. A small circular wooden or clay disc is
inserted into the hole in order to stretch it. After the cut
heals, the initial disc is replaced with increasingly larger
discs, making the hole in the lip bigger and bigger until a
desired size is reached and the final plate is put in place.
For tribal woman, it’s usually a little over 4 inches wide.
The lip-stretching process could last a year, depending on how
wide the final plate is; this technique is similar to earlobe
stretching (also known as gauging). The girls often craft
their own plates and include personal ornamentation. The tribe
typically celebrates the installation of the first plate with
a feast.

It’s rumored that in contemporary culture, Mursi girls 13

to 18 years of age may make their own decision as to whether
or not to wear a lip plate. Recently, some tribal women have
been refusing to have their lips pierced because the process
of removing their lower teeth can be traumatizing.
 To an outsider, a lip plate may be viewed as a form of
body mutilation rather than body art but to a Mursi woman, it
is an expression of female maturity and a sign that she has
reached child-bearing age. It is also a distinguishing trait
that ensures she is not mistaken for a member of neighboring
rival tribes who either do not pierce their lips (Kwegu tribe)
or only wear small plugs inserted into their lower lips (Bodi
tribe). Although labial plates were also traditionally worn by
Suya men of Brazil, Sara women of Chad, the Makonde of
Mozambique, and the Botocudo of coastal Brazil (quite a
mouthful, even without a lip plate), the only tribes that
still follow this tradition are the Mursi and Suri tribes of
Ethiopia.

Considered a sign of beauty in the Mursi tribe of

Ethiopia Africa, the lip plate is worn by women daily who seek
acceptance and to appear desirable to men. When the women are
ready to marry, they begin the process of the lip plate by
making a hole in the lower lip with a wood stick which is
expanded a little everyday. Eventually, when the hole is big
enough, women insert a plate and gradually the plate is
replaced by a bigger plate until it has reached its full size.
It is a very painful process which girls have to undergo for
months, where somtimes the teeth have to be broken to insert
the plate, but once suceeded, they are seen as the epitome of
beauty! also, the bigger the plate, the more beautiful the
woman.
While lip-plates are primarily a form of aesthetic
expression, there are also issues of strength and weakness
associated with them. For example, a woman who has not had her
lip cut or does not wear her lip-plate in certain situations
becomes more vulnerable in the presence of men. Mursi women
and men often refer to her as being lazy and as someone who
does things in a hasty and clumsy manner, especially in the
presence of men. A woman who has chosen not to have her lip
cut is said, for example, to be one who will rush to set down
her husband’s garchu (basket used for carrying sorghum
porridge), or kedem (gourd with either coffee, sour milk or
boiled leaves) because she feels uncomfortable and self-
conscious around men. In short, she lacks the graces
associated with womanhood, namely, to be calm, quiet, hard
working, and above all, proud.

Issues of strength and weakness structure the Mursi

woman’s life and the passage from girlhood to womanhood,
whether this is reflected in the way she brings food to her
husband or in the health of her calves. Someone who has had
her lip cut is considered to be able to walk tall and proud.
She will not feel the same degree of self-consciousness in the
presence of men as someone without a lip-plate. Failure to
choose the lip-plate represents a breach in expectations
regarding how a Mursi woman should behave. When discussing
what would happen if a young woman were to serve her husband
and his guests coffee, sorghum, or milk without wearing her
lip- plate, for instance, the reply is almost always: K
adakto! (to hit). In other words, such inappropriate behavior
may result in the woman being hit (typically with a whip) by

her husband once his guests have gone13. Thus, a woman who
does not wear her lip-plate when she is expected to is more
prone to reproval and subject to scrutiny by men and women.

The lip-plate serves as both a major component of one’s

sense of pride and identity in the ‘private’ world of Mursi,
and as a tool for mediation the potential conflicts that can
arise when crossing over the periphery of the public world.

After looking into researcherches about lip plating, I

find it disturbing and dangerous at first. But after reading
about it, I realized that these people are still living in a
third world country, maybe in a completely isolated village
somewhere where the people haven’t been exposed to the modern
world much, making them keep their old traditions. Girls
probably don’t know that not wearing the lip plate is normal
in the rest of the world cause their trapped in this little
society and grow up with the belief that poking a hole in your
lip and stretching it to unnatural lengths is beautiful. This
just shows the lengths people will go to be and feel
beautiful, or simply to be admired by the people around them.
 Although labial plates were also traditonally worn by
Suya men of Brazil, Sara women of Chad, the Makonde of
Mozambique, and the Botocudo of coastal Brazil (quite a
mouthful, even without a lip plate), the only tribes that
still follow this tradition are the Mursi and Suri tribes of
Ethiopia.
The Mursi people are the most popular in Ethiopia's Omo
Valley. They are well known for their unique lip plates. Mursi
are a Nilotic pastoralist ethnic group that inhabits
southwestern Ethiopia. They principally reside in the Debub
Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's
Region, close to the border with South Sudan.

According to the 2007 national census, there are 7,500

Mursi, 448 of whom live in urban areas; of the total number,
92.25% live in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and
People's Region (SNNPR).

There are pressures on Mursi women from the Muslim-

dominated Ethiopian Government to give up this practice.
Another indirect pressure comes from the realization by the
tribe itself that they will be excluded from social and
economic benefits as long as they are perceived to be backward
by outsiders. They recognize that the tradition affects other
people's perception of their limitations and stands in the way
of future development.

Tourists, on the other hand, are keeping the tradition

alive. They travel great distances to see and photograph these
lip-plated women that they presumably perceive as freaks in a
freak show. The Mursi have, however, realized that they can
earn a living by posing for these tourists and this in itself
may be sufficient motivation for them to continue the
tradition. The practice of stretching their lips has become an
economic asset to the entire community.
The Mursi tribe will probably eventually have to heed the
Govenrment's warnings, but until then, the tourists will keep
coming.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Lifestyle-
Why-the-Mursi-women-have-a-lip-plate-481284

https://culturalbeauty.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/the-lip-plate/

http://www.medicalbag.com/body-modification/pucker-up-lip-
plating-still-in-vogue-in-remote-tribal-
villages/article/472684/

https://tatring.com/piercing-types/Have-Mursi-on-the-Lip-Plate

http://www.mursi.org/introducing-the-
mursi/pdf/latosky.pdf/view/
 Papua New Guinea
(PNG) is the second largest
island in the world.
Incredibly, over 800
indigenous languages are
spoken in Papua: a
statistic that accounts for
1/5 of the world’s total.
Just as Papua is
linguistically diverse, it
is also an ecological and
geographical wonder. But
for the adventure of a
lifetime, one only needs to
head inland and cruise the
mighty Sepik River.

The tribes living along the Sepik river in Papua New

Guinea have used the tradition of scarification to mature
their boys into men for decades. The ceremony requires the
youth to be cut along his back, chest and buttocks in
elaborate patterns, to mimic the coarse skin of a crocodile.
It is thought that this reptilian divinity consumes his youth
during the bloody process, leaving behind a man in his place.
 Initiates may be anywhere from twelve to thirty-five
years of age, especially since the ritual is very expensive
and families sometimes pool together their financial resources
for many years to pay for it. Initiation practices require
removing any traces of the mother’s postpartum blood from the
initiates’ body by skin-cutting. Symbolically speaking, this
act is necessary to utterly divorce young men from the world
of womenfolk, and to fill them with the power of the crocodile
spirit. Usually it is the maternal uncle of the initiate who
inflicts the wounds. In this way, the mother’s blood is
spilled back to her line as the uncle makes a man for his in-
law’s clan.

But in order for the initiate to become a full member of

their father’s clan, they must not only get skin-cut; they
must also endure a two-month long seclusion in the spirit
house prior to the cutting ritual itself. During this time,
their father’s and mother’s brothers instruct them in
whispered tones about clan genealogies, song cycles, and other
spiritual information.

Initiates must also observe numerous taboos during their

seclusion. including, but not limited to, the following: they
must never look at or speak to women passing by the Spirit
House; they must remain on the west side of the Spirit House

at all times (the east side is only for “men” and the

initiated); when an initiate needs to use the bathroom

outside, he must completely cover himself so that women and
children cannot see him; when eating, the young man must use
tongs or a fork and never his fingers (moreover, he may not
touch himself to itch or scratch unless he uses a stick or
other kind of scratcher); also when eating, he must face the
wall at all times and never look or speak to others; when he

sits, he cannot use a stool or bench as these are for “men”

only; an initiate cannot smoke or chew betel while in

seclusion and he can only wear his underwear while inside the
spirit house; he must always walk barefoot during his
seclusion; and he may only eat a diet of fish, sago, greens,
and the occasional banana since other meats, fruits, and
vegetables are forbidden.

After the cutting is over, the initiates are washed off

one by one with a sponge and cool water from a bucket. Some
celebrate their passage into manhood while others are simply
too exhausted to express any feelings at all. The initiates
receive their first cuts on the chest inside the Spirit House.
Some almost go into shock while others grin and bear it. Once
the cutting has been completed, the initiates are led back
into the spirit house to mend their wounds. But first, oil
from the kaumever tree, which is used to make war canoes, is
applied to the cuts with a feather. Then, river mud is applied
to the cuts, and the young men are told to rest and dry their
wounds by the fires.
 The process of becoming a man, ceremony or not, does not
happen in a single moment. But rites of passage are important
in delineating when a boy should start thinking of himself as
a man, when he should start carrying himself as a man, when
the community should start respecting him as a man, and when
he should start shouldering the The skin-cutting ritual of
Kaningara tribe is a form of official closure to childhood and
welcoming to manhood, a male can become caught in a
subconscious life long quest to have that affirmation that he
is indeed a man. Ideologically it is a vehicle for the
creation and re-creation of Sepik men. This excruciating
process - which occasionally ends in death - is meant to
demonstrate discipline, focus and dedication, and the only way
the boys are allowed to numb the pain is by munching on a
plant with healing qualities. Sepik men, through the skin-
cutting ritual, believe they have the sole power to “make

men” by attempting to turn the world upside down and inside

out. However, the river mud also promotes infection and

results in large raised scars or keloids.

Nowadays the importance of the skin-cutting ritual is

beginning to lose its spiritual meaning, because modernity and
economic relations are propelling it away from its mythic
past. For example, initiation is no longer obligatory to

“become a man” and it is very expensive in local economic

terms: a family must pay for two months of food, water,

cooking, and then the cutting itself. Moreover, the Kaningara
and other Sepik peoples have for some time encouraged their
children, especially their sons, to seek education and work in
urban centers on the coast. Indeed, a major reason why
initiation is no longer obligatory is that competence as a
good earner or breadwinner itself qualifies one as a fully
adult clan member (e.g., without having to get cut). Thus, the
youth are coming of age in a world where adult status is
defined and dictated by an adult who can be effective
economically in Kaningara.

Although most Kaningara say that a father should initiate

his sons and that all young men should be scarified, many only
do so if they have enough money. Furthermore, many boys know
that the ritual is extremely painful so they find excuses like
“I don’t have enough money” to get out of it. Thus, because
scarification is unrelated to success in life in the towns,
meaning it is unrelated to the capacity to earn money, it has
become optional for the Kaningara and other Sepik groups. It
takes place no longer as a ceremony essential to the making
men, but in some sense as one of a number of opportunities for
a father or family to display their affluence.

However, there are still Sepik men who are willing to

experience the pain from skin cutting initiation to honor
their ancestors. They believe that skin cutting ritual makes
them who they are today and through this ritual, a masculine
bond of association will be developed that lasts for a
lifetime; since it is only with the help and encouragement of
the other initiates that you are able to pass through this
bloody and painful ordeal.

http://listverse.com/2010/07/17/10-incredibly-painful-rites-
of-initiation/

http://www.larskrutak.com/making-boys-into-men-the-skin-
cutting-ritual-of-the-kaningara-tribe-of-papua-new-guinea/
 There are many suggestions
for the origin of “Foot
binding”. One story relates
that during the Shang Dynasty,
the concubine Daji, who was said
to have a clubfoot. He asked the
Emperor have a Foot binding
mandatory for all girls in court
so that her own feet would be
the standard of Beauty and
Elegance.

Foot binding was the custom of applying tight binding to

the feet of young girls to modify the shape of the foot.The
practice possibly originated among Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms period in Imperial China (10th / 11th century), then
became popular during the Song Dynasty and eventually spreads
to all social classes.

Foot binding became popular as means of displaying status

(women from wealthy families, who did not need their feet to
work, could afford to have them bound) and was correspondingly
adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. It’s
prevalence and practice however varied in different parts of
the country. Feet altered by binding were called “Lotus Feet”.
Foot binding usually tried to make the feet about 3 inches
(7.6 cm) long, at most. Some drastic things were done at times
to try to do this. Because of this, women who had their feet
bound would usually be impaired, or damaged, for the rest of
their lives. The physical consequences (or results) of foot
binding stayed in Chinese society until very recently,
especially for women in their 70s and 80s (according to a
study published by the University of San Francisco).

When the Manchuria created the Qing dynasty, the

Manchurian emperors wrote many laws banning foot binding.
However, the laws did not work very well. In 1874, the first
anti-foot binding committee (meeting of people) was held in
Shanghai by a British priest. After the collapse of the Qing
dynasty, the republican government kept trying to stop foot
binding. They gave fines (orders to pay money) to women who
still had their feet bound after 1915. During the early 20th
century, western fashion was affecting China more and more.

The People's Republic of China eventually outlawed foot

binding, although this was not very successful in actually
ending the practice. According to Xinhua News Agency, the last
factory to make shoes for bound-feet women stopped making
those shoes in 1998, in Harbin, China.
 Foot binding is a tradition passed on from mothers to
their daughters, usually done at age four to seven. It is a
long, arduous process, preventing the feet from growing no
more than three inches. In the process, feet’s bones are
broken and deformed, flesh grows atypically and toes are
folded in and flattened beneath the sole. What’s left is a
remnant of what used to be feet but has transformed into one
clump of knotted flesh and bones, which makes walking an
agonizing thing to do.

As an outsider, foot binding is an act of cruel practice

of mutilating the feet of young girls. It was once pervasive
in turn of the century China, where it was seen as a sign of
wealth and marriage eligibility. For a millennium from the
10th to 20th centuries the practice flourished on and off,
deeply ingrained in Chinese society.
Small feet were more desirable. I suppose that's still
carrying on today. I hear lots of girls complaining that they
wish they had size 4 or 5 feet instead of size 9. A weird
thing to complain about, in my mind, but whatever floats their
boat. Also, apparently, binding a woman's feet meant she had
high status or was rich for a while. That is, until it became
a fad and everyone wanted to do it. If a woman wanted to marry
into money, she had better have her feet bound! It also
apparently made her a bit helpless and less likely to be in
power. It made a man necessary for her to be taken care of,
and therefore she would always be loyal. It was a painful
process, and some researchers say that it immobilized the
woman, but 70 and 80 year-olds were found who could still
climb up mountains and work in the rice fields after the
process. It causes a lot of health problems like gangrene and
fungus. Also, the toe nail would keep growing. It would grow
into the skin causing an infection and making a very bad
odour.

Advantages
Foot binding will make your feet smaller and prevent from
growing up.
Family honour.
To be able to dominate women.
To be more beautiful.

Disadvantages
The practice of foot binding not only physically crippled
women, but also crippled them mentally.
This forced a woman to focus her weight on her lower body
putting pressure on her pelvis and eventually lowering it
The girls could barely walk straight.
The toes would be curled downwards and inwards.
Infection was the most common ailment of bound feet.
Inevitably disease followed infection.
 Foot-binding ended in stages that involved imperial
edicts and campaigns by Western Christian Missionary
organizations starting in the late 19th Century. The former
Republic of China (1911-1925) outlawed the practice of binding
the feet of women (although many women and girls still had
their feet bound anyway). The practice also decreased as
social opportunities for women arose via economic development,
and finally the Communist Party under Mao Zedong eliminated
the practice during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960).

Today in some countries in Africa, the practice of female

genital mutilation (FGM) remains popular as a cultural
practice that causes grave harm to the women and girls who
undergo it in their efforts to attain socio-cultural goals.
The reasons for the practice of FGM are almost identical to
the reasons for foot-binding in China.

However, the practice of FGM has a longer history and

also has spread to other groups, even within modern times and
even in industrialized countries. Foot-binding didn’t spread
to other nations or empires like Japan and Vietnam, which were
heavily influenced by Chinese civilization.

The places where FGM is commonly practiced have not been

able to create the conditions necessary for the practice to
cease, unlike China. However, if socioeconomic conditions can
improve, female genital mutilation might become less common as
time goes on.

Even though China can’t claim by democratic countries’

standards to have the best sociopolitical human rights model
in the world, at least it was able to end foot-binding, a
practice that caused great suffering to women seeking to
adhere to socio-cultural standards in a male-dominated social.

Chinese Girl with Bound Feet. The Virtual Museum of the City
of San Francisco http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/foot.html.

Jackson, B. 1997. Splendid slippers. 1997. Berkeley: Ten Speed

Press. USA. https://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy-
ab&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:official&channel=np&biw=1366&bih=621&noj=1&q=foot+bindi
ng+stillpracticed&oq=foot+binding+stillpracticed&gs_l=serp
.3...2216.20211.1.20423.16.15.0.0.0.0.464.464.4-
1.1.0....0...1.1.64.serp..15.1.464...0i22i30k1.Ycm-
Rnl7zlU&gfe_rd=cr&ei=xUg1WdOXArLK8gfXzK3ICQ

Kam, N. Golden Lilies. Honolulu Star Bulletin 06 November 2000

http://www.starbulletin.com/98/03/features/story1.html.

Miles, N. Foot binding. UCLA Asia Institute

http://www.international.ucla.edu/shenzen/2002ncta/miles/i
ndex.html.

Smith, K. Chinese Foot Binding: The Truth Behind the Beauty

http://www.cds.charlotte.nc.us/History/China/05/smithA/ind
ex.html
 Two decades ago, an
intensifying civil war between
Karenni separatists and the
Burmese army caused Kayar
residents to flee Myanmar.
Thailand granted the Kayan
temporary stay under “conflict
refugee” status. Now, the 500 or
so Kayans (also known as Padaung
people) live in guarded villages
on the northern Thai border.

The tribe has a custom where some women wearing rings to

create the appearance of a long neck. This exotic tradition
inspired the creation of tourism villages in 1985. Some
Padaung moved to these artificial hill tribe residencies with
work permits to make a living on tourism. But without
citizenship, Kayans have limited access to utilities such as
electricity, roads, health care and schools for
education. Furthermore, Thai authorities refuse to allow
Kayans to resettle outside tourist villages, claiming they are
economic migrants and not real refugees. Kayan long neck women
wear the rings from childhood, starting with four or five, and
adding more annually as they acclimate to the increased
weight. Coils weighing up to 25 pounds depress the chest and
shoulders. This creates the illusion of disembodied head
hovering over a shimmering pedestal of gold rings. Contrary
to popular belief, the coils don’t lengthen the neck itself
and thus can be removed without the neck snapping. Yet, women
still wear these coils year round with few exceptions, even
while sleeping.

The origin of the tradition mystifies even the Kayans. An

ancient legend claims rings protected villagers from tiger
attacks, since the cats attack victims at the neck. Another
theory said the rings helped ward off men from rival tribes by
lessening the women’s beauty. Today, people believe the
opposite– the longer their neck, the more beautiful the woman—
and Kayans wear the golden coils as an accessory. According to
the Silent Hopes documentary, some women enjoy upholding this
tradition but others feel pressured to endure the painful
custom to make a living. Human rights groups claim the refugee
status exploits women who can’t find other work.

An estimated 40,000 tourists per year pay between $8-16

to stop by these hill tribe villages to gaze upon the women’s
unusual appearance and take pictures. Unfortunately, the entry
fee is rarely dispensed to the villagers directly. Instead,
neck-ring-wearing-women sell trinkets, crafts and photo-ops,
essentially working in a live-in gift shop. Residents receive
an allowance of food and toiletries and profit from handicraft
sales, and women wearing brass rings earn an extra salary.
Village owners decrease wages if women discuss their plight
with visitors or use anything modern, like cell phones or
computers.

While some say the villages give Kayans a paid

opportunity to retain their culture, others condemn this
arrangement for exploiting stateless women and children in
exchange for tourist dollars.

Although the ethics of this arrangement makes some

travelers uncomfortable, each day, vanloads of curious
foreigners still visit long neck villages. Many foreign-run
companies discourage these trips but most Thai-based companies
don’t discriminate. Over a half-dozen hill tribes exist in
North Thailand and the Chiang Mai province.
 The Kayan tradition of wearing a brass coil around their
neck has attracted tourists, anthropologists, and Journalist
alike. Because of this tradition, the Shan people called this
long-neck tribe ‘Yan Pa Doung’ meaning ‘Karen brass wound
people’, this name was adopted by burmans and Thais who refer
to the people as Padoung.

The advantages of wearing neck rings is that it improves

tourism and according to Kayan women wearing brass coils
around your neck signifies beauty. This can also preserve
their culture while they are in exile as well as to help
generate income. The disadvantages on the other hand is that
brass coils are also worn around the legs. The rings rubbing
around the skin can cause discomfort and abrasions over a
period of time. The appearance of longer neck pushes down the
muscle around the collar bone which can cause bruising and
later on suffocation.

This particular form of body modification has likely been

a Kayan tradition for over a thousand of years. This improves
tourism while preserving culture. However, post consequences
and health problems are carried by women wearing neck rings.
Once the coil is worn, it is seldom removed, as the uncoiling
is a lengthy procedure. It is usually removed to be replaced
by a new or longer coil. The muscles covered by the coil
become weakened. Many women prefer to wear the rings once
their clavicle has been lowered, as the area of the neck and
collarbone often becomes bruised and discolored. Additionally,
the collar feels like an integral part of the body after ten
or more years of continuous wear. Wearing of those neck rings
doesn’t really look attractive at all for me. Aside from women
wearing those looks very different from other women, they just
look like human-giraffe wearing those golden neck rings which
doesn’t look appropriate.

In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son

started to remove their rings, either to give them the
opportunity to continue their education or in protest against
the exploitation of their culture and the restrictions that
came with it. In late 2008, most of the young women who
entered the refugee camp removed their rings. One woman who
had worn the rings for over 40 years removed them. After
removing the rings, women report discomfort which fades after
about three days. The discoloration is more persistent.

The government of Myanmar began discouraging neck rings

as it struggled to appear more modern to the developed world.
Consequently, many women in Myanmar began breaking
the tradition, though a few older women and some of the
younger girls in remote villages continued to wear rings. In
Thailand, the practice has gained popularity in recent years,
because it draws tourists who bring revenue to the tribe and
to the local businessmen who run the villages and collect an
entry fee of 500 to 600 baht per person. The Karenni National
People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), an armed cease-fire group,
have made attempts to invite the Kayan to return to Kayah
State to set up their own tourist villages.

In January 2008, the UNHCR expressed reservations about

tourists visiting the Kayan villages in Northern Thailand due
to the provincial government’s refusal to allow registered
Kayan refugees to take up offers of resettlement in developing
countries. It is believed this policy was linked to their
economic importance to the area. This policy was relaxed in
late 2008 and a small group of Kayan have left for New Zealand
in August 2008. Others entered the main Karenni refugee camp
(which is not open to tourists) in September 2008 and they are
now eligible for resettlement.

According to U Aung Roe (1993:21ss) Kayan number about

40,000 in Shan State (around the Pekon Township area) and
20,000 in Kayah State (around Demawso and Loikaw). A 2004
estimate puts the population at approximately 130,000. About
600 Kayan reside in the three villages open to tourists in Mae
Hong Sorn, or in the Ban Mai Nai Soy refugee camp.
There are three Kayan villages in Mae Hong Son province
in Thailand that still practice the tradition. The largest
is Huay Pu Keng, on the Pai river, close to the Thai Myanmar
border. Huai Seau Tao is a commercial village opened in 1995.
Many of the residents of Ban Nai Soi Kayan Longneck
village moved into the Karenni refugee camp in September 2008,
but 20 families and 104 residents remain there, according to
the sign at the entrance as of February 21.

CNNGo (2012) Gallery: Thailand’s ‘longneck’ women, a

controversial tourist attraction Retrieved from:
travel.cnn.com/Bangkok/life/gallery-thailands-longneck-
women-controversial-tourist-attraction-154136

Eden Phan, Khon (2004), The Narratives, Beliefs and customs of

the Kayan People, Mae Hong Son: Kayan Literacy and
culture Committee Retrieved from:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayan_people_(Myanmar)

Foote, K. (2014) Ethical Travel: Should You Visit Thailand’s

Long Neeck Women Villages? Retrieved From:
epicandculture.com/Thailand-long-neck-women/
 Close to the Sudanese
border in the lower Omo Valley
in Ethiopia live a nomadic tribe
who number only 10,000 people.
Known as the Mursi, they live in
the most isolated area of
Ehiopia, surrounded on three
sides by rivers.
Until a decade ago they were a
completely oral tribe as not one
of the members could read or
write.

Lip plate, a form of body

modification that’s still
practiced in Africa among a few
indigenous tribes, particularly in the central and southern
part of the continent, as well as among some tribes in the
Amazon rain forest. Women from the Mursi tribe in southwestern
Ethiopia are particularly notable for this practice because
their village has turned into a tourist attraction for
Westerners to come and get their gawk on. This tradition is
customarily performed from 6 months to a year before a young
girl is to marry, usually around the age of sweet sixteen.
The lip plate is made out of wood or clay and is also
known as a lip disc or a lip plug. The term “labret” is
associated with any kind of lip piercing ornament, including
lip plates. Archeologists have discovered evidence of women
adorned with labrets in Sudan and Ethiopia (≈8700 bc) and in
various countries in South America (≈1500 bc), including
coastal Ecuador (≈500 bc).It is uncertain how this bizarre
custom came into being. One theory is that lip plating
originated as a deliberate disfigurement designed to make
women and young girls less attractive to slave traders. Some
researchers claim that the size of the lip plate (the bigger
the better) was a sign of social importance or wealth within
the tribe. Another analysis indicated that the bigger the
size of the lip plate, the bigger the dowry a bride would
receive on her wedding day. For example, the larger the lip
plate, the greater number of cows the bride’s father can
demand in his daughter’s dowry. But some researchers dispute
this theory, arguing that marriage of most tribal girls, as
well as the size of their dowries, is prearranged long before
their lips are cut. Others suggest that lip plating is simply
an ornamentation meant to symbolize a woman’s strength and
self-esteem. The practice is also described as being a sign of
social maturity and reaching reproductive age, thus indicating
a girl’s eligibility to become a wife.

The objectification of African tribal women wearing lip

plates marks an unfortunate practice in the history of the US.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, African woman wearing
large lip plates were brought to Europe and North America for
exhibit in circuses as sideshow freaks. In the 1930s, for
example, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus promoted
the viewing of female members of a tribe originating from near
the Ubangi River in central Africa, popularizing the
derogative term "Ubangi lipped."

In actually, most tribes consider an enormous lip plate a

traditional sign of beauty. It’s a different story for tribal
men. For example, in some Amazonian tribes, young males
traditionally have their lips pierced as a rite of passage and
to indicate status and prestige. In the Kayapo tribe, an
indigenous Brazilian group from the plain islands of the Mato
Grosso and Pará in Brazil, senior tribal men wear saucer-like
discs up to 8 inches wide; the largest lip plate is worn by
the tribe’s great orator and leader, Chief Raoni.

The lip-plating ritual varies from tribe to tribe. The

Mursi of Ethiopia adorn their lower lips; some tribes insert
lip plates in their upper lips, while other tribes insert lip
plates in both the upper and lower lips.
Here’s how it works for women. In some tribes, an initial lip
plate is inserted at puberty. In other tribes, the first lip
plate is inserted 6 to 12 months prior to the girl’s marriage.
Other tribes perform the inaugural insertion when a tribal
girl reaches the age of 15 or 16. The ritual is performed by
the girl’s mother, a kinswoman, or another woman in her
settlement. The process is quite simple but it’s really not so
much fun for the girl. A small hole is cut into the girl’s
lip. Typically, 2 lower teeth are removed as well; some tribes
extract 4 lower teeth. A small circular wooden or clay disc is
inserted into the hole in order to stretch it. After the cut
heals, the initial disc is replaced with increasingly larger
discs, making the hole in the lip bigger and bigger until a
desired size is reached and the final plate is put in place.
For tribal woman, it’s usually a little over 4 inches wide.
The lip-stretching process could last a year, depending on how
wide the final plate is; this technique is similar to earlobe
stretching (also known as gauging). The girls often craft
their own plates and include personal ornamentation. The tribe
typically celebrates the installation of the first plate with
a feast.

It’s rumored that in contemporary culture, Mursi girls 13

to 18 years of age may make their own decision as to whether
or not to wear a lip plate. Recently, some tribal women have
been refusing to have their lips pierced because the process
of removing their lower teeth can be traumatizing.
 To an outsider, a lip plate may be viewed as a form of
body mutilation rather than body art but to a Mursi woman, it
is an expression of female maturity and a sign that she has
reached child-bearing age. It is also a distinguishing trait
that ensures she is not mistaken for a member of neighboring
rival tribes who either do not pierce their lips (Kwegu tribe)
or only wear small plugs inserted into their lower lips (Bodi
tribe). Although labial plates were also traditionally worn by
Suya men of Brazil, Sara women of Chad, the Makonde of
Mozambique, and the Botocudo of coastal Brazil (quite a
mouthful, even without a lip plate), the only tribes that
still follow this tradition are the Mursi and Suri tribes of
Ethiopia.

Considered a sign of beauty in the Mursi tribe of

Ethiopia Africa, the lip plate is worn by women daily who seek
acceptance and to appear desirable to men. When the women are
ready to marry, they begin the process of the lip plate by
making a hole in the lower lip with a wood stick which is
expanded a little everyday. Eventually, when the hole is big
enough, women insert a plate and gradually the plate is
replaced by a bigger plate until it has reached its full size.
It is a very painful process which girls have to undergo for
months, where somtimes the teeth have to be broken to insert
the plate, but once suceeded, they are seen as the epitome of
beauty! also, the bigger the plate, the more beautiful the
woman.
While lip-plates are primarily a form of aesthetic
expression, there are also issues of strength and weakness
associated with them. For example, a woman who has not had her
lip cut or does not wear her lip-plate in certain situations
becomes more vulnerable in the presence of men. Mursi women
and men often refer to her as being lazy and as someone who
does things in a hasty and clumsy manner, especially in the
presence of men. A woman who has chosen not to have her lip
cut is said, for example, to be one who will rush to set down
her husband’s garchu (basket used for carrying sorghum
porridge), or kedem (gourd with either coffee, sour milk or
boiled leaves) because she feels uncomfortable and self-
conscious around men. In short, she lacks the graces
associated with womanhood, namely, to be calm, quiet, hard
working, and above all, proud.

Issues of strength and weakness structure the Mursi

woman’s life and the passage from girlhood to womanhood,
whether this is reflected in the way she brings food to her
husband or in the health of her calves. Someone who has had
her lip cut is considered to be able to walk tall and proud.
She will not feel the same degree of self-consciousness in the
presence of men as someone without a lip-plate. Failure to
choose the lip-plate represents a breach in expectations
regarding how a Mursi woman should behave. When discussing
what would happen if a young woman were to serve her husband
and his guests coffee, sorghum, or milk without wearing her
lip- plate, for instance, the reply is almost always: K
adakto! (to hit). In other words, such inappropriate behavior
may result in the woman being hit (typically with a whip) by

her husband once his guests have gone13. Thus, a woman who
does not wear her lip-plate when she is expected to is more
prone to reproval and subject to scrutiny by men and women.

The lip-plate serves as both a major component of one’s

sense of pride and identity in the ‘private’ world of Mursi,
and as a tool for mediation the potential conflicts that can
arise when crossing over the periphery of the public world.

After looking into researcherches about lip plating, I

find it disturbing and dangerous at first. But after reading
about it, I realized that these people are still living in a
third world country, maybe in a completely isolated village
somewhere where the people haven’t been exposed to the modern
world much, making them keep their old traditions. Girls
probably don’t know that not wearing the lip plate is normal
in the rest of the world cause their trapped in this little
society and grow up with the belief that poking a hole in your
lip and stretching it to unnatural lengths is beautiful. This
just shows the lengths people will go to be and feel
beautiful, or simply to be admired by the people around them.
 Although labial plates were also traditonally worn by
Suya men of Brazil, Sara women of Chad, the Makonde of
Mozambique, and the Botocudo of coastal Brazil (quite a
mouthful, even without a lip plate), the only tribes that
still follow this tradition are the Mursi and Suri tribes of
Ethiopia.
The Mursi people are the most popular in Ethiopia's Omo
Valley. They are well known for their unique lip plates. Mursi
are a Nilotic pastoralist ethnic group that inhabits
southwestern Ethiopia. They principally reside in the Debub
Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's
Region, close to the border with South Sudan.

According to the 2007 national census, there are 7,500

Mursi, 448 of whom live in urban areas; of the total number,
92.25% live in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and
People's Region (SNNPR).

There are pressures on Mursi women from the Muslim-

dominated Ethiopian Government to give up this practice.
Another indirect pressure comes from the realization by the
tribe itself that they will be excluded from social and
economic benefits as long as they are perceived to be backward
by outsiders. They recognize that the tradition affects other
people's perception of their limitations and stands in the way
of future development.

Tourists, on the other hand, are keeping the tradition

alive. They travel great distances to see and photograph these
lip-plated women that they presumably perceive as freaks in a
freak show. The Mursi have, however, realized that they can
earn a living by posing for these tourists and this in itself
may be sufficient motivation for them to continue the
tradition. The practice of stretching their lips has become an
economic asset to the entire community.
The Mursi tribe will probably eventually have to heed the
Govenrment's warnings, but until then, the tourists will keep
coming.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Lifestyle-
Why-the-Mursi-women-have-a-lip-plate-481284

https://culturalbeauty.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/the-lip-plate/

http://www.medicalbag.com/body-modification/pucker-up-lip-
plating-still-in-vogue-in-remote-tribal-
villages/article/472684/

https://tatring.com/piercing-types/Have-Mursi-on-the-Lip-Plate

http://www.mursi.org/introducing-the-
mursi/pdf/latosky.pdf/view/
 Papua New Guinea
(PNG) is the second largest
island in the world.
Incredibly, over 800
indigenous languages are
spoken in Papua: a
statistic that accounts for
1/5 of the world’s total.
Just as Papua is
linguistically diverse, it
is also an ecological and
geographical wonder. But
for the adventure of a
lifetime, one only needs to
head inland and cruise the
mighty Sepik River.

The tribes living along the Sepik river in Papua New

Guinea have used the tradition of scarification to mature
their boys into men for decades. The ceremony requires the
youth to be cut along his back, chest and buttocks in
elaborate patterns, to mimic the coarse skin of a crocodile.
It is thought that this reptilian divinity consumes his youth
during the bloody process, leaving behind a man in his place.
Initiates may be anywhere from twelve to thirty-five
years of age, especially since the ritual is very expensive
and families sometimes pool together their financial resources
for many years to pay for it. Initiation practices require
removing any traces of the mother’s postpartum blood from the
initiates’ body by skin-cutting. Symbolically speaking, this
act is necessary to utterly divorce young men from the world
of womenfolk, and to fill them with the power of the crocodile
spirit. Usually it is the maternal uncle of the initiate who
inflicts the wounds. In this way, the mother’s blood is
spilled back to her line as the uncle makes a man for his in-
law’s clan.

But in order for the initiate to become a full member of

their father’s clan, they must not only get skin-cut; they
must also endure a two-month long seclusion in the spirit
house prior to the cutting ritual itself. During this time,
their father’s and mother’s brothers instruct them in
whispered tones about clan genealogies, song cycles, and other
spiritual information.

Initiates must also observe numerous taboos during their

seclusion. including, but not limited to, the following: they
must never look at or speak to women passing by the Spirit
House; they must remain on the west side of the Spirit House

at all times (the east side is only for “men” and the

initiated); when an initiate needs to use the bathroom

outside, he must completely cover himself so that women and
children cannot see him; when eating, the young man must use
tongs or a fork and never his fingers (moreover, he may not
touch himself to itch or scratch unless he uses a stick or
other kind of scratcher); also when eating, he must face the
wall at all times and never look or speak to others; when he

sits, he cannot use a stool or bench as these are for “men”

only; an initiate cannot smoke or chew betel while in

seclusion and he can only wear his underwear while inside the
spirit house; he must always walk barefoot during his
seclusion; and he may only eat a diet of fish, sago, greens,
and the occasional banana since other meats, fruits, and
vegetables are forbidden.

After the cutting is over, the initiates are washed off

one by one with a sponge and cool water from a bucket. Some
celebrate their passage into manhood while others are simply
too exhausted to express any feelings at all. The initiates
receive their first cuts on the chest inside the Spirit House.
Some almost go into shock while others grin and bear it. Once
the cutting has been completed, the initiates are led back
into the spirit house to mend their wounds. But first, oil
from the kaumever tree, which is used to make war canoes, is
applied to the cuts with a feather. Then, river mud is applied
to the cuts, and the young men are told to rest and dry their
wounds by the fires.
 The process of becoming a man, ceremony or not, does not
happen in a single moment. But rites of passage are important
in delineating when a boy should start thinking of himself as
a man, when he should start carrying himself as a man, when
the community should start respecting him as a man, and when
he should start shouldering the The skin-cutting ritual of
Kaningara tribe is a form of official closure to childhood and
welcoming to manhood, a male can become caught in a
subconscious life long quest to have that affirmation that he
is indeed a man. Ideologically it is a vehicle for the
creation and re-creation of Sepik men. This excruciating
process - which occasionally ends in death - is meant to
demonstrate discipline, focus and dedication, and the only way
the boys are allowed to numb the pain is by munching on a
plant with healing qualities. Sepik men, through the skin-
cutting ritual, believe they have the sole power to “make

men” by attempting to turn the world upside down and inside

out. However, the river mud also promotes infection and

results in large raised scars or keloids.

Nowadays the importance of the skin-cutting ritual is

beginning to lose its spiritual meaning, because modernity and
economic relations are propelling it away from its mythic
past. For example, initiation is no longer obligatory to
“become a man” and it is very expensive in local economic

terms: a family must pay for two months of food, water,

cooking, and then the cutting itself. Moreover, the Kaningara
and other Sepik peoples have for some time encouraged their
children, especially their sons, to seek education and work in
urban centers on the coast. Indeed, a major reason why
initiation is no longer obligatory is that competence as a
good earner or breadwinner itself qualifies one as a fully
adult clan member (e.g., without having to get cut). Thus, the
youth are coming of age in a world where adult status is
defined and dictated by an adult who can be effective
economically in Kaningara.

Although most Kaningara say that a father should initiate

his sons and that all young men should be scarified, many only
do so if they have enough money. Furthermore, many boys know
that the ritual is extremely painful so they find excuses like
“I don’t have enough money” to get out of it. Thus, because
scarification is unrelated to success in life in the towns,
meaning it is unrelated to the capacity to earn money, it has
become optional for the Kaningara and other Sepik groups. It
takes place no longer as a ceremony essential to the making
men, but in some sense as one of a number of opportunities for
a father or family to display their affluence.
 However, there are still Sepik men who are willing to
experience the pain from skin cutting initiation to honor
their ancestors. They believe that skin cutting ritual makes
them who they are today and through this ritual, a masculine
bond of association will be developed that lasts for a
lifetime; since it is only with the help and encouragement of
the other initiates that you are able to pass through this
bloody and painful ordeal.

http://listverse.com/2010/07/17/10-incredibly-painful-rites-
of-initiation/

http://www.larskrutak.com/making-boys-into-men-the-skin-
cutting-ritual-of-the-kaningara-tribe-of-papua-new-guinea/
 There are many suggestions
for the origin of “Foot
binding”. One story relates
that during the Shang Dynasty,
the concubine Daji, who was said
to have a clubfoot. He asked the
Emperor have a Foot binding
mandatory for all girls in court
so that her own feet would be
the standard of Beauty and
Elegance.

Foot binding was the custom of applying tight binding to

the feet of young girls to modify the shape of the foot.The
practice possibly originated among Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms period in Imperial China (10th / 11th century), then
became popular during the Song Dynasty and eventually spreads
to all social classes.

Foot binding became popular as means of displaying status

(women from wealthy families, who did not need their feet to
work, could afford to have them bound) and was correspondingly
adopted as a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture. It’s
prevalence and practice however varied in different parts of
the country. Feet altered by binding were called “Lotus Feet”.
Foot binding usually tried to make the feet about 3 inches
(7.6 cm) long, at most. Some drastic things were done at times
to try to do this. Because of this, women who had their feet
bound would usually be impaired, or damaged, for the rest of
their lives. The physical consequences (or results) of foot
binding stayed in Chinese society until very recently,
especially for women in their 70s and 80s (according to a
study published by the University of San Francisco).

When the Manchuria created the Qing dynasty, the

Manchurian emperors wrote many laws banning foot binding.
However, the laws did not work very well. In 1874, the first
anti-foot binding committee (meeting of people) was held in
Shanghai by a British priest. After the collapse of the Qing
dynasty, the republican government kept trying to stop foot
binding. They gave fines (orders to pay money) to women who
still had their feet bound after 1915. During the early 20th
century, western fashion was affecting China more and more.

The People's Republic of China eventually outlawed foot

binding, although this was not very successful in actually
ending the practice. According to Xinhua News Agency, the last
factory to make shoes for bound-feet women stopped making
those shoes in 1998, in Harbin, China.
 Foot binding is a tradition passed on from mothers to
their daughters, usually done at age four to seven. It is a
long, arduous process, preventing the feet from growing no
more than three inches. In the process, feet’s bones are
broken and deformed, flesh grows atypically and toes are
folded in and flattened beneath the sole. What’s left is a
remnant of what used to be feet but has transformed into one
clump of knotted flesh and bones, which makes walking an
agonizing thing to do.

As an outsider, foot binding is an act of cruel practice

of mutilating the feet of young girls. It was once pervasive
in turn of the century China, where it was seen as a sign of
wealth and marriage eligibility. For a millennium from the
10th to 20th centuries the practice flourished on and off,
deeply ingrained in Chinese society.
Small feet were more desirable. I suppose that's still
carrying on today. I hear lots of girls complaining that they
wish they had size 4 or 5 feet instead of size 9. A weird
thing to complain about, in my mind, but whatever floats their
boat. Also, apparently, binding a woman's feet meant she had
high status or was rich for a while. That is, until it became
a fad and everyone wanted to do it. If a woman wanted to marry
into money, she had better have her feet bound! It also
apparently made her a bit helpless and less likely to be in
power. It made a man necessary for her to be taken care of,
and therefore she would always be loyal. It was a painful
process, and some researchers say that it immobilized the
woman, but 70 and 80 year-olds were found who could still
climb up mountains and work in the rice fields after the
process. It causes a lot of health problems like gangrene and
fungus. Also, the toe nail would keep growing. It would grow
into the skin causing an infection and making a very bad
odour.

Advantages
Foot binding will make your feet smaller and prevent from
growing up.
Family honour.
To be able to dominate women.
To be more beautiful.

Disadvantages
The practice of foot binding not only physically crippled
women, but also crippled them mentally.
This forced a woman to focus her weight on her lower body
putting pressure on her pelvis and eventually lowering it
The girls could barely walk straight.
The toes would be curled downwards and inwards.
Infection was the most common ailment of bound feet.
Inevitably disease followed infection.
 Foot-binding ended in stages that involved imperial
edicts and campaigns by Western Christian Missionary
organizations starting in the late 19th Century. The former
Republic of China (1911-1925) outlawed the practice of binding
the feet of women (although many women and girls still had
their feet bound anyway). The practice also decreased as
social opportunities for women arose via economic development,
and finally the Communist Party under Mao Zedong eliminated
the practice during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960).

Today in some countries in Africa, the practice of female

genital mutilation (FGM) remains popular as a cultural
practice that causes grave harm to the women and girls who
undergo it in their efforts to attain socio-cultural goals.
The reasons for the practice of FGM are almost identical to
the reasons for foot-binding in China.

However, the practice of FGM has a longer history and

also has spread to other groups, even within modern times and
even in industrialized countries. Foot-binding didn’t spread
to other nations or empires like Japan and Vietnam, which were
heavily influenced by Chinese civilization.

The places where FGM is commonly practiced have not been able
to create the conditions necessary for the practice to cease,
unlike China. However, if socioeconomic conditions can
improve, female genital mutilation might become less common as
time goes on.

Even though China can’t claim by democratic countries’

standards to have the best sociopolitical human rights model
in the world, at least it was able to end foot-binding, a
practice that caused great suffering to women seeking to
adhere to socio-cultural standards in a male-dominated social.

Chinese Girl with Bound Feet. The Virtual Museum of the City
of San Francisco http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/foot.html.

Jackson, B. 1997. Splendid slippers. 1997. Berkeley: Ten Speed

Press. USA. https://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy-
ab&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:official&channel=np&biw=1366&bih=621&noj=1&q=foot+bindi
ng+stillpracticed&oq=foot+binding+stillpracticed&gs_l=serp
.3...2216.20211.1.20423.16.15.0.0.0.0.464.464.4-
1.1.0....0...1.1.64.serp..15.1.464...0i22i30k1.Ycm-
Rnl7zlU&gfe_rd=cr&ei=xUg1WdOXArLK8gfXzK3ICQ

Kam, N. Golden Lilies. Honolulu Star Bulletin 06 November 2000

http://www.starbulletin.com/98/03/features/story1.html.

Miles, N. Foot binding. UCLA Asia Institute

http://www.international.ucla.edu/shenzen/2002ncta/miles/i
ndex.html.
Smith, K. Chinese Foot Binding: The Truth Behind the Beauty
http://www.cds.charlotte.nc.us/History/China/05/smithA/ind
ex.html

Two decades ago, an

intensifying civil war between
Karenni separatists and the
Burmese army caused Kayar
residents to flee Myanmar.
Thailand granted the Kayan
temporary stay under “conflict
refugee” status. Now, the 500 or
so Kayans (also known as Padaung
people) live in guarded villages
on the northern Thai border.

The tribe has a custom where some women wearing rings to

create the appearance of a long neck. This exotic tradition
inspired the creation of tourism villages in 1985. Some
Padaung moved to these artificial hill tribe residencies with
work permits to make a living on tourism. But without
citizenship, Kayans have limited access to utilities such as
electricity, roads, health care and schools for
education. Furthermore, Thai authorities refuse to allow
Kayans to resettle outside tourist villages, claiming they are
economic migrants and not real refugees. Kayan long neck women
wear the rings from childhood, starting with four or five, and
adding more annually as they acclimate to the increased
weight. Coils weighing up to 25 pounds depress the chest and
shoulders. This creates the illusion of disembodied head
hovering over a shimmering pedestal of gold rings. Contrary
to popular belief, the coils don’t lengthen the neck itself
and thus can be removed without the neck snapping. Yet, women
still wear these coils year round with few exceptions, even
while sleeping.

The origin of the tradition mystifies even the Kayans. An

ancient legend claims rings protected villagers from tiger
attacks, since the cats attack victims at the neck. Another
theory said the rings helped ward off men from rival tribes by
lessening the women’s beauty. Today, people believe the
opposite– the longer their neck, the more beautiful the woman—
and Kayans wear the golden coils as an accessory. According to
the Silent Hopes documentary, some women enjoy upholding this
tradition but others feel pressured to endure the painful
custom to make a living. Human rights groups claim the refugee
status exploits women who can’t find other work.

An estimated 40,000 tourists per year pay between $8-16

to stop by these hill tribe villages to gaze upon the women’s
unusual appearance and take pictures. Unfortunately, the entry
fee is rarely dispensed to the villagers directly. Instead,
neck-ring-wearing-women sell trinkets, crafts and photo-ops,
essentially working in a live-in gift shop. Residents receive
an allowance of food and toiletries and profit from handicraft
sales, and women wearing brass rings earn an extra salary.
Village owners decrease wages if women discuss their plight
with visitors or use anything modern, like cell phones or
computers.

While some say the villages give Kayans a paid

opportunity to retain their culture, others condemn this
arrangement for exploiting stateless women and children in
exchange for tourist dollars.

Although the ethics of this arrangement makes some

travelers uncomfortable, each day, vanloads of curious
foreigners still visit long neck villages. Many foreign-run
companies discourage these trips but most Thai-based companies
don’t discriminate. Over a half-dozen hill tribes exist in
North Thailand and the Chiang Mai province.
 The Kayan tradition of wearing a brass coil around their
neck has attracted tourists, anthropologists, and Journalist
alike. Because of this tradition, the Shan people called this
long-neck tribe ‘Yan Pa Doung’ meaning ‘Karen brass wound
people’, this name was adopted by burmans and Thais who refer
to the people as Padoung.

The advantages of wearing neck rings is that it improves

tourism and according to Kayan women wearing brass coils
around your neck signifies beauty. This can also preserve
their culture while they are in exile as well as to help
generate income. The disadvantages on the other hand is that
brass coils are also worn around the legs. The rings rubbing
around the skin can cause discomfort and abrasions over a
period of time. The appearance of longer neck pushes down the
muscle around the collar bone which can cause bruising and
later on suffocation.

This particular form of body modification has likely been

a Kayan tradition for over a thousand of years. This improves
tourism while preserving culture. However, post consequences
and health problems are carried by women wearing neck rings.
Once the coil is worn, it is seldom removed, as the uncoiling
is a lengthy procedure. It is usually removed to be replaced
by a new or longer coil. The muscles covered by the coil
become weakened. Many women prefer to wear the rings once
their clavicle has been lowered, as the area of the neck and
collarbone often becomes bruised and discolored. Additionally,
the collar feels like an integral part of the body after ten
or more years of continuous wear. Wearing of those neck rings
doesn’t really look attractive at all for me. Aside from women
wearing those looks very different from other women, they just
look like human-giraffe wearing those golden neck rings which
doesn’t look appropriate.

In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son

started to remove their rings, either to give them the
opportunity to continue their education or in protest against
the exploitation of their culture and the restrictions that
came with it. In late 2008, most of the young women who
entered the refugee camp removed their rings. One woman who
had worn the rings for over 40 years removed them. After
removing the rings, women report discomfort which fades after
about three days. The discoloration is more persistent.
 The government of Myanmar began discouraging neck rings
as it struggled to appear more modern to the developed world.
Consequently, many women in Myanmar began breaking
the tradition, though a few older women and some of the
younger girls in remote villages continued to wear rings. In
Thailand, the practice has gained popularity in recent years,
because it draws tourists who bring revenue to the tribe and
to the local businessmen who run the villages and collect an
entry fee of 500 to 600 baht per person. The Karenni National
People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), an armed cease-fire group,
have made attempts to invite the Kayan to return to Kayah
State to set up their own tourist villages.

In January 2008, the UNHCR expressed reservations about

tourists visiting the Kayan villages in Northern Thailand due
to the provincial government’s refusal to allow registered
Kayan refugees to take up offers of resettlement in developing
countries. It is believed this policy was linked to their
economic importance to the area. This policy was relaxed in
late 2008 and a small group of Kayan have left for New Zealand
in August 2008. Others entered the main Karenni refugee camp
(which is not open to tourists) in September 2008 and they are
now eligible for resettlement.

According to U Aung Roe (1993:21ss) Kayan number about

40,000 in Shan State (around the Pekon Township area) and
20,000 in Kayah State (around Demawso and Loikaw). A 2004
estimate puts the population at approximately 130,000. About
600 Kayan reside in the three villages open to tourists in Mae
Hong Sorn, or in the Ban Mai Nai Soy refugee camp.
 There are three Kayan villages in Mae Hong Son province
in Thailand that still practice the tradition. The largest
is Huay Pu Keng, on the Pai river, close to the Thai Myanmar
border. Huai Seau Tao is a commercial village opened in 1995.
Many of the residents of Ban Nai Soi Kayan Longneck
village moved into the Karenni refugee camp in September 2008,
but 20 families and 104 residents remain there, according to
the sign at the entrance as of February 21.

CNNGo (2012) Gallery: Thailand’s ‘longneck’ women, a

controversial tourist attraction Retrieved from:
travel.cnn.com/Bangkok/life/gallery-thailands-longneck-
women-controversial-tourist-attraction-154136

Eden Phan, Khon (2004), The Narratives, Beliefs and customs of

the Kayan People, Mae Hong Son: Kayan Literacy and
culture Committee Retrieved from:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayan_people_(Myanmar)

Foote, K. (2014) Ethical Travel: Should You Visit Thailand’s

Long Neeck Women Villages? Retrieved From:
epicandculture.com/Thailand-long-neck-women/