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The Giraffe Women of Thailand (THAILAND)
The giraffe women as they are often called, wear heavy copper coils around their necks, which push their faces up and make their necks look long and elegant. The coils also leave them deformed and disfigured for the rest of their lives.
The Padungs are originally tribal people from Myanmar-Burma, which shares its border with Thailand.
The Padung settled in Thailand many years ago for a better life. They claim to be descendants of the ancient long-necked dragon and women traditionally wore coils as a protection from wild animals. The coils also became symbols of wealth and status and were worn as jewels. But today, the coils have shackled Padung women and girls into a life of bondage and physical destruction.
The first coil (weighing about one kg) is usually worn when the girl is five or six years old. Some girls are coiled at the age of two. The second coil is added when the girl is about eight years old and the third is put when she reaches the age of 12.
Each additional coil is progressively heavier. Girls who have stronger necks wear more than four coils (weighing about 5 kg) by the time they are 15. But most girls start showing signs of damage to the neck in their teens. The neck muscles weaken and are unable to support the weight of the head. This makes the girls even more dependent on the coils.
The Thailand Government is working very hard to keep these woman a touristic attraction but with civilazation already knocking on their door, it is a good idea to visit them before like most of the other ecssentric cultures it gives itself up to Hamburger and Coke…..
They are not a genetic experiment . They are the famous giraffe women of Thailand.