PADAUNG
displaying the stunning brass coils wrapped
TRIBAL HISTORY
 Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) - Shan term for
the Kayan Lahwi
 The Kayan residents in Mae Hong Son
Province in Northern Thailand refer to
themselves as Kayan and object to being
called Padaung
 In The Hardy Padaungs (1967) Khin Maung
Nyunt, one of the first authors to use the
term "Kayan", says that the Padaung prefer
to be called Kayan.
 Pascal Khoo Thwe calls his people
Padaung in his 2002 memoir, From the
Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese
Odyssey.  life expectancy)
 The Padaung are a subgroup of the
Kayan people, who live on the border in a
mountain region between Burma and
Northwest Thailand.
 There are 4 subgroups of Kayan
distinguished by different traditional dress.
The Padaung originally lived in their
homeland of Burma, now called Myanmar.
 The Kayan are a sub-group of Red Karen
(Karenni people), Tibeto-Burman ethnic
minority of Myanmar (Burma). The Kayan
consists of the following groups:
1.Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung)
2. Kayan Ka Khaung (Gekho), Kayan Lahta,
Kayan Ka Ngan
3. Kayan Gebar
4. Kayan Kakhi
sometimes Bwe people (Kayaw).
 In 1962, a military coup overthrew the
government of Burma.
 In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to
conflict with the military regime in Myanmar
 The new regime wanted to modernize the
country and persecuted the Padaung
because of their ancient customs.
 New laws were enacted prohibiting primitive
customs such as neck stretching. So, in
order to preserve their culture, customs, and
identity, the Padaung fled to Thailand to
avoid civil war.. 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.
 Still living in refugee camps today, the
Padaung tribe draws droves of Western
tourists who travel many miles to witness
their ancient ways.
 The Padaung refugee camps have become
one of the most popular Thailand tourist
attractions.
 Tourists refer to the Padaung as “giraffe”
women or the “long-neck” tribe.
 The money generated from merchandise
around the necks of Padaung women
enable the ancient tribe to preserve their
culture while they are in exile.
 Ironically, what was once a persecuted
mark of identity is now a profitable way to
make a living.
DEMOGRAPHICS
 POPULATION
~2004 estimate puts the population at
approximately 130,000.
~Kayan numbered 40,000 in Shan State
and 20,000 in Kayah State
(around Demawso and Loikaw).
 LIFE EXPECTANCY (The world’s highest
~83 years (average)
~81.3- men
~87.3 women
 ETHNIC GROUPS (Mainly consists of Han
Chinese)
~Chinese 92%
~Filipino 2.5%
~Indonesian 2.1% ,
~other 3.4% (2016 est.)
~Tibeto-Burman ethnic
minority of Myanmar (ethnicity before)
 RELIGION
~Mixture of local religions 90%
~Christian 10%
LOCATION
~According to Kayan tradition the Kayan settled
in the Demawso area of Karenni State (Kayah
state) in 739 AD.
Present settlement of the Kayans
~Today, they reside in Karenni (Kayah) State
around Demawso and Loikow, in the southern
region of Shan State and in
Mandalay’s Pyinmana and Karen’s Than
Duan township.
~Three Kayan villages in Mae Hong
Son province in Thailand
1. Huay Pu Keng- the largest, on the Pai river,
close to the Thai Myanmar border
2. Huai Seau Tao- is a commercial village
opened in 1995.
3. Ban Nai Soi Kayan Longneck village-
Many of its residents  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 2001.
CLOTHING
 Padaung woman's traditional attire: 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, sarong like dress with a
blue or magenta jacket and towel like head
covering. Most distinctive are the dozens of
rattan rings that circle their waists." Men
wear the basic Southeast Asian longji.
 Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves
by their forms of dress.
 Women of the Kayan Lahwi tribe are well
known for wearing neck rings, brass coils that
are placed around the neck, appearing to
lengthen it.
 Speculation by anthropologists, who have
hypothesized, that the rings protected women
from becoming slaves; making them less
attractive to other tribes.
 It has also been theorised that the coils
originate from the desire to look more attractive
by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women
have more slender necks than men.
 It has also been suggested that the coils give
the women resemblance to a dragon, an
important figure in Kayan folklore.
 The coils might be meant to protect
from tiger bites
 Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge
these ideas, and often say that their
purpose for wearing the rings is cultural
identity (one associated with beauty).
 The coil, once on, is seldom removed, as the
coiling and uncoiling is a lengthy procedure.
 It is usually only removed to be replaced by a
new or longer coil.
 The muscles covered by the coil become
weakened.
 Many women have removed the rings for
medical examinations.
 Most 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.
 the collar feels like an integral part of the body
after ten or more years of continuous wear.
 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 that 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.
 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 (United Nations
Human Rights Council) 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
developed 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.
Courtship & Marriage Rituals
 In the past the choice of marriage partners was
usually the responsibility of the parents; but
today young people often select their own
partner.
 The rule of marriage is only those genetically
related are allowed to marry.
 It is preferable for first cousins to get married.
However, marriage between different
generations is taboo.
 Marriages with in-laws or conflicting clans who
have sworn not to marry for several generations
is forbidden.
 It is believed that if these rules are violated the
misfortune falls upon all their relatives.
 When a young man has decided upon a girl, his
parents will approach her parents with a gift.
  If the girl accepts then the couple are now
engaged.
 The young man’s family have to provide a
dowry to seal the contract.
 Usually the daughter-in-law will move in with
her husband on marriage and in this case the
price is higher than if the man moves in with his
wife.
 The contract ceremony may be ended by the RELIGION
families eating a chicken provided by the
groom’s family together.  In the 19th century Italian missionaries worked
 In this way the couple will love each other amongst them for many years and today the
forever. majority of Kayan and Kayaw people are
 The bride price consists of several parts: Roman Catholics.
~the initial lascion or pledge;  Statistics published in 2005 list 306 Kayan
~the tacu or the purchase proper, in money, villages, out of which 209 are Roman Catholic,
buffalos etc. which belongs to the father of the 19 Kan Khwan, 32 Baptist, and 44 Buddhist, of
girl to pay him for his guardianship;
which 2 belong to the Byamaso civil society
~the talio which is divided up among the closest
relatives, and consists for the most part of organization.
utensils, mats, household goods etc.
~the maithu or “milk compensation”, which belongs LANGUAGE
to the mother of the bride to compensate her for the
milk given when the girl was a baby, and usually  Language: Padaung
consists of a silver coin or even a little buffalo,  In their own language the Padaung call
which the mother keeps for her funeral; themselves Kakaung, which means 'people who
~the tiki or little gift of money given to the bride live on the hilltops'.
before they are united.  The Padaung language is closely related to that
~rice, pork, Thi (rice wine) and other food items or of the Lahta tribe in Myanmar. It is part of the
betel nuts for the wedding feast Karen branch of the Tibeto-Burman family.
 VOWELS
TRADITIONAL RELIGION
a -like 'a' in "father"
ê -like 'e' in "vowel" (schwa)
 The Kayans' traditional religion is called Kan
e, é -like 'e' in "bed"
Khwan, and has been practiced since the
i -like 'ee' in "beet"
people migrated from Mongolia during the
o -like 'ow' in "low",without the "w" sound
Bronze Age.
u -like 'oo' in "hoop", in open positions,such as
 It includes the belief that the Kayan people are
in final "uh" and "uk" combinations.
the result of a union between a
 CONSONANTS
female dragon and a male human/angel
b -like 'b' in "bed"
hybrid.
c -like 'ch' in "China"
 The major religious festival is the three-day
ch -old spelling of c
KAY HTEIN BO FESTIVAL, which
d -like 'd' in "dog"
commemorates the belief that the creator god
f -like 'ph' in "phone"
gave form to the world by planting a small post
g -like 'g' in "go"
in the ground.
h -like 'h' in "help"
~During this festival, held in late March or
j -like 'j' in "jug"
early April, a Kay Htoe Boe pole is erected
k -like 'c' in "cat"; at ends of words, a glottal
and participants dance around the pole. 
stop like the stop some people use to
~This festival is held to venerate the eternal god
pronounce "something" as "sump'n."
and creator messengers, to give thanks for
kh -like 'ch' in "loch" or 'c' in "cat."
blessings during the year, to appeal for
l -like 'l' in "love"
forgiveness, and pray for rain.
m -like 'm' in "mother"
~It is also an opportunity for Kayan from
n -like 'n' in "nice"
different villages to come together to maintain
p -like 'p' in "pig"
the solidarity of the tribe
q -like 'q' in "quest" (most commonly with "u",
 The Kayan have a strong belief in augury and
and only in Arabic borrowings)
nothing is done without reference to some form
r -like 'rh' in "rheumatism"
of divination, including breaking thatch grass,
s -like 'ss' in "hiss"
but most importantly consulting the chicken
sy -like 'sh' in "sheep"
bones.
t -like 't' in "top"
 In present times, the annual Kay Htein Bo
v -like 'ph' in "phone" (rarely used)
festival is always accompanied by a reading of
w -like 'w' in "weight"
the chicken bones to predict the year ahead.
x -like 'cks' in "kicks"
 Fowl bone prognostication can be witnessed
y -like 'y' in "yes"
in the Kayan villages in Thailand's Mae Hong
z -like 's' in "hiss", like 'z' in "haze", like 'dg' in
Son province during the annual festival, and
"edge"
during "cleansing ceremonies" that a family
 Although all Karenni subgroups speak the same
holds when it has encountered ill fortune.
Karenni language, dialects vary from one group
 They also use dreams to make predictions.
to another. There are also three different types
of written Karenni language, one using the
Burmese alphabet, one the Roman alphabet,
 and one the Kayah Li alphabet (Thein Lwin,
2011). Kayah Li is taught at schools in Karenni
refugee camps along the Thailand-Burma
border.
INSTRUMENTS
 The Padaung have adopted a home-made
version of the Western guitar as their main
instrument to accompany singing and for use in
ensembles for dancing.
~ four strings with wooden tuning pegs
~ large body
~It is used for strumming chords.
 They sometimes make it in the shape of a flat-
back mandolin, also with four strings.
 Traditionally, they played a three string
instrument rather like the k’nat.
 The Padaung use a crude two string violin
which they play either upright or horizontally,
but not under the chin.
~The violin is flat-backed, strung with guitar
strings and is made from rough wood pieces
glued together.
~The sound box has a pattern of sound holes in
the middle.
~The hairs of the bow are a piece of rough
string and instead of resin they use a cigarette
lighter to burn a tiny piece of wood on the violin
then rub the bow in it.
~ They play it mostly in ensembles along with a
side flute, guitar and percussion.
 Frog Drum: The Shan (also the Palaung)
mount three or four gongs of different sizes
suspended vertically on a wooden frame (in
Thai, mong jum) for festive occasions. They
have also borrowed from the Burmese and Thai
sets of tuned gongs laid on a horizontal frame.
Cuisines
 Kayah Sausage- most famous
~tasty, meat sausages are seasoned with Kayah
pepper, which is harvested in the surroundings of
De Maw Soe and Pan Pet villages.
~pepper imbues the sausages with a distinctive
flavour.
 ‘Hin Htoke’- delicious, local snack, enjoyed
by people in Kayah.
~steamed rice cakes, usually mixed with chicken or
pork, or vegetarian. Local rice and millet wines are
also popular.
 Rastorfer, Jean-Marc (1994), On the Development
of Kayah and Kayan National Identity, Bangcock:
Southeast Asian Publishing House
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Printing
https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-
Nigeria/Karens.html
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