15th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Long Necked Woman

Myanmar, Burma is the country with the highest number of different ethnicity in the world. There is one minor group which is internationally famous and yet a significant number of people don’t know where they actually come from. One of the famous ethnic is "Kayan", which became popular across all continents due to that the long necked women form part of this ethnic group. Most of these long necked women are located in the border between Myanmar and Chiang Mai, Thailand. They are actually come from one very small village (Panpet Village) Demoso Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, Burma. According to their culture, most women wear these big rings around their neck since younger age. Many decades ago, the region was home to some tigers. They do not wear rings only around their neck but also around all their extremities. It was a self-defense system against tiger attacks. However, nowadays they are wearing them only for the visiting tourists and cultural reasons.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 02.2017
Date Uploaded: 10.2017
Photo Location: Loikaw, Myanmar
Camera: NIKON D600
Copyright: © Eduardo Seastres