While in Thailand I got the chance to visit the Long-Neck Karen Hill Tribe people. It was the first time I had ever seen a person with rings around there neck that wasn't in a National Geographic. The rings on the neck reach from the clavicle up to beneath the chin, and these rings are always held very tighly by the bone structure from clavicle to chin. This neck ring adornment is started when the girls are 5 or 6 years old and the neck grows longer as additional rings are added with each passing year. It is from this practice that this tribe has gained the name of "Long Necks". I also had the oppurtunity to hold a set of rings, and they were way heavier than i would have thought. Here is a picture of me holding a handmade guitar with a Karen Woman.
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