ALBERTO MINACAPELLI
Inside Kayan: the last survivors of a fading culture

The Kayan are a tibeto-burman ethnic minority of Myanmar, mostly located in the Kayah State. Women from the tribes are known for wearing brass rings around the neck and legs. Anthropologists have largely speculated regarding why the coils are worn. But when asked, Kayan women always answer that the only purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity and beauty.
After the creation of a "long neck" tourist site among the refugee camps at the Thai border, cultural tourism has been developing even in the Kayan native village of PanPet. Nowadays, the last women wearing coils not for tourism pourpouses can be found in some small villages around Loikaw and Demawso.
“In my time, women weren’t beautiful without neck-rings. But my nephews will not wear them. They find coils uncomfortable, and prefer a more modern dressing style”, said Pi Naaw, 78 years old, under the eyes of one of her four nephews.
She is one of the last survivors of a fading culture.

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