The 15 different sub tribes of the Kayan or
Padaung have their villages in the
western parts of Kayah State, south of
Inle
Lake.
Most Kayan or
Padaung women also - long neck women
- wear brass rings around their necks, arms
and legs. The Padaung - long neck women -
wear this brass rings to remind them of
their ancestry to the nagas (mythical dragon
/ snake).
A group of Padaung people is kept
in a Thai town -Mae Hong Son- nearby over the border. They
fled a few years ago because of the continuous fighting between
Myanmar government troops and rebel groups at that time,
actually the fighting has calmed down.
The Thai people supply housing
and food to the Myanmar Kayan or Padaung, the Padaung - long
neck women - quickly became a important economical factor for
the
Mae Hong Son area since lot of
tourist come to have a look for the Padaung - long neck women -.
This created a lot of quarreling between the
different cities and villages in the area, because only the
city housing the Myanmar Kayan or Padaung get the windfall
profit, the other "look through the finger".
The problem is now many of the
Kayan or Padaung want to go elsewhere to resettle in
Australia or New Zealand or simply going home to Myanmar. Since
they are a real economic now in the Mae Hong Son area the Thai
do lot of things to make difficult for same to move, since if
they are gone, the money is gone either.
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