One of the most popular ones being that the headman of the tribe had a dream in which he saw that a tiger was going to kill one of the most popular children in his village, and as tigers always kill their victims by first breaking their necks, he then and there decreed that all children from an early age must wear heavy brass rings round their necks to protect them from imminent danger and evil spirits. As the tiger attack never materialized, it was presumed that the wearing of the brass rings worked, this tradition has carried on right up to present times.
As you wander around the villages you will spot few, if any, men. The reason for this is that they are generally out laboring in the rice fields or hunting in the jungle.
It is the Karen-Pa-Dong women who are the main attractions to the visiting hordes of tourists, who are constantly intrigued by the numerous brass rings worn around the neck and limbs by the women.
According to their culture, wearing brass neck rings symbolizes a beautiful form of body adornment. Girls start with their first nine rings as early as five years of age and new sets are substituted every four years on nine separate occasions. The last change occurs when a women is forty-five years old.
The weight and number of rings depends much on each wearer’s individual choice; the longest ring recorded is 32 brass rings weighing 13 – 15 kilos