Kayan
Encyclopedia : K : KA : KAY : Kayan
The Kayan are a group of the Karen people, a Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar (Burma). They are also known as Padaung, but that is a derogatory name (sounding like "toilet-post"). In the 1990's, due to conflict with the military regime in Burma, many Kayan tribespeople fled into neighbouring Thailand. There they live with an uncertain legal status in the border area, in villages set up to display them to tourists willing to pay to admire their particular body modification, which consists of coiling lengths of brass around the neck of the women.
There are around 7,000 members of the Kayan tribe.
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