Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) is a Shan term for the Kayan Lahwi (the group in which women wear brass neck rings).

[5] About 600 Kayan reside in three villages open to tourists in Mae Hong Son, including the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp.

The largest is Huay Pu Keng, close to the Thai–Myanmar border; Huai Seau Tao is a commercial village opened in 1995; and Nai Soi, many of whose residents moved into a refugee camp in September 2008.

The muscles covered by the coil become weakened, and most Kayan women prefer to keep the rings once their clavicle has been lowered, as the area of the neck and collarbone often becomes bruised and discolored.

In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son began removing their rings, either to give them the opportunity to continue their education or in protest against the exploitation of their culture and the restrictions that came with it.

In Thailand, the practice has gained popularity in recent years, because it draws tourists who bring revenue to the tribe and to local businesspeople who run the villages and collect an entry fees.

[14] The major Kayan religious festival is the three-day Kay Htoe Boe, which commemorates the belief that the creator god gave form to the world by planting a small post in the ground.

[13][15] The Kayan have a strong belief in augury, and nothing is done without reference to some form of divination, including breaking thatch grass[clarification needed], but most importantly consulting chicken bones.