Neck ring

The custom requires that the girls who wear the neck rings start before puberty, in order to get the body used to them.

The weight of the coils will eventually place sufficient pressure on the clavicles (collarbone) to cause them to deform and create an impression of a longer neck.

[2][3] Small Kayan girls may wear brass collars from the age of two to five years old, as it is more comfortable to deform the collarbone and upper ribs slowly.

The alternative, an accelerated process at around the age of twelve, when girls first begin to compete for the attention of boys, is painful.

The South Ndebele peoples of Africa also wear neck rings as part of their traditional dress and as a sign of wealth and status.