"Women and children lengthen their necks with 22-pound brass rings to 'look like dragons' as part of an ancient tribe in Asia. It is a tradition in the Kayah state in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and makes the Kayan people distinct across ethnic groups in south east Asia. Some women felt they were unattractive without the rings and others felt the pressure to wear them for visiting tourists. The rings were used to protect people from being attacked by tigers and others claim they were a tribute to the group's 'dragon mother'. Rings have also been traditionally seen as symbols of wealth and reserved for favourite daughters, as a more common theory. Padung author Pascal Khoo Thwe told Channel New Asia that 'our mother was a dragon' and 'they have the same sort of neck'. He claims to have grown up with his grandmother wearing 14-inch high sets of rings. Mu Lone, 88, told the Mirror how women felt they 'weren't beautiful without neck-rings' in her time..."