Andrographis paniculata is a herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka.
It is widely cultivated in southern Asia, where it is used to treat infection and some diseases, often being used before antibiotics were created. Mostly the leaves androots were used for medicinal purposes. Andrographis paniculata is an erect annual herb extremely bitter in taste in all parts of the plant body. The plant is known in north-eastern India as Maha-tita, literally "king of bitters", and known by various vernacular names (see the table below). As anAyurveda herb it is known as Kalmegh or Kalamegha, meaning "dark cloud". It is also known as Bhui-neem, meaning "neem of the ground", since the plant, though being a small annual herb, has a similar strong bitter taste as that of the large Neem tree (Azadirachta indica). In Malaysia, it is known as Hempedu Bumi, which literally means 'bile of earth' since it is one of the most bitter plants that are used in traditional medicine. The genus Andrographis consists of 28 species of small annual shrubs essentially distributed in tropical Asia. Only a few species are medicinal, of which A. paniculata is the most popular.
Andrographis paniculata grows erect to a height of 30–110 cm in moist, shady places. The slender stem is dark green, squared in cross-section with longitudinal furrows and wings along the angles. The lance-shaped leaves have hairless blades mearuing up to 8 centimeters long by 2.5 wide. The small flowers are borne in spreading racemes. The fruit is a capsule around 2 centimeters long and a few millimeters wide. It contains many yellow-brown seeds.
A. paniculata is distributed in tropical Asian countries, often in isolated patches. It can be found in a variety of habitats, such as plains, hillsides, coastlines, and disturbed and cultivated areas such as roadsides, farms, and wastelands. Native populations ofA. paniculata are spread throughout south India and Sri Lanka which perhaps represent the centre of origin and diversity of the species. The herb is an introduced species in northern parts of India, Java, Malaysia, Indonesia, the West Indies, and elsewhere in the Americas. The species also occurs in Hong Kong, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, and other parts of Asia where it may or may not be native. The plant is cultivated in many areas, as well.
Unlike other species of the genus, A. paniculata is of common occurrence in most places in India, including the plains and hilly areas up to 500 m, which accounts for its wide use. Since time immemorial, village and ethnic communities in India have been using this herb for treating a variety of ailments.
I found this article in the times about the Giraffe Women Of Thiland in Burmese Culture...
THEY are known as giraffe women because of their extraordinary elongated necks, and they have become one of the most lucrative, and most dubious, moneyspinners in Thailand.
Tourists flock to see the women, whose necks are encased in brass rings from early childhood. But rebellion is brewing in the so-called human zoos where they live as virtual prisoners. It began when Zember, 21, decided to cast off the brass rings. Contrary to what guides tell tourists, her head did not collapse on atrophied muscles; but mutiny by the most photographed woman in Nasoi Kayan Tayar village has provoked spectacular results.
Bitter arguments exploded between young and old generations, the Thai businessmen who run the camps were furious and worried, and a new role model was born for a generation of disgruntled women.
When they arrived a decade ago as refugees from Burmese army offensives ravaging their homeland, the Kayan people meekly accepted their role of being photographed by tourists. Their daughters, however, have grown up to question the humiliation of their tribe. Billboards showing the women’s necks are on roadsides all over the north. They advertise exotic sightseeing for Thai and foreign tourists alike in hill-country villages — in reality refugee camps that the women are forbidden from leaving — along the Burma border.
According to different legends the brass coils were to protect wearers from the bites of tigers in their jungle home in Karenni state, or began as a tribute to a dragon-mother progenitor. At about the age of 6, girls are allowed to choose whether or not to put them on. Wearers say that they are not uncomfortable, although their weight forces the shoulders down, making the neck look longer.
Zember, whose hand darts constantly to her bare neck, admits that taking off the rings was a difficult decision.
Business has fallen off at her souvenir stall and her family no longer has the payments that women receive for wearing the coils, a fraction of the profits made from selling entry tickets to tourists.
She said: “I want to keep my people’s traditions but we are suffering because of these rings. We are denied education and the authorities will not let us go abroad, although some of us have been invited to leave for Finland and New Zealand.”
Without work papers or citizenship, the Kayan have little say over what happens to them. They also face a plan to move their villages to a remote location on the border with Burma, where they believe they will be at risk from bandits.
Brass Coils
Brass coils
Women of the various Kayan tribes identify themselves by their different form of dress. The Kayan Lahwi tribe are the most renowned as they wear ornaments known as neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck. The women wearing these coils are known as giraffe women to tourists. These coils are first applied to young girls when they are around five years old.
Each coil is replaced with longer coil, as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. Contrary to popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened; the illusion of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by visiting anthropologist, who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than men. It has also been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore. The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.
Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, but often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity (one associated with beauty). The rings, once on, are seldom removed, as the coiling and uncoiling is a somewhat lengthy procedure. They are usually only removed to be replaced by a new or longer set of coils. The women do not suffocate if the rings are removed, though the muscles covered by them are weakened.
Many women have removed the rings for medical examinations. Most women prefer to wear the rings once their necks are elongated, as their necks and collar bones are often bruised and discolored from being hidden behind brass for so long. Additionally, the collar feels like an integral part of the body after ten or more years of continuous wear.
In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son started to remove 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 late 2008, most of the young women who entered the refugee camp removed their rings. One woman who wore the rings for over 40 years also removed her rings. The women report temporary discomfort which faded after three days. The discoloration is more persistent.
The government of Burma began discouraging this tradition as it struggled to appear more modern to the developed world. Consequently, many women in Burma began breaking the tradition, though a few older women still wear them and in remote villages some of the younger girls are carrying on the tradition. In Thailand, the practice has gained popularity in recent years because it draws tourists who bring business to the tribe and to the local businessmen who run the villages and collect an entry fee of 250B per person. The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), an armed cease-fire group, have also made attempts to invite the Kayan to return to Kayah State in order to set up their own tourist villages.
In January 2008, the UNHCR expressed reservations about tourists visiting the Kayan villages in Northern Thailand due to the Provincial Government’s refusal to allow registered Kayan refugees to take up offers of resettlement in third countries. It is believed this policy was linked to their economic importance to the area. This policy was relaxed in late 2008 and a small group of Kayan have left for New Zealand in August 2008. Others entered the main Karenni refugee camp (which is not open to tourists) in September 2008 and they are now eligible for resettlement.
Brass coils
Women of the various Kayan tribes identify themselves by their different form of dress. The Kayan Lahwi tribe are the most renowned as they wear ornaments known as neck rings, brass coils that are placed around the neck. The women wearing these coils are known as giraffe women to tourists. These coils are first applied to young girls when they are around five years old.Each coil is replaced with longer coil, as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. Contrary to popular belief, the neck is not actually lengthened; the illusion of a stretched neck is created by the deformation of the clavicle. Many ideas regarding why the coils are worn have been suggested, often formed by visiting anthropologist, who have hypothesized that the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. Contrastingly it has been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than men. It has also been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore. The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically.
Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, but often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity (one associated with beauty). The rings, once on, are seldom removed, as the coiling and uncoiling is a somewhat lengthy procedure. They are usually only removed to be replaced by a new or longer set of coils. The women do not suffocate if the rings are removed, though the muscles covered by them are weakened.
Many women have removed the rings for medical examinations. Most women prefer to wear the rings once their necks are elongated, as their necks and collar bones are often bruised and discolored from being hidden behind brass for so long. Additionally, the collar feels like an integral part of the body after ten or more years of continuous wear.
In 2006, some of the younger women in Mae Hong Son started to remove 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 late 2008, most of the young women who entered the refugee camp removed their rings. One woman who wore the rings for over 40 years also removed her rings. The women report temporary discomfort which faded after three days. The discoloration is more persistent.
The government of Burma began discouraging this tradition as it struggled to appear more modern to the developed world. Consequently, many women in Burma began breaking the tradition, though a few older women still wear them and in remote villages some of the younger girls are carrying on the tradition. In Thailand, the practice has gained popularity in recent years because it draws tourists who bring business to the tribe and to the local businessmen who run the villages and collect an entry fee of 250B per person. The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF), an armed cease-fire group, have also made attempts to invite the Kayan to return to Kayah State in order to set up their own tourist villages.
In January 2008, the UNHCR expressed reservations about tourists visiting the Kayan villages in Northern Thailand due to the Provincial Government’s refusal to allow registered Kayan refugees to take up offers of resettlement in third countries. It is believed this policy was linked to their economic importance to the area. This policy was relaxed in late 2008 and a small group of Kayan have left for New Zealand in August 2008. Others entered the main Karenni refugee camp (which is not open to tourists) in September 2008 and they are now eligible for resettlement.
