Ukuva and Turqle's Fair Trading story - its also the more information page - for all the stuff we could not fit in elsewhere.
Ukuva iAfrica Ndebele woman with neck rings. In Africa, many of the tribal women - like the Ndebele - wear metal rings or beaded hoops around their necks. These rings as well as other traditional, beaded adornments and ornaments symbolise the woman's (and her family's) status in society.
Many African tribes have practiced what is called “neck stretching” in women as a sign of beauty for hundreds of years. In some of these cultures, a long neck is seen as the ideal of beauty. In others it is seen as a sign of wealth, social status, and personal pride. quoted from: http://students.expression.edu/practicalbodymodification
Ndebele Belle Neck Rings. Both men and women wear them. They are stiff in nature and have evolved from the torc, worn by ancient Celts and those in the European Iron Age, where they were worn as a status of wealth. The other type is more like a coil, that is worn by women. In some African and Asian cultures, next rings are worn to strictly create an appearance that the neck has been stretched.