Cangue

A cangue was like a big, heavy wooden necklace that people had to wear a long, long time ago. It was made of two wooden pieces that clamped around a person's neck. This made it really tricky to do everyday things, like eating or even sleeping comfortably. It was a way to punish people and make them feel embarrassed in front of everyone.

These wooden collars were used in places like China and other parts of Asia for many years, until around the early 1900s. Think of it like a very old-fashioned way of dealing with people who did something wrong. The word 'cangue' actually comes from a French word that means 'yoke', which is something you might see on oxen to pull a cart!

The cangue was designed to be really inconvenient! It was so big and heavy that it made it hard for people to feed themselves. Sometimes, people wearing a cangue would get so hungry they couldn't eat, and sadly, they might even starve. It was also a way to make sure everyone saw the person being punished, which was meant to be a big shame.

Besides making it hard to eat, the cangue was also used to keep people from running away. It was like a giant, uncomfortable restraint. Sometimes, it was used along with other things like chains on their hands and feet. It was a very serious punishment for people who were thought to have committed serious crimes or were not considered important in society.