Bras offered to shrine on Koh Nom Sao island in Thailand
Instead of dating apps, some people turn to superstition to find love. Thais head to a breast-shaped island off the country’s southern coast, armed with nothing but hope and bras for romantic luck.
They are making pilgrimages to Koh Nom Sao, a mystical island in Prachuap Khiri Khan province shaped like a woman’s chest, to pray for romantic blessings.
Source: Google Maps
A short boat ride to romance
Located just a 10-minute boat ride from the mainland, Koh Nom Sao has become a magnet for those seeking divine help in matters of the heart.
On 5 June, large numbers of Thai devotees and foreign tourists were seen visiting the shrine, reported Thairath.
Source: South China Morning Post
Some of them were even men who left newly bought bras as offerings to seek new love.
Source: Thairath
Those whose romantic desires were fulfilled would return with more lingerie, offering them at the shrine as a sign of gratitude.
Ritual traces back to tragic tale
The roots of this unusual ritual trace back to an old and tragic tale, according to the Thai history site Silpa-Mag.
According to the legend, Yomdoy, a beautiful young woman, was caught in a bitter tug-of-war between two suitors: a Chinese ruler favoured by her father and a Thai prince from Phetchaburi province preferred by her mother.
The argument escalated, and her mother died of grief.
Enraged and blaming Yomdoy for the chaos, her father murdered and dismembered her, casting her remains into the sea.
Bra-offering ritual started after light seen above island in Thailand
Local folklore says her breasts became two sacred islands — Koh Nom Sao in the south and a twin islet off Chanthaburi Province, reported the South China Morning Post.
Roughly 80 years ago, a fisherman seeking shelter from a storm claimed to have seen a mysterious glowing light hovering above Koh Nom Sao.
Locals believed it was the spirit of Yomdoy, who is now revered as a goddess.
In her honour, a shrine was built on the island.
Over time, a ritual of bra offerings emerged, with women leaving their undergarments at the shrine to symbolise hopes for love, fertility and passion.
Source: Thairath
Bras left on island in Thailand will likely be donated
The bras left at the shrine will likely be donated to those in need or charitable organisations, said a local official.
This is so they can be passed on to more people, with the goddess serving as a spiritual bridge.
“Visitors make wishes for various personal reasons, but the shrine is especially well known for matters of love. Many offerings include lingerie and bras, as they symbolically correspond with the goddess’s youthful breasts,” he added, noting:
These undergarments can then be donated to the underprivileged.
Besides bras, some people offer traditional Thai dresses or cosmetics. Foreign tourists, on the other hand, typically place flowers in front of the shrine, he revealed.
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Featured image adapted from Thairath and Fandango Frank on Facebook.
