In January 2018, a little Thai girl died in her bed after being bitten by a deadly cobra snake in her sleep. On Thursday last, another little Thai girl was saved from a similar fate. Whether through her own innocent confidence, plain luck or some other power, we do not know. Her family believe it was due to the sacred amulet she wears at all times around her neck dedicated to Luang Pho Sothon, a revered Buddha in Chachoengsao province which they visit at times from their home in Ayutthaya. Thai internet observers are pointing to self marker drawings that the little girl made on her right leg which look like ancient inscriptions. Whatever the reason, even if it was just old fashioned good luck or chance, one Thai family believe this week that they are the subject of exceptional good fortune after their little girl was left unharmed by the venomous creature that slithered into their home.
A little Thai girl gave her 35 year old mother the shock of her life last Thursday when she emerged into the family shop in a local village in Thailand to show off her latest playmate. It was a large cobra snake, wriggling and writhing in the delighted girl’s right hand. As her mother advanced on her in a state of alarm, 3 year old Natthanee Suthichan or Nong Namon seemed to instantly sense something was amiss and decisively threw the snake to the ground before her terrified mother rushed with her from the shop.
A family in Ayutthaya province in Thailand is thankful for their daughter’s life and good health this week after a scare last Thursday afternoon. The family took to social media in Thailand in recent days to relate their tale and only now are reporters in the media catching up to what appears to have been a minor miracle.
35 year old Thai woman running grocery store in Ayutthaya recounts what happened last Thursday
The incident occurred in the Phra Nakhon area of Ayutthaya province which is in central Thailand about 80 km north of Bangkok. The Thai family operate a small grocery store in the village of Kanchana. 35 year old Juthamas Suthichan was sitting outside, working in front of her shop last Thursday in the afternoon when she heard her 3 year old daughter, Natthanee also known as Nong Namon, calling to her excitedly. She had left her daughter asleep earlier in her bedroom at the back of the shop.
Little girl shouted excitedly about finding a snake
As her daughter entered the shop area from behind, through a wrought iron door, she was shouting to her mother who was busy dealing with customers at the front of the shop. To her horror, she soon comprehended that Namon was talking about capturing a snake. Thai families and mothers in particular, are highly sensitive to this threat. CCTV footage in the shop captures what happened next.
Thai girl coming from the back of the shop with a snake in her right hand terrifies mother
The alarmed mother looked into the shop and saw her little daughter holding a wriggling snake aloft in her right hand. As she ran into the shop to take control the situation, her mother noticed that the little girl had the snake caught by the tail. The little girl, on seeing her mother approaching in a panicked state, decisively throws down the snake. It appeared like she instinctively discerned that something was wrong about it. At the same time, her mother retrieves her with a lunging grasp and heads out of the shop and harms way.
Incident happened at 3 O’Clock on Thursday afternoon in the small Thai village of Kanchana
The snake was left slithering on the shop floor and seems to have been quite active. It moved about near the refrigerator in the shop area. It was quite a large cobra snake which can be deadly to humans and most particularly, to little girls like Nong Namon. The incident occurred at approximately 3 O’Clock in the afternoon.
Father and husband killed the cobra snake by hitting its head repeatedly outside the shop
The Thai wife and mother called her husband to assist her in dealing with the deadly intruder. Her husband caught the cobra and killed it by repeatedly hitting it on the head outside the shop. In rural Thailand, people with families and young children do not truck much with the idea of preserving potentially poisonous creatures for nature when they are aware of the very real threat that the reptiles represent in a human habitat.
Family want other families with young children to see the CCTV footage and be warned
The family immediately took stock of what had just happened. The first thing they did was to retrieve the CCTV footage in their shop which they have made public on Facebook to alert others and in particular families with young children to the threat of snakes to young innocents.
Young Thai girl died in Nakhon Si Thammarat after a bite from another cobra snake
The family shop is situated in a village with a lot of green area. Snakes are more likely to become home intruders at this time of year in Thailand particularly as the rainy season has only just begun. The number of snake home invasions in the kingdom has risen sharply in the last four year. It almost doubled between 2014 and 2018. A beautiful little girl was killed in her bed by another deadly cobra snake in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in January last year. The tragedy saw her loving grand parents put her to bed only to find her dead the next morning surrounded by her stuffed toys. Neighbours found the cobra still in the room. They pulled it apart in distress and anger at what had happened.
Thai infants should not play with rubber toy snakes or reptiles. They should fear the real thing
The other message which the Suthichan family want to highlight is the questionability of letting young Thai children play with toy snakes or reptilian creatures. Their daughter has had many toys like this including rubber snakes.
Little girl was playing quietly in her room after waking from sleep as she found a new friend
The little Thai girl had been playing quietly in her bedroom after she woke up. They know this because she was found with marker drawings on her legs which looked like tattoos or inscriptions. The little girl had marked them on by herself on her lower right leg and foot. Nong Namon’s father has told news reporters that while his daughter’s innocence is something the family treasures, she genuinely felt that the cobra she was showing to her mother was not a threat but a trophy to show off or even a gift. This concerns him.
Thailand’s respect for its animistic and spiritual culture should not dismissed easily
Others on Facebook had some interesting observations after the family’s story went viral in the last few days. Thailand is deeply superstitious and animistic country where spirits, good luck charms and things like amulets are considered to have very real power. You have to live and experience this for yourself if you are a westerner before you dismiss it. There is something real and powerful behind what those in the West dismiss as superstition. While many Thai leaders now call for the country to be more open and westernised as it seeks to emerge as a new world technology centre, none can question the power of traditional values and culture among Thai people.
Some internet commentators point to the Thai girl’s self drawn tattoos or inscriptions
Other Thai users on Facebook were quite certain that the self drawn tattoos that Nong Namon had drawn on her leg had wielded some power over the snake. That may be, but it may also have been that the girl’s lack of fear of the creature and easy style had made the cobra not feel threatened and comfortable. The video of the incident shows however that the little girl quickly grasped the impending urgency and disposed of the snake as her mother approached her perhaps instinctively feeling the danger.
Girl wears sacred Buddhist icon around her neck
Whatever the reason for their daughter’s deliverance, Nong Namon’s mother and father feel very lucky that their little girl was not taken from them last week by the dangerous snake. The family have ascribed this to the amulet around the little girl’s neck dedicated to Phra Phuttha Sothon. This is very sacred image of the Buddha which many Thai people revere. They believe it brings both good fortune and makes sincerely felt wishes come true.
Family to pay homage to Phra Phuttha Sothon Buddha at Chachoengsao province
The family now have plans to visit and pay their respects to the sacred Buddha of Luang Pho Sothon at Wat Sothon Wararam Worawihan in Chachoengsao province. They want to pay homage and give thanks to the Buddha for helping to protect their treasured little girl. They also have found some time to laugh privately at the little girl’s own ability to draw her own personal talismans which many internet citizens also feel protected her from harm. The family revealed that they often bring their little girl to the famous temple in Chachoengsao. That is why she always wears the amulet of the Buddha around her neck.
Read more about the danger of snakes in Thailand:
Snake home invasions double in Thailand within the last 4 years with injuries and deaths reported
Watch out for deadly snakes in Thailand – they’re not your friend
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