Thailand: Workers, Artists Build Gigantic Pyre for King Bhumibol

BenarNews staff
2017.04.25
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Traditional dancers perform during a religious ceremony to mark the placing of cornerstones of the funeral pyre for Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Feb. 27, 2017. [AFP]

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A worker paints metal beams at the construction site, March 31, 2017. [AFP]

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A Thai sculptor works on a figure that will serve as a mold for a series of images to decorate the wooden pyre, March 9, 2017. [AFP]

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A shop is filled with molds of statues of mythical beasts destined for King Bhumibol’s cremation ceremony, March 9, 2017. [AFP]

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An artist works on a wood cut that will be featured in the pyre’s intricate design, Feb. 23, 2017. [AFP]

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Construction continues at the site for King Bhumibol’s cremation, April 25, 2017. [AFP]

As construction workers build an ornate 50 meter- (165 feet-) tall royal pyre and complex of structures where late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej will be cremated in October as part of funeral rites stretching over five days, artisans are working to complete hundreds of sculptures to fill it.

Construction began shortly after a Feb. 27 ceremony to lay the cornerstones for the complex going up next to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, where the king’s body is being kept before his cremation.

When he died at age 88 on Oct. 13, 2016, Bhumibol was the world’s longest-reigning monarch. His rule lasted seven decades and his cremation, now set for Oct. 26, will mark the end of a year of national mourning.

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