Dog statues to be placed near Thai king’s pyre
NONTHABURI: At a studio near Bangkok, a pair of immaculate metre-high statues of the dogs of Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej are getting a last lick of paint before adorning his funeral pyre.
Bhumibol, a monarch whose reign spanned 70 years, died last October. His cremation will take place on October 26, just over a year after his death, in a spectacular funeral to be marked by elaborate palace ceremony and Buddhist ritual.
Eight months in the making, three master sculptors have nearly finished the statues of Tongdaeng and Cao Cao, the late King’s favourite canines.
The dogs will soon be installed at the top tier of Bhumibol’s 50-metre pyre. It is “a very special spot that’s close to the king,” said Chin Prasong, a veteran sculptor who describes his task as “the work of a lifetime.”
The late king’s pyre has been constructed to resemble the mythical Mount Meru, the centre of the Hindu and Buddhist universe - and is set as a final stage for Bhumibol, who was revered by Thais as a demigod.
Bhumibol’s body will be placed at the centre of the pyre and set alight allowing his spirit to travel to the afterlife. The tower, will be decorated by over 500 sculptures of animals, gods and mythical creatures -headed by the pair of royal dogs.
The two dogs were made on request of the palace for the special occasion.
Thais prefix references to Tongdaeng with the honorific “Khun”, roughly translating as ma’am, in a sign of the reverence commanded by all things royal in Thailand.