Research & Article

Crematorium or crematorium is a belief in the simulating the Buddhist cosmology to show the honor of the deceased at the end of life which in Thai society has been popular to create crematorium for a long time and can be traced back to at least the Ayutthaya period. Mainly used in royal ceremonies, until the Rattanakosin era, the cremation was still popular but has begun to unfold as a setting in the work of the nobles and honored and respected villagers in general. It shows the influence of the court culture that is sent to the local areas. The crematorium’s popularity still has the nature of a temporary event accompanied by various performances related to the tradition of death. When the work is done, it must destroy or dismantled the various components of the crematorium and re-established in the next work. This article aims to show the semantic unfolding and changing social networks of crematorium culture in Phetchaburi under the cultural dynamics of traditional wooden craftsmanship in the context of contemporary culture. I used a participant observation approach to study history through documents and stories from field studies. and proposed a conceptual framework that the crematorium has changed its meaning in Phetchaburi culture. From being an indicator of bourgeois culture to become a mass business in today’s capitalist society. It was found that there are many groups of craftsmen set up in Phetchaburi, both inherited from the former Phetchaburi craftsmanship schools and newly born artisans. After 1957, the culture of the Phetchaburi craftsmen  has changed from the previous era. And that change has been causing the development of setting up crematorium business nowadays which combines well with capitalism and rendered meaning of the floating crematorium from a temporary item in each event to become a permanent in general funerals. I believe that the study of this phenomena will help to show a new perspective on other aspects of the study of craftsmanship in Phetchaburi.