Brown Monkey King striding with sword (Thai Ramayana mural)
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- Unknown
- Location
- Bangkok, Thailand
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2006. Terms of use
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In this mural from the Emerald Buddha Temple, the Brown Monkey King strides boldly with his right hand grasping his downward sword.
The monkey king’s head and legs are shown in profile but his torso is rotated so that his shoulders face front. The Brown Monkey King wears Siamese-style gold jewelry and royal clothing. His brown skin is decorated with patterns of spiral lines, and a flame or mountain-shaped border design is visible above his head.
In the Ramayana, after Rama regains his kingdom of Ayuthaya, he rewards all his monkey king allies with cities to rule within the kingdom. The Brown Monkey King is the recipient of one such award.
This image was photographed in August 1984.
