Elaborate pavilions and Buddhist temples are traditionally constructed especially for royal funerals in Siam. The body of the deceased was embalmed and preserved while the cremation site was built. Funereal rites and a period of mourning could take months or even a year before the funeral took place. The embalmed body was then placed in a kneeling position in a gold urn on a high bier inside an ornate edifice to be cremated. Festivities including Chinese theatre and musical shows would be held alongside chanting by Buddhist monks to celebrate the reincarnation of the soul as per Buddhist belief. In Siam, people of all ranks were cremated rather than buried, with the exception of criminals, babies and women who had died in childbirth.