The princess, herself one of Cambodia's most admired classical dancers, returned to light the funeral pyre on July 18.

CNN: A DEADLY SOAP OPERA

His widow, Queen Monique, and the son in whose favour he abdicated, King Norodom Sihamoni, then lit the funeral pyre at the 15-storey-high purpose-built crematorium.

BBC: Cambodia cremates former King Sihanouk

In India, electric crematoriums, which are cheaper than the elaborate ritual of the funeral pyre, are becoming increasingly popular, while in China ash-scattering-at-sea is becoming all the rage.

ECONOMIST: The world��s way of death

Led by India's Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, numerous political leaders from across north India queued up to lay floral wreathes around the funeral pyre before it was lit.

BBC: Gurcharan Singh Tohra

Though outlawed in India for nearly two centuries, some Hindu communities practiced the ritual of sati -- in which a widowed Hindu woman would throw herself, or be thrown, on her husband's funeral pyre.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

His funeral pyre, lit under gloomy skies in a lonely corner of his country, resembled a small garbage heap -- a makeshift pile of truck tires, soiled mattresses, a solitary chair and a few other of his meager possessions.

CNN: BEYOND POL POT

Subsequently, all three brothers converge on the family home, not only arranging the funeral and burning their father's possessions in a garden pyre, but remaining in his house for months after their filial obligations are dispatched, sampling an aimless liberation.

ECONOMIST: A memoir of a father's death