Thai royal funeral

The bathing ceremony takes place shortly after death. Today, it is held in the Phiman Rattaya Throne Hall in the Grand Palace, and is attended by members of the royal family and senior government officials. As with common funerals today, this takes place as a ceremonial pouring of water by the attendees, but the water is usually poured over the deceased's feet instead of the hand, as is done for commoners.[lower-alpha 1] After the bathing ceremony, the hair is ritually combed, once upwards and once downwards, and the comb is broken. For high-ranking royals, a gold death mask is placed on the body (after sealing the orifices with wax, in times before embalming).[7]

Next is the sukam sop ritual, i.e. the tying, wrapping and placing of the body in the kot. This is performed by officials of the phusa mala, an ancient court office responsible for, among other things, maintaining the king's wardrobe and attending to the bodies of royals after death.[8] The body is first dressed in white, with the appropriate accessories. It is then ritually tied with undyed string, and wrapped in a white shroud. The body is finally placed in a foetal position in the kot. A chada (pointed crown) is ritually placed on the head of the body, before the lid of the kot is finally closed.[lower-alpha 2][9]

The funerary urn or kot of King Chulalongkorn atop the five-tiered pedestal in 1911. High-ranking members of the royal family usually lie in state for a hundred days within the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall.

The kot (from Sanskrit kośa, meaning "container") is a large funerary urn, used to contain the body of the deceased in place of a coffin. It is used for royalty, as well as high-ranking members of the nobility. Today it may also be granted to high-ranking government officials. It consists of two layers: an outer shell, usually ornately decorated, with two opening halves and a pointed lid; and an inner cylindrical container known as long.[lower-alpha 3] There are fourteen types of kot, which are granted to the deceased according to their rank and status. The highest-ranking kot, Phra Kot Thong Yai, is reserved for the king and the highest-ranking royal family members.[10]

For high-ranking royalty today, the kot is enshrined on a decorated pedestal known as bencha in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall of the Grand Palace. A long strip of cloth known as phusa yong, tied to the shroud within the kot and passing under the lid, is laid down to symbolically connect to the deceased during the sadappakon ritual. A tube runs down from an opening at the base of the kot, connecting it to a jar (tham phra buppho) hidden beneath the pedestal which serves to collect fluids, as the body was mostly allowed to decompose within the kot in the days before embalming. This often led to undesirable odours, which had to be masked by burning fragrant incenses.[3]

The kot probably derived from the use of burial urns in ancient Southeast Asian traditions, which also featured secondary burials, comparable to the custom of waiting a certain period before cremation. Despite the Sanskrit origin of the term, such urns were not used by Medieval cultures of the Indian Subcontinent, from which the practice of cremation spread to Thailand, along with Buddhism.[11]

During the funeral of Princess Mother Srinagarindra in 1995, the royal body was not physically placed in the kot, in accordance with her wishes. Instead, a coffin was used, placed behind the pedestal which still customarily bore the empty kot. The same was done for the funerals of Princess Galyani Vadhana and King Bhumibol, although Princess Bejaratana opted for her body to be placed in the kot according to tradition.[12]

Members of the public queuing to pay their last respects to King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2017

The kot, containing the body, is enshrined in the throne hall for a period of time (usually at least 100 days). In modern times, this has become analogous to lying-in-state, although the practice predates Western contact and did not originally serve to allow the public to pay their respects. During this time, daily Buddhist rites are held, with chanting by monks around-the-clock, and ceremonial music known as prakhom yam yam is played by the prakhom band every three hours, alongside a piphat nang hong group.[13] Further Buddhist ceremonies are held to mark the 7th, 15th, 50th and 100th days since the death.[14]

During these Buddhist rites, meal offerings (for morning and midday ceremonies) and offerings of cloth on behalf of the dead, known as sadappakon, are made to the monks.[15]

While these rites were also historically private affairs, members of the public have been allowed to pay their respects in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall since the funeral of King Chulalongkorn, in recent funerals the main public vigils are also livestreamed.[16]

Historically, the kingdom's subjects had to shave their heads and dress in white to mourn the death of the king. This practice has also been abandoned since the funeral of King Chulalongkorn. The practice of wearing black for mourning was also a Western import introduced around the King's time.[1][17]

Today, mourning mostly follows Western protocols. The government announces a mourning period to be observed by government officials, and national flags are flown at half-mast.[lower-alpha 4] Public entertainment activities is requested to be withheld for a certain period, and broadcast media also typically suspends entertainment programming as well. Mourning is again observed during the cremation period.[18]

Cremation pyre of King Mongkut (Rama IV), c. 1869–70. Mongkut was the last king to be cremated in such large merumat, which were typically 80–100 m (260–330 ft) high.

As the royal funerary services take place, preparations are made and a temporary royal crematorium—a merumat or men (rendered as phra merumat and phra men in the royal register—see explanation under § Glossary below), depending on the rank of the deceased—is erected in the royal field next to the palace. This is Sanam Luang in today's Rattanakosin period; its role as the site of royal cremations explains its former name, Thung Phra Men, which means "royal cremation field".[19]

The construction of merumat for royal cremations date to the Ayutthaya period, as Hindu beliefs were absorbed from the Khmer Empire. Following the Hindu-Buddhist ideology of divine kingship, the king was believed to be semi-divine, and the merumat symbolizes Mount Meru, the centre of the universe atop which lies the home of the gods, to which the king would return after death.[20][21]

The earliest merumat was probably erected during the reign of King Prasat Thong (1629–1656), and modelled after Angkor Wat. Ayutthaya-period merumat were gigantic structures. The one built for King Narai (died 1688) was recorded as being 3 sen (60 fathoms) tall—120 metres according to modern conversion rates. Despite the usual translation of merumat as "funeral pyre", it was actually a mainly decorative structure, within which the much smaller actual pyre was housed. Merumat were always temporary structures purpose-built for the ceremony, and featured the exquisite craftsmanship of the kingdom's best artisans.[20]

The merumat of Chulalongkorn (1911) and later kings were built in the style of a butsabok.

The construction of the merumat often took months, if not years, to complete. This, along with the fact that the cremation had to take place in the dry season, partly contributed to the practice of waiting lengthy periods before cremation. Often, by the time a merumat or men was completed, it would be used for multiple cremations, as multiple royal deaths had occurred.[14]

The practice of building very large merumat was last seen in the funeral of King Mongkut (Rama IV, died 1868). His successor, King Chulalongkorn, expressed his distaste of the waste of labour and money, and ordered that a simple structure be built for his cremation instead. Since then, royal funerals have employed such simplified designs for the merumat and men, and the terms are now only used to distinguish the rank of the deceased.[20]

Following cremation, the merumat or men is disassembled and the components and materials are usually donated to Buddhist temples or to charity. Materials from the men of Prince Siriraj Kakudhabhand in 1888, for example, were used to build Siriraj Hospital.[22]

Restoration work on the Royal Chariot of Great Victory during preparations for King Bhumibol's cremation in 2017

As the merumat is being built, restoration and maintenance work is also done to prepare the royal funeral chariots for the cremation ceremony procession, and practice sessions are held.[23]

A few days prior to the cremation ceremony, phusa mala officials will remove the body from the kot in order to remove the materials used during sukam sop, and re-wrap the body in a new shroud. In the past, the partially-decomposed flesh would also be removed and stripped from the bones, in order to be cremated separately, but embalming has rendered this process unnecessary. The sukam sop materials, together with the bodily fluids collected in the tham phra buppho, are cremated in a small ceremony known as thawai phloeng phra buppho. (This was not done for recent royal funerals where the body was placed in a coffin; the last time this ceremony happened was prior to the 2012 royal cremation of Princess Bejaratana.)[3]

The kot will be carried to the merumat or men on the day of the cremation ceremony (see § Funeral processions below). Sometimes, however, the body might actually be moved from its place of enshrinement before the morning of the procession, in an unofficial step that is not part of the ceremonies. It takes place at night, somewhat secretly, leading the practice to be known as lak sop (lit. "stealing of the body"). This is done out of necessity or for convenience, e.g. in cases where the site is far from the procession route, or, in modern times, where body is placed in a coffin rather than the kot. It is an old tradition dating back to the Ayutthaya kings which saves time for the royal funeral procession within hours.[24][25]

The Royal Chariot of Great Victory, bearing the urn of Princess Galyani Vadhana in the second procession to the men, November 2008

Final Buddhist rites are held in the evening before the cremation ceremony. The following morning, the kot carrying the royal remains is carried to the merumat via a series of funeral processions.[1][26]

In the first procession, the kot is brought onto the royal palanquin known as Phra Yannamat Sam Lam Khan. It is then carried from Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall, out of the Grand Palace, and to the front of Wat Pho, where it is transferred to the royal funeral chariot (either the Maha Phichai Ratcharot or Vejayanta Ratcharot). The second procession—the most elaborate—then proceeds towards and enters Sanam Luang, where the kot is transferred either again to Phra Yannamat Sam Lam Khan, or to a royal gun carriage (for kings who held the title of Head of the Armed Forces or royal family members holding high military ranks in the Royal Thai Armed Forces, a tradition initiated on the wishes of King Vajiravudh in 1926). The third procession then circumambulates the merumat three times in a counter-clockwise fashion, before the kot is brought into the merumat.[1][26] During the processions, ceremonial music is played, and gun salutes are fired.[26]

As the kot is brought onto the pyre (known as chittakathan) within the merumat, the outer shell is removed and replaced with a shell of carved sandalwood known as phra kot chan (and/or phra hip chan if the deceased was placed in a coffin). Further Buddhist rites are held, until the cremation takes place in the evening.[26]

During the first cremation, which is a mock ceremonial burning, the king lights the cremation fire and lays the first dok mai chan—artificial flowers made of sandalwood and used ceremonially in cremations. The other guests then follow suit, laying flowers one by one. The ritual is repeated later in the night, with a smaller group of guests, when the actual cremation takes place. On the first lighting a 21-gun salute and a three-volley salute are both fired in the Sanam Luang field.[26]

The Royal Cemetery at Wat Ratchabophit serves as one of the final resting places of the royal ashes.

The day after the cremation, a ceremony takes place where the cremated remains and ashes are viewed and placed in smaller urns. The remains (atthi) are placed in a small kot known as phra kot phra atthi, while the ashes (sarirangkhan) are placed in a rounder-shaped urn called pha-op. They are then transported back to the Grand Palace in a fourth procession after a morning service and breakfast by the monks. The remains are brought into the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall, while the ashes are temporarily placed in the Phra Si Rattana Chedi stupa in Wat Phra Kaew.[26]

The next day, final Buddhist rites are held for the cremated remains in the morning, before the kot is transported the short distance to Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall, where the remains will be interred, in the fifth procession. The sixth procession carries the royal ashes to the temple where they will be interred, usually at Wat Ratchabophit, where the Royal Cemetery is located, unlike the five past processions in current royal funerals the ashes are transported to the interment site in a royal automobile with escorts provided by the 29th Cavalry Squadron, Royal Horse Guards.[26]

Entertainments and theatrical performances used to feature largely during royal cremation ceremonies, but were discontinued during the funeral of King Chulalongkorn. The practice was revived, at the suggestion of Princess Sirindhorn, during the funeral of Princess Mother Srinagarindra in 1996.[12]

• 
  Queen Debsirindra (1862)
• 
  Vice-King Pinklao (1867)
• 
  Queen Saovabha Phongsri (1920)
• 
  Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath (1920)
• 
  King Vajiravudh (1926)
• 
  Princess Galyani Vadhana (2008)
• 
  Princess Bejaratana (2012)

• 
  First procession (King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 2017)
• 
  Second procession (Princess Bejaratana, 2012)
• 
  Third procession (King Vajiravudh, 1926)
• 
  Fourth procession (Princess Bejaratana, 2012)

• 
  Phra Merumat of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
• 
  The Principal Pavilion
• 
  Dismantling Pavilion
• 
  Monk's Chanting Pavilion
• 
  Lion and Makara
• 
  The lion-like mythical creature
• 
  The Garuda
• 
  The kneeling deities
• 
  Ganesha at Phra Merumat of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
• 
  Fireguard Screen of Phra Merumat of King Bhumibol Adulyadej
• 
  Phra Merumat of King Bhumibol Adulyadej during the night