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Thais prepare for royal funeral in Bangkok

The funeral pyre of Thai Princess Galyani Vadhana, the late sister of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, is displayed at Sanam Luang plaza in Bangkok on Nov. 6. Ten months after Princess Galyani’s death, an elaborate crematorium has been built which, Thai tradition says, will allow the princess to take her rightful place among the gods. PHOTO: AFP

Ten months after Princess Galyani’s death, an elaborate crematorium has sprung up in central Bangkok which, Thai tradition dictates, will allow the royal to take her rightful place among the gods.

Preparations are almost complete for her funeral tomorrow, when a sombre procession will carry Galyani’s remains to a gilded crematorium in the first full royal funeral in Thailand since 1996.

Galyani, the elder sister of King Bhumibol Adulaydej, died of cancer on Jan. 2 this year at the age of 84.

In one of the few nations left in the world where the monarchy is respected with an almost religious devotion, the death of a senior member of the royal family is treated with the utmost pomp.

The funeral rites — including a procession of nearly 6,000 soldiers and an outing of ancient teak carriages — carry a price tag of at least 300 million baht (US$8.9 million), Thailand’s Public Relations Department estimated.

The cremation will take place at Sanam Luang Plaza, a grassy field in central Bangkok where Thais usually picnic and fly kites, which has been turned into a funeral campus.

Somchai Nanakhonphanom, an expert on royal funeral proceedings, explained that historically in the mainly Buddhist kingdom, members of the royal family were considered gods come to live among the people.

When they die, folklore holds that they ascend to the top of Mount Meru, a mountain at the center of the universe, to take their place among the deities.

“It’s believed the ritual comes from India, from the Brahmin [Hindu] religious belief and Buddhism mixed together,” said Somchai, who works for the National Museum in Bangkok.

Official mourning will begin today ahead of the moving of Galyani’s body from the Grand Palace to Sanam Luang tomorrow, when her body will be cremated. The collection of the ashes will take place on Sunday.

After two more days of mourning and prayers, the ashes will be transported in another grand procession to their final resting place at the nearby Rajabopit Temple on Wednesday.

The centerpiece of the dozens of temporary funeral buildings at Sanam Luang is the crematorium pyre, a 39m tower modeled on Mount Meru.

Guarded by half-human, half-animal statues, the glittering crematorium is adorned on all sides by sculptures of the gods.

As the tower spirals upwards, the statues get smaller, symbolizing the ascension to pure spirit, said Arvuth Ngernchuklin, the chief architect.

“Once the cremation takes place, it’s symbolic that we all join hands and send the royal back to heaven,” he said.

After the cremation, the buildings will be demolished.
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