Thai royal funerals (; ) are elaborate events, organised as royal ceremonies akin to state funerals. They are held for deceased members of the royal family, and consist of numerous rituals which typically span several months to over a year. Featuring a mixture of Buddhist and animist beliefs, as well as Hindu symbolism, these rituals include the initial rites that take place after death, a lengthy period of lying-in-state, during which Buddhist ceremonies take place, and a final cremation ceremony. For the highest-ranking royalty, the cremation ceremonies are grand public spectacles, featuring the pageantry of large funeral processions and ornate purpose-built funeral pyres or temporary crematoria known as or . The practices date to at least the 17th century, during the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Today, the cremation ceremonies are held in the royal field of Sanam Luang in the historic centre of Bangkok.
Overview
The main components of a royal funeral do not differ much from regular Thai funerals, which are based on Buddhist beliefs mixed with local animist traditions. Hindu symbolism, a long-standing feature of the monarchy, is also featured prominently. A bathing ceremony is held shortly after death, followed by the rituals of dressing the body and placing it within the , a funerary urn used in place of a coffin. The kot is then placed on display and daily Buddhist rites—which include chants by Buddhist monks and the playing of ceremonial music every three hours—are held for an extended period, which today has come to signify lying-in-state in the Western sense. While these rituals were traditionally private affairs, the royal cremation ceremony has long been a public spectacle; those held for the highest-ranking royalty feature temporary crematoria known as , which are purpose-built in the royal field next to the palace. The body is brought to the cremation field in an elaborate procession featuring great funeral carriages, and days of theatrical performances are held.
There are many levels of royal funerals, depending on the rank and status of the deceased royal family member. Such distinctions are reflected in details such as the type of kot used, and the type and location of the crematorium—merumat are only built for the monarch and highest-ranking royals; the cremation of lower-ranking royals employ simpler structures known as , the simpler variants of which were tents of white cloth, or may be held in the permanent crematoria of temples (similarly to most commoners today) instead of purpose-built ones in the royal field. The supreme patriarch and high-ranking Buddhist monks may also receive royal cremations similar to those of lesser royals.
Unlike private rites preserved through oral tradition, royal cremation ceremonies have been documented from the Ayutthaya period through the Rattanakosin Kingdom. Historically elaborate and grand, these ceremonies have been significantly simplified since the funeral of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1911. A rediscovered scroll provides a visual record of the 1704 funeral procession of King Phetracha (d. 1703). Rendered in traditional two-dimensional black ink, the artwork illustrates the royal urn on a Ratcharot, the Phra Merumat (cremation pyre), mythical creatures, and performers. Purchased in 1716 by Augustus II the Strong via Dutch East India Company director Egidius van den Bempden, the scroll was rediscovered 300 years later and remains a vital primary source from the era.
Following the abolishment of absolute monarchy in 1932, King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) abdicated and died in England, and royal funerals became a rare occurrence, apart from that of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) in 1950 and Queen Sri Savarindira in 1956. The ceremony received somewhat of a revival in the funeral of Queen Rambai Barni (Prajadhipok's widow) in 1985. Royal cremations held since include those of Princess Mother Srinagarindra in 1996, Princess Galyani Vadhana in 2008, Princess Bejaratana in 2012, and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) in 2017.
Initial rituals and lying-in-state Bathing ceremony and sukam sop 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. 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).
Next is the ritual, i.e. the tying, wrapping and placing of the body in the kot. This is performed by officials of the , an ancient court office responsible for, among other things, maintaining the king's wardrobe and attending to the bodies of royals after death. 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.
Kot
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 . There are fourteen types of kot, which are granted to the deceased according to their rank and status. The highest-ranking kot, , is reserved for the king and the highest-ranking royal family members.
For high-ranking royalty today, the kot is enshrined on a decorated pedestal known as in the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall of the Grand Palace. A long strip of cloth known as , tied to the shroud within the kot and passing under the lid, is laid down to symbolically connect to the deceased during the ritual. A tube runs down from an opening at the base of the kot, connecting it to a jar () 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.
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.
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, draped with the royal standard, and placed behind the pedestal which still customarily bore the empty kot. The same was done for the funerals of Princess Galyani Vadhana, King Bhumibol, Queen Mother Sirikit and Princess Bajrakitiyabha, although Princess Bejaratana opted for her body to be placed in the kot according to tradition.
Daily rites
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 is played by the prakhom band every three hours, alongside a piphat nang hong group. Further Buddhist ceremonies are held to mark the 7th, 15th, 50th and 100th days since the death.
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.
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 broadcast on radio and TV and livestreamed online.
Mourning
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.
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. 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.
Preparation for cremation Merumat and men
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 below), depending on the rank of the deceased—is to be 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". Currently responsibility for the design of such buildings, as well as its actual construction, falls to workers, architects and engineers working with the Fine Arts Department.
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.
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.
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.
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.