Thailand grieves in elaborate final goodbye to king
THAILAND: A ceremony in an ornate throne hall yesterday began the transfer of the remains of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej to his spectacular golden crematorium in the royal quarter of Bangkok after a year of mourning for the monarch Thais hailed as ``Father’'.
Three separate and intensely solemn processions involving thousands of troops, a golden palanquin, a chariot and a royal gun carriage moved the royal urn representing Bhumibol’s remains from the Dusit Maha Prasad Throne Hall to the crematorium. The journey along a 2km route was watched by tens of thousands of mourners dressed all in black and broadcast across the country.
Thais have braved tropical heat and torrential downpours to secure street-side vantage points to witness the funeral. Thousands of police and volunteers were on hand to ensure order and entry into the royal quarter, which has been tightly controlled to eliminate the faint possibility of protest against the monarchy or military government.
An activist had been detained earlier this week after writing on Facebook that he planned to wear red clothing on the day of Bhumibol’s cremation, a colour associated with support for political movements ousted in recent coups.
The elaborate funeral for Bhumibol will take place over five days and began on Wednesday with his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, performing Buddhist merit-making rites before chanting monks and officials in immaculate white uniforms.
Bhumibol was to be cremated on Thursday evening (local time) within a golden edifice built over a year and representing mystical Mt Meru, where Buddhist and Hindu gods are believed to dwell.
Deceased Thai royals have traditionally been kept upright in elaborate urns during official mourning. But Bhumibol, who spent much of his early life in the West, opted to be put in a coffin, with the urn placed next to it for devotional purposes.
Bhumibol’s death at age 88 on October 13, 2016, after a reign of seven decades sparked a national outpouring of grief and a year of mourning. Millions of Thais visited the throne hall at Bangkok’s Grand Palace to pay respects.
The adulation Bhumibol inspired was fostered by palace courtiers who worked to rebuild the prestige of a monarchy that lost its mystique and power when a 1932 coup ended centuries of absolute rule by Thai kings.
That effort built a semi-divine aura around Bhumibol, who was protected from criticism by a draconian lese mejeste law that mandates prison of up to 15 years for insulting senior royals. But he was also genuinely respected. – AP