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Published: April 10th 2012
Temporary structures erected at Sanam Luang
Temporary sermon halls erected at Sanam Luang royal grounds for the cremation ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda.Monday April 9th 2012. On this day, the cremation and burial ceremony for the late Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda, daughter and only child of former King Vajiravudh (commonly known as Rama VI), was taking place at the Sanam Luang grounds in front of the Grand Palace. She had passed away already in July the previous year, now was the time for the cremation service. The day had been announced a public holiday and many people dressed up in black or white and travelled to the capital for a chance to pay their respects and maybe get a glimpse of the King.
I had just got off the plane in the early afternoon and breezed through the near empty immigration area of Suvarnabhumi Int'l airport, which was a relief considering the turmoil and congestion of the last few months. After reaching the apartment and catching my breath for a moment Kay and I donned black garments and headed out to take a closer look. Of course, the closest look would be provided by television, considering the massive security operation in place. Traffic in the immediate area of Sanam Luang was closed off, and with the typical weekend congestion in mind we opted
Afternoon service for HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda
His Royal Highness King Bhumibol Adulyadej attends a blessing ceremony for the late princess. for a circling action; subway to Silom, skytrain to Saphan Thaksin and then the river ferry to Tha Chang pier.
While we waited at Saphan Thaksin the sky began lighting up and thick white spikes of lightning could be seen racing to the horizon. We barely made it onto the boat before the downpour began in full earnest. After landfall we quickly sought out shelter in the nearby restaurant of the Navy Club for a well-timed dinner, while waiting out the rain. I had forgotten how spicy they like to make the food there.
As the rain stopped we eventually made our way to Sanam Luang on foot, the shortest route in front of the Grand Palace was cordoned off and we had to walk around the National Library to reach it. The streets were thick with various police officers and soldiers in different green, gray, black and white uniforms. We tailed a patrol of a dozen or so of them down the street, walking past standing officers about every ten meters. Also around in large numbers were various police vehicles and mobile toilet buses.
Upon reaching the square we came up in front of the impressive
Evening service for HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda
Wat Phra Kaew or Grand Palace, icon of Bangkok, resting in the evening light. temple and sermon halls built especially for this service, made from sandal wood. What is normally a grassy field, was now the home to a large temple complex. The other half of the field was dotted with stages for performances and big television screens for the onlookers. At this point in the evening the afternoon service was already over so we decided to walk around the complex and look for good photo angles. The density of policemen and soldiers was even higher here and we half expected to be chased away at some point, but no one minded us milling about outside the fenced zone. Inside the golden buildings where countless VIPs in fancy suits and dresses, and smartly dressed soldiers in white uniforms. Monks chanting and wailing prayer songs were carried on the wind toward us from time to time.
Eventually we'd walked around the zone and ended up on the other side of the square with nothing more dramatic than being chased by a street sweeping vehicle. Kay picked up on a rumour that someone important was on the way and the police began herding people off the streets so we took up a spot at the
Afternoon service for HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda
His Royal Highness King Bhumibol Adulyadej attends a blessing ceremony for the late princess. opposite side of the fence, looking out instead of in. Then aimless waiting ensued. We'd see the occasional police car (with the red lights flashing for good dramatic effect) or minibus with dark tinted windows pass by, until finally a small motorcade flanked by motorcycles announced the presence of... yes... who was it, really? We'd spotted a white limousine with a small white and blue Garuda flag in the middle of the motorcade... and then they were gone.
Right.
We decided to hang around inside the perimeter for a while longer. I happened upon an elderly woman who told us that the cremation service was scheduled for ten p.m., so we moved again to overlook the temple complex. Although there were many people in the area there was no hysterical crowding, most people preferred to sit down on plastic chairs in front of large TV screens rolled into the park. Some had dozed off in the damp grass on tarp they'd brought with them. Shortly before ten the King's motorcade arrived and headed straight into the complex. It consisted of the same old police cars (I was starting to memorize the patrol numbers by now), a huge number
Afternoon service for HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn attends to senior monks at the ceremony for the late princess. of red Mercedes sedans, presumably of the royal guard, and a cream coloured minibus sporting the King's flag, a red Garuda on yellow with blue frame.
Soon after the sermon began (and even though I was literally standing ten centimeters from a truck sized diesel generator) I could hear the gripping sound of the monks chanting blessings and prayers. A thin white smoke began rising for the sky.
As the ceremony ended all the cars came back out again and we stayed at the Sanam Luang grounds for a bit, the thought of hunting for and seizing a taxi not really appealing at that point. As we walked past one of the scenes where a traditional dance performance had taken place we saw the performers resting backstage, their masks resting on nearby tables. Kay overheard someone say the next performance would be on in 30 minutes, so in spite of our sore legs we decided to stick around some more. Kay looked stealthily and hungrily at empty chairs, while we sloshed around in the puddles of the short rolled out grass. In the distance we could hear the wailing yet delicate voice of a funeral song.
The
Afternoon service for HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda
VIPs attend a blessing ceremony for the late princess. three stages on the area then burst into life more or less at the same time, two offering traditional Khon masked performances and the third a choir dressed in black. We stayed to watch a performance were the ten-headed giant Tosakanth seeks to duke it out with some guy in white, who shot a deer, who was not really a deer put a hermit posing as one on orders of Tosakanth, whose female companion was pissed off on the white guy, who... well, I gave up on the story and instead watched the carefully synchronized movements of the dancers, which left me rather dumbstruck in trying to mimic even the slightest hand movement. The flow in the choreography is spectacular. While following the story we could hear the booming sound of the funeral songs coming from the opposite stage, which created a slightly otherwordly ambience.
We returned home around midnight, eager to catch some sleep, but first I had to hang around in the streets for a bit with my portable recorder, as the local frogs were duelling for the neighbourhood. Apart from the loony sound of the regular crowd, sounding off like broken trumpets that I've heard from
Afternoon service for HRH Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda
Senior monks performing blessing chants during a ceremony for the late princess. time to time, there was now a new breed here that I had not heard before. Their powerful soundwalling technique left me thinking I had entered the set of a John Rambo movie, and sent even a local security guard sucrrying with torch in hand to look for the aggressors. Needless to say; a flawless victory on their part.
Note: Since my security clearance remains on roughly the same level as that of a monitor lizard, I've opted for presenting some screen caps courtesy of Thai television to give a better idea of the performance.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Thank you for your detailed account of this highly unusual and solemn event.
I brought back a long forgotten memory from childhood in Thailand in the 1950's when I too attended a royal cremation at the Sanam Luang (Golden Field). For me at the time it was a traumatic event as I had little previous exposure to death; thus better forgotten, but now gratefully remembered.