Last weekend 14--16 November black and white were the colours of respectful mourning as all over Thailand as people acknowledged the cremation of the Crown Princess.
The King's sister died last January, but her cremation date was on Saturday in Bangkok. An entire park was freshly turfed, stages were set for night-long performances of dance, puppetry, orchestral music, an ornate ritual house was built by fine artists and crafters to house the funeral pyre. All over the country vast images of the princess were festooned in black and white ribbon and tributes of flowers placed before her.
At 4.30 Friday, King Bhumibol lit the ritual fire. At 10 Saturday night, the funeral pyre was lit. and on Sunday or Monday the crown prince (the king's son) led a procession to take her bones and ashes to their separate resting places.
The love, honour and loyalty are a contrast to the UK. Here there are vast posters of the royals all over the public spaces and none sport graffittied beards, spectacles or worse.
This was the full works in an Oriental version of the Queen Mother's funeral. Except in Thailand they cremate the person in a specially made crematorium inside a very ornate and colourful traditional wooden Thai cremation house. There were lots of porcessions to take her body from the palace to the cremation, collect her bones and ashes, put then in seperate urns, take them to the palace then to the temples they will permanently reside in.
We didn't go down to see it but saw some amazing photos in the Bangkok Post which sadly aren't on their website though the reverential reports are - http://www.bangkokpost.com/
The regaliad soldiers were a mix of traditional eastern-looking Thai costumes and makeover English Royal Guards and Househole Cavalry. Their bear-skinned guards don't just come in red uniforms and black bearskins mind. There were soldiers in matching sky blue, purple and mauve uniforms and bear skins. With all the bearskins looking like 4 year-olds with haircuts trimmed by their mothers!
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This was the full works in an Oriental version of the Queen Mother's funeral. Except in Thailand they cremate the person in a specially made crematorium inside a very ornate and colourful traditional wooden Thai cremation house. There were lots of porcessions to take her body from the palace to the cremation, collect her bones and ashes, put then in seperate urns, take them to the palace then to the temples they will permanently reside in.
We didn't go down to see it but saw some amazing photos in the Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com) which sadly aren't on their website though the reverential reports are.
The regaliad soldeirs were a mix of traditional eastern-looking Thai costumes and makeover English Royal Guards and Househole Cavalry. Their bear-skinned guards don't just come in red uniforms and black bearskins mind. There were soldeirs in matching sky blue, purple and mauve uniforms and bear skins. With all the bearskins looking like 4 year-olds with haircuts trimmed by their mothers!
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