Thread: Memory Lane (In my own language)

Siam/Thai royal funerals are elaborate events, organized 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.

The practices date to at least the 17^th century, during the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

When Rattanakosin kingdom was established, the cremation ceremonies are held in the royal field of Sanam Luang in the historic center of Bangkok.

Featuring a mixture of Buddhist and animist beliefs, as well as Hindu symbolism mixed with Brahmanism, 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 ‘Merumat’ or just ‘Main’.

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’ was completed, it would be used for multiple cremations, as multiple royal deaths had occurred.

The practice of building a very large and elegant ‘Merumat’ was last seen in the funeral of King Mongkut (Rama IV, died 1868). His successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), expressed his distaste of the waste of labor and money, and also wished to refrain from making a funeral a festival like before but to just show genuine respect for those who have passed away, ordered that a simple structure be built for his cremation instead.

Since then, royal funerals have employed such simplified designs for the ‘Merumat’, and the terms are now only used to distinguish the rank of the deceased.


King Rama IV’s Merumat


King Rama V’s Merumat (computer colored version)



The construction of King Rama V’s Merumat took only 4 months to complete
(computer colored version)



King Rama V in his royal urn is seen carried to his Merumat at Sanam Luang; background is the Ministry of Defence sited opposite to the Grand Palace (computer colored version)



King Rama VI is seen walking from the Grand Palace towards the Merumat of his father (King Rama V) to perform a part of the Royal Funeral Ritual (computer colored version)