KING’S FAREWELL Clockwise from Top The upper parts of the outer side of Chaak Bang Phloeng are ornamented with images of eight avatars of Vishnu which represent the late King, sided by images of angels to send him to heaven. The nine busaboks are for multi-functions. The central one is for enshrining the royal urn. The next four are for monks to pray. The other four at the corners are for storage and preparation work. The roof of each busabok, is made of steel truss and supported with four steel pillars. Even though the Phra Merumas will be used only once, the craftsmanship that has gone into every part of it is of the highest level. Therefore the Phra Merumas for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej resulted in a majestic farewell unprecedented in scale and historical gravity. DESIGN CONCEPT OF THE PHRA MERUMAS Initially many designs of the Phra Merumas were presented to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the daughter of the late King, who made the final selection. From there, Mr. Kokiart Thongphud, an artist of the Fine Arts Department, created the chosen design. The Phra Merumas for King Bhumibol stood at 50.49 metres tall and 60 metres wide. Unlike other royal crematoriums previously constructed, it consisted of nine busabok – a tall structure placed on a four-tiered square-shaped base, each independent from one another. Of the nine busabok, the principal one stands on the top and at the centre of the entire structure, surrounded by a smaller busabok on lower layers. The design concept came from royal tradition and Buddhist literature (known as) Traiphum. The main busabok is compared to Mount Meru, believed to be the centre of the universe where sacred deities reside. Other smaller busabok surrounding the main one are compared to Sattaboriphan Khiri, the subsidiary peaks around Mount Meru. At the foot of Mount Meru lays the Himaphan Forest, which is inhabited by mythical animals and Anodard Pond, believed to be an origin of five sacred rivers. According to the Brahman doctrine, a king is an avatar of the three mighty gods – Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. As the word “Ramathibodi” appears in his full name, King Bhumibol is upheld as an avatar of Vishnu or Narayana. Also based from Buddhist belief, he is a Bodhisattva born in the Dusit level of heaven, who will reincarnate as the future Buddha. In other words, the Phra Merumas was built to send the monarch back to the Dusit level of heaven and every component of it is centred on these beliefs. The design of Garuda, for example, appeared in many components of the Phra Merumas structure since Garuda is Vishnu’s carrier to the heavens. CRAFTMANSHIP IN THE ROYAL CREMATION CEREMONY From dawn to dusk, hundreds of artisans and public volunteers gathered on sites at Sanam Luang and the Office of Traditional Arts and sped up their work in moulding the sculpture, paintings, wood carvings and ornamentation. All were proud to play their part, big or small, in this work dedicated for a beloved King. In addition to superb craftsmanship, the work is unprecedented in its unique representation for King Bhumibol and features symbolic designs and a distinctive style of art developed during his reign. PAINTINGS DEPICT A MONARCH’S WORK Exceptional paintings were seen on the Chaak Bang Phloeng, a foldable panel placed at the top of the stairs that climbed up to the royal funeral pyre to spare mourners from the sight of the cremated body. Also, more unique paintings were displayed on the three walls of Phra Thinang Songtham, a royal pavilion for His Majesty the King, members of the Royal Family and top officials. Monthian Chusuahueng, an expert artist from the Office of Traditional Arts, is responsible for the paintings design and said that his concept was to make the monarch’s presence felt in every piece of work. Apart from the traditional design of heavenly flowers together with eight avatars of Vishnu representing King Bhumibol, the paintings also depict the monarch’s work and contributions for his people. The lower part of Chaak Bang Phloeng panels featured the royal initiatives in four categories – soil, water, wind and fire (or fuel.) They feature royalrainmaking, the Chaipattana Aerator, the wind turbine, the solar cell and biodiesel projects. Meanwhile, the paintings on the walls of Phra Thinang Songtham also depict a bird’s eye views of 47 royal-initiated projects from all regions of the country. Clockwise from Top The paintings are carried out on the big canvas which, after being finished, will be stripped off to be placed on the walls of Phra Thinang Songtham. Gajasiha and Rajasiha, the legendary creatures of the Himaphan Forest will be placed on the second layer of the base of the principal busabok. “Our paintings portray past events when the late King travelled around, visiting people in royalinitiated projects. We try to keep every detail of each project or event, including the architecture, colours of each component, clothing, and appearance of people in the scenes. This kind of painting has never appeared in any royal crematoriums of the past,” said Mr. Monthian. ART FROM THE REIGN OF KING RAMA IX The sculpture adorning the Phra Merumas is also remarkable. Prasopsuk Ratmai, head of Sculpture Works, of the Office of Traditional Arts, said over 100 sculptural pieces were made in accordance with Brahman beliefs and the sacred Buddhist literature, Traiphum. The design of each piece represents contemporary art in the reign of King Bhumibol. Each statue features human-like anatomy with musculature to make it more dimensional and realistic. Monthian Chusuahueng, the main designer of the paintings for the Chaak Bang Phloeng and Phra Thinang Songtham. The inner side of Chaak Bang Phloeng features the images of heavenly flowers decorated around the Royal Initial Emblem of the late King “Phor Por Ror”, to create a heaven-like atmosphere. The process started from a sketch in actual scale, followed with a clay version of the round-relief sculpture, then carving the basic form, the details and sanding down the sculpture. “The most difficult part is the detail or decorative design to be carved on each statue. For some large pieces of sculpture, it took us three months to finish a clay model,” said Mr. Prasopsuk. After the clay version is completed, a silicone mould was made to produce fiberglass casts. The casts were fine-sanded and applied Teachers and students from College of Fine Arts and Pohchang Academy of Arts are volunteers for the paintings at Phra Thinang Songtham. 34 35
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