Chapter 10 Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia 397Metcalf and Peter Huntington (1991), royal funerals accomplished three
things: First, they refocused attention on the center, which claimed to replicate
the cosmos on earth, maintaining harmonious order, better not mess with it;
second, they produced a “charismatic stockpile” of royal relics to be stored in
the national palace-temple; and third, they stabilized the new king’s control, as
he is crowned half-way through the lengthy rites for the dead king.
The king’s body undergoes the process of “secondary burial” common
throughout Southeast Asia. At death, the body is washed, dressed in splendid
robes, and briefly displayed before being put in a large golden urn with the
knees drawn up to his chin. The new king puts the crown on the head of the
corpse and everyone bows in obeisance. The body is stored in a special hall for
at least one hundred days, while it quickly decomposes in the tropical heat, the
liquids of decomposition collecting in a golden vase beneath. In the meantime
the heir is crowned.
After a suitable period, there is a grand procession of the urn to the crema-
tion ground. The urn is opened and the remains are cleaned and washed with
perfumed water by the new king. It is then wrapped in white cloth, the color of
death, and placed on an elaborate funeral pyre, yet another replica of Mount
Meru with concentric terraces leading to four tall columns supporting a conicalCremation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. This $30 million structure was built in one year for the
final cremation of the beloved king on October 26, 2017, in a familiar pattern—a replica of
Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. It was taken apart afterwards and distributed to temples
around Thailand.