The royal cremation for King Bhumibol Adulyadej last month was a moment of historic importance. Nonetheless, another important task relating to the ceremony is still under way.
It is the creation of Khrueang Sangkhet, or commemorative objects offered to monks at the cremation ceremony. A set of these objects is now on view at the exhibition on the royal cremation at Sanam Luang, where visitors are welcome until the end of this month.
For centuries, it has been a tradition for royals to present Khrueang Sangkhet to monks as a way to make merit for deceased kings, princes and princesses. The term khrueang sangkhet means objects presented by hosts to Buddhist monks who deliver sermons or pray and who receive saffron robes in royal cremation ceremonies; the objects are sacred mementos that display the highest form of royal art and devotion.
A patimokkha scripture chest.
Khrueang Sangkhet for the royal cremation of King Rama IX include many familiar and yet sacred objects: talipot praying fans for monks who prayed at the merit-making ceremonies at the royal crematorium; praying fans for monks of Chinese and Vietnamese sects; praying fans for monks who prayed at the merit-making ceremony for the remains of King Bhumibol; tripitaka (Buddhist canon) cabinets; preaching chairs; and patimokkha scripture chests as well as stools containing palm-leaf scriptures.
The Royal Household Bureau is in charge of the creation of Khrueang Sangkhet, especially the design and supervision of the making of the praying fans, while the Fine Arts Department's Office of Traditional Arts is responsible for the design and monitoring of the creation of the tripitaka cabinets, scripture chests and preaching chairs.
According to Charin Choey-aroon, head of the Office of Traditional Arts' Wood Carving and Fine Carpentry Group, the group is responsible for making the patimokkha scripture chests and patimokkha pulpits using a 20 million baht budget.
From left: A tripitaka cabinet; Talipot praying fans for monks.
"The Office of Traditional Arts' artists designed Khrueang Sangkhet and submitted the designs to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn for consideration and selection. Our artisans created wooden models and have been carving the work out of teak wood. We must complete 41 sets of Khrueang Sangkhet for presentation to 41 royal temples nationwide," he said.
One set of Khrueang Sangkhet was completed before the royal cremation ceremony and is now displayed at the exhibition at Sanam Luang while the rest is being created and should be completed by the end of January and given to the listed temples.
According to the exhibition, the making of Khrueang Sangkhet can be divided into four major steps. The first is studying and drafting designs in line with ancient tradition. The second step is creating a wooden model and other parts. The next step is the actual wood carving, and finally the last step is decorating the objects with mirror glass, metal and gold leaf.
The tripitaka cabinets for the royal cremation ceremony were designed by artist Suthee Sakulnoo of the Office of Traditional Arts. The concept mirrors King Bhumibol's devotion to national development for the well-being of the Thai people throughout his 70-year reign.
His dedication was like water showering the land and creating abundance and prosperity. Each cabinet sports images of dok ratchapruek, or the golden shower flower, and a rabbit on the left, a monkey on the right and the Story Of Phra Mahachanok. The golden shower is Thailand's national flower and in yellow -- the late king's birthday colour. The rabbit signifies King Bhumibol's year of birth while the monkey symbolises the year the king passed away. The Story Of Phra Mahachanok, penned by King Bhumibol, reflects the practice of perseverance, one of his teachings.
The scripture chests were designed by Thirayuth Khongphet of the Office of Traditional Arts. The rectangular box with a lid to contain patimokkha scriptures has a lion's foot-shaped base. The box comprises two parts: the box and the stool supporting the box. The box has three compartments. The middle compartment bears King Bhumibol's royal emblem Phor Por Ror while the compartments on the right and left are crafted, gilded and painted in ivory white with exquisite traditional royal court patterns. The stool supporting the box has a lion's foot-shape base with crafted lotus flower motifs. It is gilded and painted in ivory white. The scripture box is placed on the supporting tool.
The patimokkha pulpits are a monk's preaching seat. The pulpits built specifically for the royal cremation ceremony are in off-white. The armrests are gilded, crafted and decorated with mirror glass both inside and out. The back of each preaching chair is adorned with mirror glass cut into the shapes of 89 diamonds equal to the age of the late king. The middle of the back is adorned with mirror glass carved in the images of flowers while the lower base for supporting the seat is carved as lotus flowers placed upside-down, gilded and applied with mirror glass. The upper level is a lion's foot-shaped base carved with the bua lang singha motifs, gilded and decorated with mirror glass.
A monk’s seat.
The palm leaf scriptures were created by the Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. The design is based on palm leaf scriptures of Wat Bowonniwet. Each book has 37 folded pages. The covers sporting the lai rod nam, lai kankhod and lai poom khao bin motifs and the king's royal emblem are designed by culture expert Sudsakhon Chaisem. Each of the ends are adorned with lai thao kankhod motifs that turn to resemble the face of the garuda, signifying a king's royal carrier.
In addition, the Office of Traditional Arts is responsible for designing and drafting the talipot fans used in the royal cremation ceremonies. They were designed according to tradition yet in a contemporary style.
Talipot fans featured King Rama IX's royal emblem Phor Por Ror. The background is full of falling flowers and gems and embroidered with the full name of King Bhumibol and the year 2560 BE. The gold metal rim and supportive base depict the Phra Maha Pichai Mongkut royal crown and the royal crematorium. The fans are in yellow, gold and blue -- the colours of the King Bhumibol and HM Queen Sirikit's birthdays.
Talipot fans for monks of Chinese Vietnamese sects also feature the king's royal emblem Phor Por Ror under the Phra Maha Pichai Mongkut royal crown. The background is full of aura and embroidered with the full name of King Rama IX and the year 2560 BE. The gold metal rim and supporting base depicts the Thai number nine under the same royal crown.
The fans for the royal merit-making ceremony for the remains of King Bhumibol are embroidered and decorated with the images of his royal insignia and five pieces of his paraphernalia above a sign saying "The Royal Merit Making Ceremony For The Royal Remains, The Year 2560 BE". All these objects are placed on a throne under two white seven-tiered royal umbrellas. The background is full of aura and embroidered with the full name of King Rama IX and the year 2560 BE. The gold metal rim and supportive base depict the Thai number nine under the Phra Maha Pichai Mongkut royal crown. The fans are in yellow and gold -- the colour of the late king's birthday.
Charin who also worked on the royal urns for the late Queen Rambhai Barni of King Rama VII, the late Princess Mother, HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, HRH Princess Bejraratana and King Rama IX as well as the royal chariots and vehicles for the recent royal cremation, said: "I feel honoured to have the opportunity to serve King Bhumibol."
Phasukri Na-ngam, an artisan under the Office of Traditional Arts, has been working on modelling and carving Khrueang Sangkhet for a few months at the same time as restoring the great royal chariot and smaller royal vehicles. The seven-member team is expected to complete wood carving this month.
"Personally, I am proud deeply I feel sad. Sometimes, I shed my tears while working, but I remember his teachings about perseverance, good deeds, patience and high responsibility," the artist said.
