As the royal funeral of King Rama IX nears, a visual record of another royal funeral is now available online and provides a historical insight into a rare state event.
Last week the Thai Film Archive (Public Organisation) listed 15 films and rare footage into the National Film Heritage, a project aimed at encouraging the preservation of audiovisual materials. One of the items listed is the rarely seen 10-minute footage of the royal cremation of King Rama VI in 1926 at Sanam Luang. Despite the faded black-and-white images, the footage shows a procession of kingly grandeur and ancient tradition, and the distribution of the material to the public is timely given that we will witness another royal farewell in two weeks.
To watch the clip, go to the Film Archive Thailand channel on YouTube.
The footage was shot by the News Department of the State Railway of Thailand, a state agency that pioneered cinematography in Siam a century ago and shot a large number of news events and state functions in the pre-war years. In 1981, researchers discovered a large stash of 35mm film rolls shot by the department, one of the most important finds in the history of Thai audiovisual archives.
Among them was the footage of the royal cremation of King Rama VI. Though it was stock footage -- or cuttings left from the original news reel that was lost -- it is more than enough for modern viewers to appreciate the details of the event taking place 91 years ago. It shows, for instance, the construction of the royal crematorium; the arrival of King Rama VII to preside over the lifting of the Phra Maha Sawetrachatra, or the Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrellas, to the top of the crematorium; the funerary procession along Sanam Luang; the gathering of the royal family at the pavilion; as well as the transport of the royal urn carrying the late king's ashes to Rachantarayan Throne Hall.
The footage, transferred to digital, is in a good condition, and the gravity of the event has hardly faded, with the magic of ceremonial splendour preserved in full.
