Background
Prince Arunotai was the son of King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai and his concubine Nuiyai.
Prince Arunotai was the son of King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai and his concubine Nuiyai.
Kromma Muen Chetsadabodin was crowned as King Nangklao (Rama III) in 1824 and, consequently, Sakdiphonlasep was made the "Second King". He led the Siamese armies into Isan to fight with King Anouvong of Vientiane in 1825. Sakdiphonlasep ordered the construction of the Bowonniwet Temple (lit temple where the Front Palace lived) - the seat of the Sangharaja today and where Prince Mongkut (future Rama IV) became an abbot.
His funeral procession was held 2 April 1833, with cremation set for seven days later.
The king, through the Phraklang, invited United States diplomat Edmund Roberts and party to witness the procession, which Roberts describes in journal. Roberts notes that one of the sons of the wang-na watches at the temple, near the funeral pile, night and day, till the body is consumed.
The ashes of the consumed body are then thrown into the river with many ceremonies. And the unconsumed bones are then delivered to the priests, and made into household gods.