A royal cremation.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

The remains of two Balinese royals were cremated yesterday before 250,000 loyal subjects after being carried through the hillside town in huge spinning pyres representing the universe. The bodies of Ubud royal family head Tjokorda Gde Agung Suyasa, who died in March after a long illness, and a lesser relative were cremated near their palace in one of the largest royal funerals in local memory. "This is the biggest ceremony that I have ever seen in my life. I don't think there'll be anything like this again until I die," said artisan Wayan Suta, 42, who was in the crowd with his six-year-old son.

"They are our kings so I needed to attend to express my respect." Thousands of people from all walks of life took part in the preparations, including the construction of the papier-mache pyre towers which formed the centrepiece of the spectacular funeral procession. The two-kilometre funeral march took the bodies from the town's main temple, where they had been lying in state since Saturday, to the royal cemetery where the pyres were set alight. The royal family of Ubud, the heartland of traditional Balinese arts, is one of the most revered on the mainly Hindu island. It is descended from royalty from the neighbouring island of Java who fled the fall of the Hindu Majapahit Empire in the 15th century.

Until Saturday the bodies had been lying in state at the palace, waited on by members of the royal family with offerings of food and coffee. The remains of 68 commoners, many also dead for months, were exhumed and cremated on the weekend for inclusion in the procession. The pyres were set alight, sending flames soaring into the sky and, according to local belief, returns the bodies to the fundamental elements of fire, air, water, earth and void. The souls were then released to God before being reincarnated, according to belief.

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