Nepal bids king's soul farewell

The ritual is to exorcise the late king's spirit

An elaborate ceremony has taken place in Nepal to mark the 11th and final day of mourning after the deaths of King Birendra and eight other royals in a palace massacre.

The priest dresses up as the king

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and other top officials paid their respects to a Brahmin priest, who was dressed up to resemble the late King Birendra before being ceremonially banished from Kathmandu.

The rare Hindu rite is meant to purge the soul of the dead monarch, whom eyewitness reports say was killed by his eldest son, the then Crown Prince Dipendra.

A similar ceremony will be held on Wednesday for Dipendra, who was briefly proclaimed king before he also died from his wounds.

'Impure'

The "katto" ceremony - as it is known - took place on the banks of the River Bagmati in Kathmandu.

The priest was given clothes and other possessions belonging to the late king, including domestic items like a radio and television set.

The priest leaves and will never return

He then changed into an elaborate court costume and wore a replica of the Nepalese monarch's plumed crown.

The priest was also required to consume a meal considered ritually impure.

After this, he left the Kathmandu Valley on an elephant symbolically carrying away the spirit of the dead king - and is now banished from the area for ever.

The ritual dates back to the times of Nepal's ancient Hindu rulers, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper.

Bewildered

Monday is the final day of official mourning for the royal deaths. Government offices, banks and other public institutions will be back at work on Tuesday.

Crown Prince Dipendra: Witnesses say he murdered his family

However, the BBC's Jill McGivering says many Nepalese remain bewildered and distressed by the tragedy - and are sceptical of the eyewitness versions which have emerged saying that the Crown Prince Dipendra was responsible.

The two-man team appointed to investigating the deaths will now report on Thursday.

The team was due to complete its inquiry on Sunday, but requested an extension

A statement on state radio said laboratory tests required more time.

There have been reports that their inquiries have been hampered by the lack of post-mortems carried out on the victims.

In keeping with local tradition, the dead were cremated soon after they died.