Nuku’Alofa, Tonga ? The Pacific nation of Tonga buried its beloved King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV today in an elaborate state funeral that mixed tribal traditions with Christian prayers, royal pomp with village-style feasts.

Led by his son and successor, King Siaosi Tupou V, dignitaries from 30 nations joined an estimated 10,000 people in a funeral service at the Tongan Royal Tombs.

One thousand pallbearers escorted the coffin on its short journey from the palace to the funeral site as mourners sat silently along the route. Tongans dressed in black and wore traditional mourning mats called ta’ovala wrapped around their waists.

Tupou IV, a towering figure who ruled the tiny Pacific Island nation for 41 years, died Sept. 11 at age 88 in a New Zealand hospital, plunging this nation of 114,000 into a month of official mourning.

Black and purple funeral cloth covered buildings, roadsides, and even palm trees in the Tongan capital, the biggest royal funeral since 1965 when Queen Salote, Tupou IV’s mother, was buried.

Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito, the duke and duchess of Gloucester representing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the prime ministers of New Zealand and Fiji, the president of French Polynesia and governors general from Australia and New Zealand were among international dignitaries.

Church groups began singing hymns Monday night and continued until dawn today. Surfboard riders stashed their boards in respect to a king, who was himself a surfer. Government and many private businesses closed for the day.

The service included traditional rites as well as Christian prayers.

Tupou IV’s 41-year reign made him one of the world’s longest-serving sovereigns, after Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Queen Elizabeth II and Samoa’s King Malietoa Tanumafili II.

Although Tupou IV was criticized as too autocratic toward the end of his reign, Tongans credit the late monarch with transforming the poverty-ridden nation from a village-based economy to a regional and international trade economy.