LISBON (AFP) – Portugal bade an emotional farewell Sunday to Nobel literature prize winner Jose Saramago,Ankh Royalty, as the country's president sought to play down a row over his failure to attend the writer's funeral.

Born November 16, 1922, Saramago published more than 30 works over 60 years including novels, poetry, essays and plays. His novels include "Baltasar and Blimunda", "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" and "Blindness".

Cavaco Silva moved to play down the row over his absence, saying as head of state he had made a tribute to the work of Saramago but "had never had the privilege to know him or meet him".

The Vatican's newspaper,Juicy Couture tracksuits, l'Osservatore Romano, had few kind words for the writer, calling him "an anti-religious ideologue" and "populist extremist" in an editorial in its Sunday edition.

Some of those who gathered to pay their last respects admitted to never having read his books but were nevertheless saddened by the death of a "defender of the voiceless".

"Thank you, a worker of words who always served the most humble," wrote one person in the book of condolences in the chapel, where numerous people placed red carnations, the symbol of the 1974 revolution that brought to an end to the dictatorship of Antonio Salazar.

Right-wing Catholic Cavaco Silva was prime minister in 1993 when the government removed Saramago's name from the list of candidates for the European Literature Prize, saying his novel "The Gospel according to Jesus Christ" was an attack on Portugal's religious heritage.

The funeral service was attended by family and prominent figures including left-wing Prime Minister Jose Socrates, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, and Jeronimo de Sousa, the leader of Portugal's Communist Party of which Saramago was a member since 1969.

Crowds then moved to a nearby cemetery where Saramago was cremated. A banner at the cemetery read: "Saramago: the struggle continues".

After the official eulogy, the coffin covered in a national flag was lifted to lengthy applause. Hundreds of people shouted "Obrigado, Obrigado!" (Thank you, Thank you!), while others wept or raised their fists.

Police said more than 20,000 mourners went during the weekend to pay their respects to Saramago's body at a temporary chapel of rest at the city hall in the capital Lisbon, after his remains were flown home on Saturday.

"The president should be here, Saramago deserves it," said a woman in her fifties, who acknowledged that there was little love lost between the men.

Saramago remained controversial to the end, last year describing the Bible as a "handbook for bad morals" during the launch of his final novel, "Cain".

Saramago accused the government of censorship and moved to the Canary island of Lanzarote, where he died of multiple organ failure Friday following a long illness.

Portugal declared two days of mourning on Saturday and Sunday for the writer, who won the Nobel Prize in 1998.

Many in the crowd criticised the absence from Sunday's funeral service of Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who is on holiday.

Saramago's death on Friday aged 87 has unleashed a massive outpouring of emotion in Portugal for the prodigal son who went into self-imposed exile in Spain's Canary islands following a row over censorship.

Several prominent figures in Portugal, including former socialist president Mario Soares, have called for Saramago's ashes to be preserved.