coffin

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Background

Coffins, or funeral caskets, are containers in which the dead are buried. Burial practices differ markedly across cultures and through history, but many peoples have used wooden, stone, or metal boxes for burial. Beautifully decorated stone boxes called sarcophagi were used in ancient Egypt. Stone coffins were also used in Europe in the Christian era, and later lead or iron coffins became common. Only wealthier people could afford elaborate coffins, and in Western cultures since the Middle Ages, poorer people were buried in simple wooden boxes. The very poor had no coffins at all, and might be laid in the grave wrapped in a blanket.

The making of a wooden coffin is not significantly different from any other type of carpentry or cabinetry. In some parts of the world, skilled carpenters specialize in elaborate coffins. Italy has a vanishing tradition of hand-built burial caskets, and master crafts-men in Ghana continue to create coffins in fanciful shapes such as birds, cars, and ears of corn. In the United States, coffins were traditionally built only as needed, by the local carpenter. The carpenter "undertook" to take care of the deceased, hence the origin of the term undertaker. Over the past 50 years, the coffin industry in the United States has become increasingly centralized. A few manufacturers with large, automated plants now dominate the market. The same phenomenon exists in Canada and the United Kingdom as well. In reaction to this centralization, many small casket makers have recently tried to reach the public directly, selling coffins either through showrooms, by mail, or over the Internet. Some alternatives to the conventional coffin have also arisen. One small manufacturer in England specializes in basket-like coffins made of a traditional willow wicker, while a Swiss entrepreneur advocates the Peace Box, a cardboard coffin made principally of recycled materials.

Raw Materials

Raw materials used in casket making vary greatly. The Peace Box is made from card-board, and a deluxe coffin for a head of state may be made of solid bronze. Wooden caskets may be assembled from pine boards, or use an expensive hardwood such as cherry or mahogany. The most common American coffin is made from steel. Still others are made of fiberglass.

Most caskets, except for the most simple, contain, in addition to the outer shell, an inner lining. This is typically made of taffeta or velvet. The lining may be backed with a batting material, usually polyester, and cardboard may back the batting.

Other materials used in the manufacture of coffins include steel or other metals for hinges and accessories; rubber, if a gasket is used to seal the coffin; and paint.

The Manufacturing
Process

A wooden casket can be manufactured in any woodshop, using cabinet-making tools and techniques. Ambitious consumers can make their own, just as some people make their own bookcases and coffee tables. A typical small casket manufacturer is more often a casket assembler, buying prefabricated parts and putting them together. The three essential elements of the coffin are the shell, the lining, and the handles and accessories. A small manufacturer may buy casket shells in a semi-finished state from a casket shell producer, and finished linings from another supplier. The manufacturing process might then consist of painting the shell, stapling or latching the lining into the interior, and then screwing on handles and any additional hardware such as decorative corner pieces or latches. Large casket manufacturers do all the manufacturing and assembling under one roof. The following description is of the process for a typical steel coffin.

Assembling the shell

• Steel caskets are typically made of 18-or 20-gauge steel, which is delivered to the manufacturer from a steel producer in coils. A small coil may weigh 1,000 lb (454 kg), while the largest may weigh up to 20,000 lb (9,080 kg). The steel coil is first sent through a leveler, which straightens it. Then the metal is cut into large blanks by a blanking machine. The blanks are then fed into a die stamper, which stamps the parts of the shell. The parts are then passed to a welding area. In the welding area, workers feed the parts into an automatic welder, which welds together the body of the coffin. The tops are also welded this way. Then a worker welds by hand any areas the welding machine did not cover.

Painting

• The shells are then passed to a painting area. Workers apply paint using a spray gun, with a continuous supply of paint piped in through hoses. First the shells are sprayed with primer, next with paint. Then the caskets are baked, to set the paint. Other industries use similar painting processes. The paint used for steel caskets is unique, and specially formulated.

Accessorizing

• At this point, the lids are ready to be assembled to the shells, and hinges and handles are screwed on. Hinges are usually made of steel. A worker welds these on by hand. Workers then attach handles. These are usually preassembled, either at the casket manufacturer or at a supplier's facility. They attach simply, either by snapping into place or with screws. Next, decorative pieces, such as corner plates, are attached in the same way.

Making the lining

• The upholstery that lines the casket may be bought in specified dimensions from a supplier, and then simply inserted in to the finished shell. It may also be made on site. Seamstresses take rolls of the lining material, usually taffeta, and feed it through shirring machines. These multi-needle machines gather and stitch the material into a decorative quilted design. Seamstresses working at industrial sewing machines then cut and sew the shirred material into the proper dimensions. Workers also cut and sew a thick batting material, which backs the taffeta. Taffeta and batting are then attached to a cardboard backing. Then workers fit this three-layered upholstery into the finished shell. The upholstery may be glued or stapled to the shell, or it may be designed so it simply snaps into place in the shell.

Packaging

• After the coffin has passed a final inspection, it is sent to a packaging area. Coffins are prone to scratching, so care is taken to package them well. The finished caskets are first wrapped in large sheets of packing paper to protect the finish from rubs and scratches. The corners are given additional padding. Then the casket is put in a clear plastic bay. After this, the bag-covered casket is covered with a plastic shrink-wrap. Before shipping, the casket is wrapped in a rug similar to a mover's blanket. Caskets are then taken by truck to warehouses for distribution.

Quality Control

Workers inspect coffins for defects at several points during the manufacturing process. When the steel comes into the factory, it must be inspected to insure it is the proper gauge and quality. Workers check the parts of the shell after they are stamped, and inspect again before the shells go to the painting area. The shells are checked again after painting, as this is particularly important to the final appearance of the casket. The upholstery and accessories have their own quality checks. Then the finished product is examined carefully before it is sent to the packaging area.

The Future

In the United States, cremation is becoming increasingly prevalent, and the demand for coffins is not growing. Future developments in the industry might lie more in the realm of marketing than in the actual manufacture. Traditionally in the United States, coffins are purchased only after a death, usually as part of a burial package offered by a funeral home. Consumers who purchase a coffin directly from the manufacturer are able to reap significant savings by foregoing the middleman service of the funeral home. Since the mid-1990s, many small coffin manufacturers have boldened their efforts to reach consumers. Another growing area is funeral insurance, which covers the cost of a funeral-including casket-for the policy bearer, upon the bearer's death. Though marketing caskets may grow more sophisticated and competitive, the actual technology used in their manufacture is relatively simple, and does not seem prone to quick changes and development.

Where to Learn More

Books

Colman, Penny. Corpses, Coffins and Crypts. Henry Holt, 1997.

Periodicals

"Cardboard Coffins." UNESCO Courier (March 1993): 26.

French, Howard W. "A Whimsical Coffin? Not Just for Chiefs Anymore." The New York Times (December 18, 1995): A4.

Friedman, Dorian. "Caskets: Compare and Save." U.S. News & World Report (June 2, 1997): 10.

Lubove, Seth. "Dancing on Graves." Forbes (February 28,1994).

[Article by: Angela Woodward]

n. slang an old and unsafe aircraft or vessel.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

One of the paradoxes of folk medicine is that objects connected with death are deemed curative. In several parts of England, from the late 18th century to the end of the 19th, there are references to rings made out of ‘the handles of decayed coffins’, or their hinges, or their lead lining, worn to prevent cramp, fits, or rheumatism. In Shropshire, the ring was ‘made of three rings taken from three coffins out of three several churchyards’ (Opie and Tatem, 1989: 91).

A coffin may represent physical confinement or a restricting of the freedom to express oneself physically. There may be a dead or decaying situation in the dreamer's life. As with the cocoon, a dream of being in a coffin may have a restorative meaning of rebirth. (See also Burial; Crypt; Dead/Death; Grave; Hearse).

In both novels and motion pictures, vampires sleep in coffins, and as they move from place to place, they transport their coffins with them. The association of vampires and coffins began with the simple fact that vampires were dead, and dead people, by the time of the development of the literary vampire in the nineteenth century, were buried in coffins. It should be noted that much vampire lore originated in an era prior to the use of coffins. Until recent centuries, the use of coffins was limited to those wealthy enough to afford them. The dead were commonly wrapped in a burial shroud and placed in a relatively shallow grave. In times of epidemics, the dead might be buried quite hastily and in very shallow graves. Such bodies were subject to predator damage, seemingly the source of northern European beliefs that vampires first devour their own extremities. To keep predators away from bodies buried without a coffin, a flat rock could be placed over part or all of the body. The problems of burial were further complicated by winter weather and frozen ground that would delay burials for weeks or months until the spring thaw, and by various beliefs in astrology that suggested that some moments were better than others for an auspicious burial.

The practice of putting a stake into a vampire's body may have originated as a means of fixing the vampire to the ground without a coffin, rather than attacking the vampire itself. Since keeping the corpse in the ground was one purpose of staking someone, the stake did not have to go through the heart. It could just as appropriately go through the stomach or the back. Also the material from which the stake was made was not as important as its functionality. Thus stakes were made of various kinds of wood or iron.

At the time of the great vampire epidemics in eastern Europe in the early eighteenth century, it was the common practice to bury the dead in coffins. Anti-vampire measures consisted of various actions to keep the vampire, usually designated as a recently deceased member of the community, confined to the coffin. The coffin would be opened and the body staked. In some areas the clothes would be attached to the sides of the coffin in order to hold the body in place. The appendages would be nailed to the sides of the coffin so that the vampire could not eat them. The coffin could then be returned to the grave.

Early literary vampires did not have coffins. Geraldine (from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Christabel"), Lord Ruthven and Varney the Vampyre had no casket home. Carmilla brought no coffin with her, though she was eventually found resting in her crypt at the old chapel. Otherwise, these vampires seemed perfectly comfortable to rest wherever they happened to be.

In Bram Stoker's Dracula the vampire did not rest in a coffin, but he did need to rest on his native soil Thus he transported large crates (not coffins) of soil with him to England, and the desecration of the soil with sacred objects led to his return to his native land. At the end of the novel, Abraham Van Helsing entered Castle Dracula to destroy the three vampire brides who resided at the castle. He found them in their tombs and destroyed them. He also found a large ornate tomb with the word DRACULA written on it. There he laid bits of a eucharistic wafer, thus destroying it as a resting place for a vampire.

The idea of the vampire resting in a coffin primarily derived from the Dracula (1931) movie in which the vampires were shown rising out of their coffins in the basement of the castle. In later movies, the boxes of earth that Dracula carried to England tended to be replaced by a coffin partially filled with dirt. Numerous vampire movies made use of a scene in which the vampire awakened and slowly thrust his hand out of the coffin.

While modern novels and movies tended to picture vampires sleeping in coffins, this was not a necessity. The coffin was merely one way to meet the requirement that the vampire rest on native soil. Throughout the twentieth century, the vampire increasingly lost any attachment to native soil, and the coffin was utilized more as a protective device shading the vampire from the sunlight At the same time, the coffin served several additional useful purposes, especially in the movies. As a visual object immediately recognized by the audience, it helped build atmosphere. It also provided comic moments, as in George Hamilton's Love at First Bite, with all of the problems inherent in transporting, protecting, and explaining the presence of a coffin. The coffin also supplied a ready means of international transportation for the mobile vampire of the modern world. In the movie Pale Blood (1989) the vampire carried a light, unobtrusive, portable "coffin," which he could set up like a tent. Finally, and probably most importantly, the coffin supplied a target for the vampire hunter that made locating the vampire during the day far easier.

In developing her modern vampire myth, Anne Rice altered the importance of the coffin through the several novels of the Vampire Chronicles In Interview with the Vampire the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt slept in a coffin, and the night he made Louis a vampire, he forgot to obtain a coffin for him. Thus Louis had to sleep with Lestat as dawn approached. Coffins were a convenience for Rice's vampires, not a necessity. Her vampires could simply return to the earth (as Lestat did for many years) or stay in a sealed chamber protected from the sunlight as the two original vampires (Akasha and Enkil) had done for centuries. Though coffins were not required, most vampires slept in them and only after some years of vampiric existence realized all they needed was a shield of protection from the sun's rays.

Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988. 236 pp.

Pertaining to the coffin bone.

• c. bone — distal phalanx in the horse.
• c. joint — distal interphalangeal joint, between the second and third phalanx, in the horse.

• Cases, Boxes, and Bags - coffin: long, heavy box used for burial of corpse; casket
• Burial and Funerals - coffin: box or case for burying corpse; pall

For people named Coffin, see Coffin (surname).

Recreation of President Abraham Lincoln lying in repose in replicated coffin at the National Museum of Funeral History, Houston TX

A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.

Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin" and "casket". A coffin is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides, and a casket, which generally denotes a four-sided (almost always rectangular) box.^[1]

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Practices 3 Design 4 Cremation 5 Industry 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Etymology

The side of an Ancient Egyptian coffin

First attested in English 1380, the word coffin derives from the Old French cofin, from Latin cophinus,^[2] which is the latinisation of the Greek κόφινος (kophinos), "basket".^[3] The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek ko-pi-na, written in Linear B syllabic script.^[4] Any box used to bury the dead in is a coffin. Use of the word "casket" in this sense began as a euphemism introduced by the undertaker's trade in North America; a "casket" was originally a box for jewelry.^[5] North Americans may draw a distinction between "coffins" and "caskets", using coffin to refer to a tapered hexagonal or octagonal (also considered to be anthropoidal in shape) box used for a burial and casket to refer to a rectangular burial box with a split lid used for viewing the deceased as seen in the picture above. Receptacles for cremated and cremulated human ashes (sometimes called cremains^{[citation needed]} in North America) are called urns.

Practices

A coffin may be buried in the ground directly, placed in a burial vault or cremated. Alternatively it may be entombed above ground in a mausoleum, a chapel, a church, or in a loculus in catacombs. Some countries practice one form almost exclusively, whereas in others it may depend on the individual cemetery.

The handles and other ornaments (such as doves, stipple crosses, crucifix, symbols etc.) that go on the outside of a coffin are called fittings (sometimes called 'coffin furniture' - not to be confused with furniture that is coffin shaped) while organising the inside of the coffin with fabric of some kind is known as "trimming the coffin".

Cultures that practice burial have widely different styles of coffin. In some varieties of Orthodox Judaism, the coffin must be plain, made of wood and contain no metal parts or adornments. These coffins use wooden pegs instead of nails. In China and Japan, coffins made from the scented, decay-resistant wood of cypress, sugi, thuja and incense-cedar are in high demand. Certain Aboriginal Australian groups use intricately decorated tree-bark cylinders sewn with fibre and sealed with adhesive as coffins. The cylinder is packed with dried grasses.^[6]

Sometimes coffins are constructed to permanently display the corpse, as in the case of the glass-covered coffin of the Haraldskær Woman on display in the Church of Saint Nicolai in Vejle, Denmark or the glass-coffin of Vladimir Lenin which is in the Red Square in Moscow.

When a coffin is used to transport a deceased person, it can also be called a pall, a term that also refers to the cloth used to cover the coffin.

Design

The glass-covered coffin of the Haraldskær Woman.

Coffins are traditionally made with six sides, tapered around the shoulders, or rectangular with four sides. Continental Europe has favoured the rectangular coffin or casket, although variations exist in size and shape. In Medieval Japan, round coffins were used,which resembled barrels in shape and were usually made by coopers. (In the 1961 Kurosawa film Yojimbo, the protagonist, anticipating a shortage of coffins due to an impending battle (planned by Yojimbo) persuades several coopers to start making more coffins.) In the case of a death at sea, there have been instances where trunks have been pressed into use as a coffin.

They may incorporate features that claim to protect the body or for public health. For example, some may offer a protective casket that uses a gasket to seal the casket shut after the coffin is closed for the final time. In England, it has long been law that a coffin for interment above ground should be sealed; this was traditionally implemented as a wooden outer coffin around a lead lining, around a third inner shell. There are occurrences of coffins lined with or constructed from lead to bury radioactive-contaminated dead. However, in practice, after some decades have passed, the lead may ripple and rip. In the United States, numerous states require a vault of some kind in order to bury the deceased. A burial vault serves as an outer enclosure for buried remains, the coffin serves as an inner enclosure.

Some manufacturers offer a warranty on the structural integrity of the coffin. However, no coffin, regardless of its construction material (e.g., metal rather than wood), whether or not it is sealed, and whether or not the deceased was embalmed beforehand, will perfectly preserve the body. In some cases, a sealed coffin may actually speed up rather than slow down the process of decomposition. An airtight coffin, for example, fosters decomposition by anaerobic bacteria, which results in a putrefied liquefaction of the body, and all putrefied tissue remains inside the container, only to be exposed in the event of an exhumation. A container that allows air to pass in and out, such as a simple wooden box, allows for clean skeletonization. However the situation will vary according to soil or air conditions, and climate.

Coffins are made of many materials, including steel, various types of wood, and other materials such as fiberglass. There is emerging interest in eco-friendly coffins made of purely natural materials such as bamboo, willow or Banana Leaf.^[7]

Custom coffins are occasionally created and some companies also make set ranges with non-traditional designs. These include printing or painting of peaceful tropical scenes, sea-shells, sunsets, cherubs and patriotic flags. Some manufacturers have designed them to look like gym carry bags, guitar cases, cigar humidors, and even yellow dumpster bins. Other coffins are left deliberately blank so that friends and family can inscribe final wishes and thoughts upon them to the deceased. In Taiwan, coffins made of crushed oyster shells were used in the 18th and 19th centuries.^{[citation needed]}

Coffins as an aircraft, a hen, a crab, a cocoa pod in Teshie (Ghana)

Coffins are sometimes personalized to offer college insignia or different head panels to better reflect the deceased's life choices or aspirations: in Ghana, Seth Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop in the 50's was at the beginning of a tradition, still alive under his grand son Eric Adjetey Anang who creates elaborate coffins built in the shapes of various mundane objects, like automobiles or aeroplanes, fish or pigs, onions or stools.

In the 1990s, the rock group Kiss released a customized Kiss Kasket, which featured their trademark makeup designs and KISS logo and could also be used as a cooler. Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was buried in one.^[8]

Cremation

With the resurgence of cremation in the Western world, manufacturers have begun providing options for those who choose cremation. For a direct cremation a cardboard box is sometimes used. Those who wish to have a funeral visitation (sometimes called a viewing) or traditional funeral service will use a coffin of some sort.

Some choose to use a coffin made of wood or other materials like particle board. Others will rent a regular casket for the duration of the services. These caskets have a removable bed and liner which is replaced after each use. There are also rental caskets with an outer shell that looks like a traditional coffin and a cardboard box that fits inside the shell. At the end of the services the inner box is removed and the deceased is cremated inside this box.

Industry

A coffin shop in Macau.

Traditionally, in the Western world, a coffin was made, when required, by the village carpenter, and he would frequently manage the whole funeral. The design and workmanship would reflect the skills of that individual carpenter, with the materials and brasses being the materials that were available at the time. In past centuries, if a pauper's funeral was paid for by the parish, the coffin might have been made of the cheapest, thinnest possible pine. At the other extreme, a coffin bought privately by a wealthy individual might have used yew or mahogany with a fine lining, plated fittings and brass decorations, topped with a decorated velvet drape.

In modern times coffins are almost always mass-produced. Some manufacturers do not sell directly to the public, and only work with funeral homes. In that case, the funeral director usually sells the casket to a family for a deceased person as part of the funeral services offered, and in that case the price of the casket is included in the total bill for services rendered.

Some funeral homes will have a small showroom to present families with the available caskets that could be used for a deceased family member. In many modern funeral homes the showroom will consist of sample pieces that show the end pieces of each type of coffin that can be used. They also include samples of the lining and other materials. This allows funeral homes to showcase a larger number of coffin styles without the need for a larger showroom. Other types may be available from a catalogue, including decorative paint effects or printed photographs or patterns.

Under a U.S. federal law, 16 CFR Part 453 (known as the Funeral Rule), if a family provides a casket they purchased elsewhere, the establishment is required to accept the casket and use it in the services. If the casket is delivered direct to the funeral home from the manufacturer or store, they are required to accept delivery of the casket. The funeral home may not add any extra charges or fees to the overall bill if a family decides to purchase a casket elsewhere. If the casket was bought from the funeral home, these Regulations require bills to be completely itemized.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coffins

• Burial
• Cenotaph
• Ossuary
• Sarcophagus
• Tomb
• Hanging coffins
• Treetrunk coffin
• Coffin plate
• Bier

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

1. ^ Mattioli, Dana (Feb 24 2010). "Casket Makers Dig In as Sales Take Hit". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704511304575075811946202750.html?KEYWORDS=casket. 
2. ^ cophinus, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library
3. ^ κόφινος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
4. ^ Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
5. ^ casket, coffin (nn.) from the Columbia Guide to Standard American English via Bartleby.com
6. ^ Bark coffin, National Museum of Australia
7. ^ Bamboo Coffins "Coffin-maker resurrects tradition", from BBC Business News, published 2001-12-28
8. ^ "Kiss...Forever: Official 'Kiss Kaskets' Let Kiss' Fans Rock and Roll for Eternity"]. Signatures Network. June 12, 2001. http://www.signaturesnetwork.com/press.php?diary_id=13&mode=view. Retrieved May 21, 2006. 

External links

• National Museum of Australia Aboriginal bark coffins

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - ligkiste, hovkapsel
v. tr. - lægge i kiste

Nederlands (Dutch)
doodskist, hoornschoen (van paardenhoef), kar van drukpers, kisten

Français (French)
n. - cercueil
v. tr. - placer/mettre dans un cercueil

Deutsch (German)
n. - Sarg
v. - einsargen, (übertr.) einschließen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φέρετρο, κάσα

Italiano (Italian)
feretro, bara, cassa da morto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - caixão (m)

Русский (Russian)
гроб

Español (Spanish)
n. - ataúd, féretro
v. tr. - poner en un ataúd

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - likkista

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
棺材, 灵柩, 装棺材

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 棺材, 靈柩
v. tr. - 裝棺材

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 관, 굽통, 장갑차
v. tr. - 입관하다, 사장하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 棺

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نعش, تابوت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ארון-מתים‬
v. tr. - ‮הניח בארון-מתים‬

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