Coffin: Funerary box for the dead

Coffin comes from the Greek ‘kophinos’, meaning ‘basket’; baskets were used for burials by the ancient Egyptians and many other cultures.

Materials used for coffins include stone, lead and wood. Both stone and lead coffins may provide reducing conditions which will slow the rate of decay of the body. In ancient Egypt, wealthy and powerful members of society were buried in wooden coffins which were usually then placed for protection in stone sarcophagi.

In medieval Europe coffins tended to be associated with the wealthier sectors of society and were often made of stone.

The use of coffins increased from the mid seventeenth century onwards. The coffin box was invented by carpenter Matthew Coffin. During the days of custom built coffins, the age, weight and height of the deceased didn’t really matter, since each burial container was made to fit the corpse, even though the coffin maker didn’t always succeed in this.

However, when coffin making became a profession and caskets were ready-made, there were only two sizes, one for children and one for adults. Coffins are normally purchased wholesale by the funeral company and made up from packs when required. They come in a range of sizes and qualities of wood.
Coffin: Funerary box for the dead

Latent Function of Funeral

Latent Function of Funeral
One of latent function of funeral is to provide a break in the routine for those who attend, although most people will argue that they rather have the deceased back among the living than use the funeral as an excuse to have a family reunion.

In the process of bringing people together, a funeral also serves the latent function of reinforcing the solidarity of the group.

Members of the typical American middle-class family often are scattered throughout the city, state, and even the country, making close contact difficult and family gatherings relatively rare occurrence.

However, the funeral offers the family chance to get together (weddings serve the same purpose). A funeral can also have the latent function of raising another person to a higher social position.

When someone does, the position he or she held is vacated and must be filled by someone else. A son, for example, might be called upon to take an active role in the funeral, or he might at least be mentioned by the clergyman who performs the ceremony – a subtle hint that he has a new role to fill.

Finally, a funeral can help alleviate the fear of death. Those who participate in ceremony become aware of their concern for the decease, and in the process they convinces themselves that, as they have not forgotten the deceased , they will not be forgotten by their friends and relatives when they are gone.

Of course, it might be difficult to get most people to admit they had any of these feelings when they attended a funeral, which is one reason anthropologists stress the importance of studying the latent functions of social behavior as well as its manifest functions.

Only by analyzing what, to the objective and impartial observer, people appear to be doing, as well as what they think or say they are doing, can we get a full and clear picture of how a society work.

The functions of various institutions cannot be limited to those listed by the people involved, for as we have seen in the example funeral, there are many more functions that are obvious to outside observers.

To ignore these functions would be to ignore a large portion of the structure of society.
Latent Function of Funeral

Conspicuous Consumption –Reveal the Wealth during the Funeral

Conspicuous Consumption –Reveal the Wealth during the Funeral
One of the aspects of the funeral reveals the wealth and social position of the members of the family which have left behind. The car at the head of the funeral procession is a good example.

The car at the head of the funeral procession is a good example. The head car is usually a Cadillac limousine, not because it gives a smoother ride than a Ford or a Chevy, although it might, but because it is a high prestige car, other ways of exhibiting wealth include the type of funeral home used, the way it is decorated, and the number and type of floral arrangement displayed.

In addition, there is the cemetery itself, which offers another chance for conspicuous consumption, the location of the grave the neighborhood in which the cemetery is located, even the view from the grave site - all the examples of how the family uses the funerals to exhibit its wealth.

Finally the tombstone will vary in size and quality according to how much the size and quality according to how much the family wishes to spend.
Conspicuous Consumption –Reveal the Wealth during the Funeral

Conspicuous Consumption

Conspicuous Consumption Continue from last post………. From one thing, the funeral service is a way of displaying wealth. The family may not want to admit it, but their actions are clearly part of a pattern that is commonly called “conspicuous consumption”: 

The things that we buy (consume) and the openly (conspicuously) display are designed not just for our own enjoyment but also for the impression they will make on others. This pattern may be seen in many aspects of funerals. 

The size, shape, and material of the casket are important, not because we are concerned about whether the deceased will be comfortable in the grave, and certainly not because we are worried about how long the casket will last under the ground, bur simply because for the few minutes that it will be seen by those who attend the funeral it will serve as an indicator of wealth and social position. 

Surely no one would claim that the deceased is more likely to be admitted top heaven in a metal casket than in a pine box. 

Conspicuous Consumption