Coffin facts I learnt

The coffins we have in Penang are made in Sungai Petani Kedah

Coffins meant for burial are more expensive than coffins meant for creamation because burial needs harder woods

Prices of coffins range from RM1K + to RM10K to as high as you fancy

There are still older generations who specially order the Chinese type of coffin which have curves and are carved from a whole piece of timber. There are two such models in the shop, pre-ordered and paid.

Christians use white coffins with silver linings

Other faiths like Buddhist and Taoist prefer wood coloured type of coffins with gold handles

You can order and pay for your coffin and other funeral expenses in advance. There is one lady who trusted the undertaker more than her own son because she knows he will not splurge her money for a grand send-off. So, she had ordered everything and paid in advance

They use dry ice to line the coffin and it should last for five days. My son whom had watched too many CSI and documentaries told me about the exploding corpses because he said dried ice can emit dunno what gas which can cause explosion.

Things they line a Taoist coffins – Some orange money meant to be given to the underworld, lots of paper money, the person’s clothes, coins and rice. The orange money are contributions from the deceased extended families. You would think it is just simple thing but apparently, the people are so kiasu. They tried to up each other in giving those moneys in piles of 50s or 100s. *roll eyes* My atm decided on 100 for his siblings and his contributions. It costs RM150, which is to be equally shared by his 6 other siblings. *makes mental note to collect RM20 from each*

When the coffin is moved from the van down to the home and when the top of the coffin is being nailed, they will ask people to get out of the way. It is extremely suey to see it, so they say. You may be the next one to end up in the coffin.

And sons, if you are reading this – Next time, get them to spray paint those white ones to pink. Then, remember to put my URL on the sides. I also want archangels on the outside. Remember, it is archangel and not gargoyles! 🙂

P/S : Today, I reached the shop first and immediately like one. Meanwhile, the deceased son who is supposed to go to pick the coffin, must first burnt a joss-stick and tell the deceased to guide him in selecting. You know what? When the son came, he also picked the one that I had my eyes on. Hmm…

Before we left the shop, Ah Chuan gave me an angpow for good luck. It is to clear whatever bad luck lingering in his shop.

Laugh lah! This is just a humor post filled with lots of facts.

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27 thoughts on “Coffin facts I learnt”

  3. so the guy who nails the coffins must be damn suey!! never kena 4 ekor?!! superstition/trandition/stories/hearsay..all ‘charm charm’ one. wa tell lu ah, the chinese coffin is so expensive…and so damn heavy to carry. now adays… not many are willing to carry even if u pay them higher rates.
    lilian, ask yr son to remember to attach a super dooper strong digital aerial also, otherwise how to receive brandband fr far far away? u want also some ext hard-drives? perhaps some RAM upgrades too?
    perhaps

  4. I like the last sentence. LOL 😀
    Thanks for the fact anyway.
    So, Ah Chuan din say much about his convert to Christian? So, he will have a white coffin too?

    Choonies last blog post..Mother & Daughter

  6. i think i jus crematelah ..use cheap coffin..after all the body oso rot in the coffin if buried. this post makes me feel gilik… guess we all got some kind of aversion to this topic…

  7. Got put that ‘can’t think of the name’ powder leh, got fragrance one.

    The chinese believe if you pre-order your coffin and burial plot, it will bring good fortune to the family and longevity to the buyer. 🙄

    Eh, Ah Chuan gave angpau leh. Where’s the conversion story?

  8. Dont forget that pink cell phone and pink laptop. 😆 😆
    Over here, they prefer wooden coffins with elaborate carry bars…my dad’s had 8 plaques of the Last Supper attached to the handles.
    For regular burials , they have concrete containers lowered into the earth before the coffin . Thats why you see well preserved bodies and coffins in CSI 😆 😆

  11. Cikgu – Ah Lian can’t count even with a calculator lah.

    The only numbers she knows are the figures she gets in USDs end of the month.

  16. Hoi, not the body explode lah…swt. The dry ice turns into carbon dioxide gas, causing pressure build up in an air tight container, in this cas e the coffin. Then it will explode soon. Check youtube lar… 🙄

  17. #2 – Same lah, if the box explodes, tak kan the insides remains, rite? :mrgreen: So, how? Want to sit there and see if your theory is right?

    foong – I think it is a little bit like buying a gift. Some may want a good, beautiful box. But a lot of filthy rich folks will emphasize on the quality of the wood because it will prevent rotting, i.e. fengshui wise, if the body rots less, the fengshui is better for the future generation. 🙄

    cigku Choonie – I clever wan…total RM150, I collect RM20 only from the six other siblings = RM120. That means my atm pays RM30. So, we win! Hahahaha. We tip the friends in the underworld with those orange money so they will bless us back. Ok ok, this is just their Taoist beliefs, not I prescribe to it, wokay. 😯

    ki – Remember it is baby pink, hor?

    wuching – Really? Environmental friendly hor?

    The rests – Thanks youss…

  19. pablo – Yalor, last time my mom’s body transported from the morgue to home, also missing her jade bracelet. We were too grieved to notice until much later. Never mind, now I apa pun tak pantang cos the Holy Spirit is with me. If I see anything like that, I blog ok?

  20. I am reminded of one amusing story related by an old friend.

    The broker who acts between buyers and the coffin-maker uses a signal to tell how much to charge a particular customer. Genuine poor folks are charged less while the rich are quoted with more exorbitant prices. The broker would bring a customer into the shop and show him around and helps him pick a coffin. When the customer shows interest in any particular piece, the broker would start talking about how good and beautiful that piece is and keeps patting on it as he speaks. The coffin maker would keep counting the number of times he pats on it and multiply that by RM1000. That will determine the cost of the coffin to this particular customer and the amount of commission the broker gets.

    It so happened there was this new broker who got carried away by his enthusiasm while trying to get one customer to look at a beautiful coffin he particularly liked. He kept patting on the thing and forgot to count the number of times he was supposed to pat it. After the customer made his decision he wanted to know what was the cost. The coffin maker then pulled the broker aside and asked him quietly, “Hey, friend. How many times did you actually pat on this thing? By rough estimate this guy must be so damn rich!!!”

    LC Tehs last blog post..Why does a chicken learn karate?

  21. the first place where a crooked undertaker will check for stuffs is .. believe it or not, is the inside of the deceased mouth!

  23. The coffin-lid closing pantang ceremony was the last opportunity for the undertakers to have their Treasure Hunt game ma!!

    As for the nailing ceremony, the kneeling mourners will have to shout “HO!”(good) to affirm every good wish the taoist medium recites. There was this joke abt the medium accidentally hitting his finger instead of the nail..he cursed “K..nimakCCB!” and got an immediate “HO!”response from the mourners!

    9pek9bos last blog post..The AhNeh-Neh Rempit

  26. my lecturer told me a story. his friend i think wanna buy coffin for his mum who has passed away and there’s promotion buy 1 free 2. so he kept the 2 coffin at home. smth bad happened. his wife n daughter, one by one filled up the coffin n he lose his family. scary lo

    trinies last blog post..Petrol to cost RM2.70 from midnight!

  27. Wow… Interesting facts.

    Anyway, according to my friend, these days, it is not “cheap” to die.. *sigh*

    On a lighter note, there is this one African country which has custom-made coffin to be made into whatever shape you want. Pretty cool.. You can have shoe or jumbo jet, or ship or animal.. The carpenters will make it for you.

    Damn chun-la. Wonder if for football fans, they’ll make a coffin in shape of bola or not. 😛

    To answer KakiAyam’s question – Yes, the Catholic church do allow cremation. In fact, due to shortage of land in Selangor for burial, it’s encouraged that one be cremated… 😐

    Angie Tans last blog post..I’m Expecting a Big Dividen from Petronas This Year…

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