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]

Etymology[link]

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[link]

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[link]

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[link]

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[link]

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[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coffins

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

References[link]

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[link]

• National Museum of Australia Aboriginal bark coffins

Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti in 1970
Background information
Birth name	Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti
Also known as	Fela Anikulapo Kuti Fela Ransome-Kuti
Born	(1938-10-15)15 October 1938 Abeokuta, Nigeria
Died	2 August 1997(1997-08-02) (aged 58)
Genres	Afrobeat, Highlife
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, activist
Instruments	Saxophone, vocals, keyboards, trumpet, guitar, drums
Years active	1958–1997
Labels	Barclay/PolyGram, MCA/Universal, Celluloid, EMI Nigeria, JVC, Wrasse, Shanachie, Knitting Factory
Associated acts	Africa '70, Egypt '80, Koola Lobitos, Nigeria '70, Hugh Masekela, Ginger Baker, Tony Allen, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Roy Ayers, Lester Bowie
Website	www.felaproject.net

Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), or simply Fela ([feˈlæ]), was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti^[2] in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria^[3] into a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers.^[4] His brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, are well known in Nigeria. Fela was a first cousin to the Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the first African to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.

Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife.^[5] In 1960, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He played for some time with Victor Olaiya and his All Stars.^[6]

In 1967, he went to Ghana to think up a new musical direction.^[4] That was when Kuti first called his music Afrobeat.^[4] In 1969, Fela took the band to the United States. While there, Fela discovered the Black Power movement through Sandra Smith (now Izsadore)—a partisan of the Black Panther Party — which would heavily influence his music and political views and renamed the band Nigeria '70. Soon, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was tipped off by a promoter that Fela and his band were in the U.S. without work permits. The band then performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles that would later be released as The '69 Los Angeles Sessions.

1970s[link]

After Fela and his band returned to Nigeria, the band was renamed The Africa '70, as lyrical themes changed from love to social issues.^[5] He then formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune, a recording studio, and a home for many connected to the band that he later declared independent from the Nigerian state. Fela set up a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, named the Afro-Spot and then the Afrika Shrine, where he performed regularly. Fela also changed his middle name to Anikulapo (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch"),^[7] stating that his original middle name of Ransome was a slave name. The recordings continued, and the music became more politically motivated.^{[citation needed]}

Fela's music became very popular among the Nigerian public and Africans in general.^[8] In fact, he made the decision to sing in Pidgin English so that his music could be enjoyed by individuals all over Africa, where the local languages spoken are very diverse and numerous. As popular as Fela's music had become in Nigeria and elsewhere, it was also very unpopular with the ruling government, and raids on the Kalakuta Republic were frequent. During 1972, Ginger Baker recorded Stratavarious with Fela appearing alongside Bobby Gass.^[9] Around this time, Kuti was becoming more involved in Yoruba religion.^[10]

In 1977, Fela and the Afrika '70 released the album Zombie, a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military. The album was a smash hit and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the Kalakuta Republic, during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune. Fela was severely beaten, and his elderly mother was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries. The Kalakuta Republic was burned, and Fela's studio, instruments, and master tapes were destroyed. Fela claimed that he would have been killed had it not been for the intervention of a commanding officer as he was being beaten. Fela's response to the attack was to deliver his mother's coffin to the Dodan Barracks in Lagos, General Olusegun Obasanjo's residence, and to write two songs, "Coffin for Head of State" and "Unknown Soldier", referencing the official inquiry that claimed the commune had been destroyed by an unknown soldier.^[11]

Fela and his band then took residence in Crossroads Hotel as the Shrine had been destroyed along with his commune. In 1978, Fela married twenty-seven women, many of whom were his dancers, composers, and singers to mark the anniversary of the attack on the Kalakuta Republic. Later, he was to adopt a rotation system of keeping only twelve simultaneous wives.^[12] The year was also marked by two notorious concerts, the first in Accra in which riots broke out during the song "Zombie", which led to Fela being banned from entering Ghana. The second was at the Berlin Jazz Festival after which most of Fela's musicians deserted him, due to rumors that Fela was planning to use the entire proceeds to fund his presidential campaign.

Despite the massive setbacks, Fela was determined to come back. He formed his own political party, which he called Movement of the People. In 1979, he put himself forward for President in Nigeria's first elections for more than a decade, but his candidature was refused. At this time, Fela created a new band called Egypt '80 and continued to record albums and tour the country. He further infuriated the political establishment by dropping the names of ITT vice-president Moshood Abiola and then General Olusegun Obasanjo at the end of a hot-selling 25-minute political screed titled "I.T.T. (International Thief-Thief)".

1980s and beyond[link]

In 1984, Muhammadu Buhari's government, of which Kuti was a vocal opponent, jailed him on a charge of currency smuggling which Amnesty International and others denounced as politically motivated.^[13] His case was taken up by several human-rights groups, and after 20 months, he was released from prison by General Ibrahim Babangida. On his release he divorced his twelve remaining wives, saying that "marriage brings jealousy and selfishness".^[12]

Once again, Fela continued to release albums with Egypt '80, made a number of successful tours of the United States and Europe and also continued to be politically active. In 1986, Fela performed in Giants Stadium in New Jersey as part of the Amnesty International A Conspiracy of Hope concert, sharing the bill with Bono, Carlos Santana, and The Neville Brothers. In 1989, Fela and Egypt '80 released the anti-apartheid Beasts of No Nation album that depicts on its cover U.S. President Ronald Reagan, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and South African Prime Minister Pieter Willem Botha.

His album output slowed in the 1990s, and eventually he stopped releasing albums altogether. In 1993, he and four members of the Afrika '70 organization were arrested for murder. The battle against military corruption in Nigeria was taking its toll, especially during the rise of dictator Sani Abacha. Rumors were also spreading that he was suffering from an illness for which he was refusing treatment.

Death[link]

On 3 August 1997, Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, already a prominent AIDS activist and former Minister of Health, stunned the nation by announcing his younger brother's death a day earlier from Kaposi's sarcoma which was brought on by AIDS. More than a million people attended Fela's funeral at the site of the old Shrine compound. A new Africa Shrine has opened since Fela's death in a different section of Lagos under the supervision of his son Femi Kuti.

Music[link]

The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is a complex fusion of Jazz, Funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian High-life, psychedelic rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms. Afrobeat also borrows heavily from the native "tinker pan" African-style percussion that Kuti acquired while studying in Ghana with Hugh Masekela, under the uncanny Hedzoleh Soundz.^[14] The importance of the input of Tony Allen (Fela's drummer of twenty years) in the creation of Afrobeat cannot be overstated. Fela once famously stated that "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat".

Afrobeat is characterized by a fairly large band with many instruments, vocals, and a musical structure featuring jazzy, funky horn sections. The "endless groove" is used, in which a base rhythm of drums, shekere, muted West African-style guitar, and melodic bass guitar riffs are repeated throughout the song. Commonly, interlocking melodic riffs and rhythms are introduced one by one, building the groove bit-by-bit and layer-by-layer to an astonishing melodic and polyrhythmic complexity. The horn section then becomes prominent, introducing other riffs and main melodic themes.

Fela's band was notable for featuring two baritone saxophones, whereas most groups were using only one of this instrument. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip hop. Fela's bands at times even performed with two bassists at the same time both playing interlocking melodies and rhythms. There were always two or more guitarists. The electric West African style guitar in Afrobeat bands are paramount, but are used to give basic structure, playing a repeating chordal/melodic statement, riff, or groove.

Some elements often present in Fela's music are the call-and-response within the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela's songs were also very long, at least 10–15 minutes in length, and many reaching the 20 or even 30 minutes, while some unreleased tracks would last up to 45 minutes when performed live. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside Africa. His LP records frequently had one 30-minute track per side. Typically there is an instrumental "introduction" jam part of the song, perhaps 10-15 minutes long, before Fela starts singing the "main" part.

His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language. Fela's main instruments were the saxophone and the keyboards, but he also played the trumpet, electric guitar, and took the occasional drum solo. Fela refused to perform songs again after he had already recorded them, which also hindered his popularity outside Africa.

Fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild. He referred to his stage act as the Underground Spiritual Game. Fela attempted making a movie but lost all the materials to the fire that was set to his house by the military government in power. Kuti thought that art, and thus his own music, should have political meaning.^[10]

Political views[link]

As a supporter of traditional religions and lifestyles, Kuti thought that the most important thing for Africans to fight is European cultural imperialism.^[10] The American Black Power movement also influenced Fela's political views; he was a supporter of Pan-Africanism and socialism, and called for a united, democratic African republic. He was a candid supporter of human rights, and many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the militaristic governments of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a social commentator, and he criticized his fellow Africans (especially the upper class) for betraying traditional African culture. The African culture he believed in also included having many wives (polygyny) and the Kalakuta Republic was formed in part as a polygamist colony. He defended his stance on polygyny with the words: "A man goes for many women in the first place. Like in Europe, when a man is married, when the wife is sleeping, he goes out and fucks around. He should bring the women in the house, man, to live with him, and stop running around the streets!"^[16] His views towards women are characterized by some as misogynist, with songs like "Mattress" typically cited as evidence^[17] In a more complex example, he mocks the aspiration of African women to European standards of ladyhood while extolling the values of the market woman in his song "Lady".

Bypassing editorial censorship in Nigeria's predominantly state controlled media, Kuti began in the 1970s buying advertising space in daily and weekly newspapers such as The Daily Times and The Punch in order to run outspoken political columns.^[18] Published throughout the 1970s and early 1980s under the title Chief Priest Say, these columns were essentially extensions of Kuti's famous Yabi Sessions—consciousness-raising word-sound rituals, with himself as chief priest, conducted at his Lagos nightclub. Organized around a militantly Afrocentric rendering of history and the essence of black beauty, Chief Priest Say focused on the role of cultural hegemony in the continuing subjugation of Africans. Kuti addressed a number of topics, from explosive denunciations of the Nigerian Government's criminal behavior; Islam and Christianity's exploitative nature, and evil multinational corporations; to deconstructions of Western medicine, Black Muslims, sex, pollution, and poverty. Chief Priest Say was cancelled, first by Daily Times then by Punch, ostensibly due to non-payment, but many commentators^[who?] have speculated that the paper's respective editors were placed under increasingly violent pressure to stop publication.

The Fela revival[link]

In recent years there has been a revitalization of Fela's influence on music and popular culture, culminating in another re-release of his catalog controlled by Universal Music, off- and on-Broadway biopic shows, and new bands, such as Antibalas, who carry the Afrobeat banner to a new generation of listeners.

In 1999, Universal Music France, under the aegis of Francis Kertekian, remastered the 45 albums that it controlled and released them on twenty-six compact discs. These titles were licensed to other territories of the world with the exception of Nigeria and Japan, where Fela's music was controlled by other companies. In 2005, Universal Music USA licensed all of its world-music titles to the UK-based label Wrasse Records, which repackaged the same twenty-six CDs for distribution in the USA (replacing the MCA-issued titles there) and the UK. In 2009, Universal created a new deal for the USA with Knitting Factory Records and for Europe with PIAS, which included the release of the Fela! Broadway cast album.

Thomas McCarthy's 2008 film The Visitor depicted a disconnected professor (Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins) who wanted to play the djembe. He learns from a young Syrian (Haaz Sleiman) who tells the professor he will never truly understand African music unless he listens to Fela. The film features clips of Fela's "Open and Close" and "Je'nwi Temi (Don't Gag Me)".

In 2008, an off-Broadway production of Fela Kuti's life titled Fela! began with a collaborative workshop between the Afrobeat band Antibalas and Tony award-winner Bill T. Jones. The show was a massive success, selling out shows during its run, and garnering much critical acclaim. On November 22, 2009, Fela! began a run on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. Jim Lewis helped co-write the play (along with Bill T. Jones), and obtained producer backing from Jay-Z and Will Smith, among others. On May 4, 2010, Fela! was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Bill T. Jones, Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Sahr Ngaujah, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Lillias White.^[19]

On August 18, 2009, award-winning DJ J.Period released a free mixtape to the general public via his website that was a collaboration with Somali-born hip-hop artist K'naan paying tribute to Fela, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan, entitled The Messengers.

In October 2009, Knitting Factory Records began the process of re-releasing the 45 titles that Universal Music controls, starting with yet another re-release of the compilation The Best of the Black President in the USA. The rest is expected to be released in 2010.^{[dated info]}

In addition, a movie by Focus Features, directed by Steve McQueen and written by Biyi Bandele about the life of Fela Kuti went into production in 2010. It was announced in 2010 that Chiwetel Ejiofor would play the lead role.^[20]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

• Fela in Concert, 1981, (VIEW)
• Music is the Weapon, 1982, Stéphane Tchal-Gadjieff and Jean Jacques Flori (Universal Music)
• Fela Live! Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Egypt ’80 Band, 1984, Recorded Live At Glastonbury, England (Yazoo)
• Femi Kuti—Live at the Shrine, 2005, recorded Live At Lagos, Nigeria (Palm Pictures)

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• 'He was in a godlike state' - Guardian feature by Alex Hannaford, 25 July 2007.
• The Shrine Unofficial website for Fela Kuti and Afrobeat Music with news, bio's, tour dates, gig reviews, interviews, and lyrics.
• Fela Kuti discography at Discogs
• Fela Kuti article from the New Official Ginger Baker Archive and Drummers forum launched by the Baker family September 2010
• Fela Kuti biography at World Music Central, includes biography, discography and bibliography

v t e Pan-Africanism Proponents Politicians Nnamdi Azikiwe Amílcar Cabral Muammar Gaddafi Marcus Garvey David Comissiong Kenneth Kaunda Jomo Kenyatta Patrice Lumumba Thabo Mbeki Abdias do Nascimento Gamal Abdel Nasser Kwame Nkrumah Julius Nyerere John Nyathi Pokela Thomas Sankara Haile Selassie Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Ahmed Sékou Touré I. T. A. Wallace-Johnson Others Marimba Ani Molefi Kete Asante Steve Biko Edward Wilmot Blyden John Henrik Clarke Cheikh Anta Diop W. E. B. Du Bois Frantz Fanon John G. Jackson Leonard Jeffries Yosef Ben-Jochannan Maulana Karenga Fela Kuti Bob Marley Malcolm X Zephania Mothopeng George Padmore Motsoko Pheko Runoko Rashidi Paul Robeson Walter Rodney Burning Spear Henry Sylvester-Williams Stokely Carmichael Omali Yeshitela Concepts United States of Africa Afrocentrism Kwanzaa Pan-African colours Pan-African flag Négritude African nationalism African socialism African Century Africanization Kawaida Ujamaa Harambee Ubuntu Zikism Black nationalism Organizations African Union Organization of African Unity Uhuru Movement UNIA-ACL African Unification Front International African Service Bureau

Pierre Coffin (born in 1967) is a French animator and director. He was trained at the Gobelins in Paris and started to work at Amblimation, the 2D London based facility, where he worked on the Steven Spielberg-executive-produced We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story. He then started as a freelance animator in the French CGI studio Ex Machina where he worked as animator, animation supervisor, and eventually director. Afterwards, he started to collaborate with Passion Pictures Paris and Mac Guff where in 2010 he completed, with Chris Renaud, the feature CGI animated movie Despicable Me for Universal. He also provided voices for a few of the minor characters. Pierre Coffin has created animations named Pings (animations of penguins being hurt or killed).

Coffin is currently developing Flanimals (an adaptation of the children's book series) and Bones.

Filmography[link]

Feature film[link]

• Flanimals (TBA) : Director
• Despicable Me 2 (2013) : Director
• Despicable Me (2010) : Director / voice of Minions
• We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993) : Inbetween Artist

Short films[link]

• Banana (2010) : Writer / Executive Producer / Voice Actor (short film)
• Home Makeover (2010) : Executive Producer / voice of Minions and Social Worker (short film)
• Orientation Day (2010): voice of Minions (short film)
• Gary's Day (2003) : Director (short film)

TV series[link]

• Pat & Stan (2003–present) : Creator / Episode Director

External links[link]

• Pierre Coffin at the Internet Movie Database
• Coffin's Site

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