Do you know him “coffin meme”? If not, what are you doing in this period of quarantine? The meme consists of a group of men carrying a coffin to the sound of Astronomy 2K19, from Tony Iggy. The video went viral as a way of mocking comments and posts that would likely result in inevitable defeats, mistakes or disasters. But where did this famous African meme come from? 4q2r2p
The origin of the “coffin meme” 21214m
Just like another famous meme (the WhatsApp “nigga”), the “coffin meme” also has an origin. Amazingly, dancing carrying a coffin is a tradition that is becoming increasingly common in Ghana, in Africa. The inhabitants of this country hire special dancers for the funeral to, with great joy and ease, send the deceased person to the next world. Three different videos featuring Ghanaian dancers have become very common on the Internet. The first of them, just below, appeared the YouTube in 2015:
Subsequently, other videos appeared demonstrating this tradition. Among them is the most popular of all, in which the images that would later be part of the meme were recorded. The video was posted on 27 July 2017, and to date has received more than 2 million views!
The tradition of “dancing with the coffin” was created by the Ghanaian artist Benjamin Aido. interviewed by with the BBC, he said his project was to bring more joy and swing to funerals. After all, death is already such a painful process, so we shouldn't prolong all this sadness, should we?
“When the client comes to us, we ask, 'Do you want something solemn or a little more theater? Or maybe a choreography? Just ask and we'll do it.”
The various uses of the “coffin meme” 34d5g
In addition to being used with a high frequency in videos of the TikTok, the “coffin meme” is also very successful in video compilations of failures and disasters on YouTube. Below you can check out two videos that make great use of the meme.
Several videos with montages of the “coffin dance” (dance of the coffin, in English) also ended up on the Twitter, counting thousands of views and shares.
And you, reader, what was the best video you've seen so far using this popular meme?
Sources: memepedia, Sheet, Option Newspaper
