Citation

Fisch J. J. World Hist. 2005; 16(3): 293-325.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, University of Hawaii Press)

DOI

10.1353/jwh.2006.0005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Sati, the custom of burning widows alive with the bodies of their husbands, is not a phenomenon unique to India, if its function (and not merely its appearance) is taken into account. All over the world, in many societies where there is widespread belief in the continuation of an individual's position in the hereafter, the social and political order has been confirmed and strengthened by the provision of attendants for deceased persons: at their funerals, the deceased were followed, either voluntarily or involuntarily, by their subordinates, who either were killed or killed themselves in public rituals. © 2005 by University of Hawai'i Press.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; mortality; cultural heritage