Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c20.s3.45
Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v2.c20.s3.45
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v2.c20.s3.45
Some of the Chinese accounts testify to a very high degree of conjugal love and fidelity. In Hsing-Cha Sheng-lan occurs the following passage about Ma-yi-tung which has been identified with Banka. "They highly value chastity, and when a husband dies, his wife cuts her hair, lacerates her face and does not eat for seven days, sleeping all the time together with the dead body of her husband. Many die during this time, but if one survives after seven days, her relations exhort her to eat; she may then live but never marries again. On the day that the husband is burned, many wives throw themselves into the fire and die also."¹