Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s1.110

c7.s1.110

1. Suttee.—We shall refer in this connection to the custom of widow-burning which was stopped by law not very long ago. The act of burning of a Hindu wife under certain conditions after the death of her husband was called Suttee.⁵ The woman who burnt herself was called a Sati. On the whole the custom was confined to the upper classes of Hindu society and was especially favoured by the martial tribes of the Rajputs. The women of the lower classes did not even follow the biers of their husbands to the cremation ground.¹ The obligation of self-immolation was not reciprocal inasmuch as it did not apply to the husband when his wife died before him.² The rite was probably based on some primitive customs of Indian tribes and was incorporated by the Aryan and other invaders into their system.³ In any case, it dates back to very ancient times.⁴