>>212793446That's another thing. I'm talking about sati. It was a hindu religious practice that predates the Gupta era even, it had nothing to do with muslims who came way later to India.
>The first wife is compelled by the law to beburnt, even though she should be the only wife. But others are married under the express agreement that they should add to the splendour of the funeral ceremony by their death, and this is considered a great honour for them. The deceased husband is laid on a couch, dressed in his best garments. A vast funeral pyre is erected over him in the form of a pyramid, constructed of odoriferous woods. The pile being ignited, the wife, habited in her richest garments, walks gaily around it, singing, accompanied by a great concourse of people, and amid the sounds of trumpets, flutes, and songs. In the meantime one of the priests, called Bachali, standing on some elevated spot, exhorts her to a contempt of life and death, promising her all kinds of enjoyment with her husband, much wealth, and abundance of ornaments. When she has walked round the fire several times, she stands
near the elevation on which is the priest, and taking off her dress puts on a white linen garment, her body having first been washed according to custom. In obedience to the exhortation of the priest she then springs into
the fire. If some show more timidity (for it frequently happens that they become stupified by terror at the sight of the struggles of the others, or of their sufferings in the fire), they are thrown into the fire by the bystanders,
whether consenting or not.
