Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6-8
In Jaipur , India, these Rajputs are sword-makers.
This occupation has been passed down through the
family for generations. Photograph courtesy of
B. A. Weightman
husband and his family . Without a husband, there
was no point to her existence.
Child marriages were common. In the last census
of the nineteenth century , there were 10,000 widows
under the age of four, and over 50,000 between
the ages of five and nine in and around Calcutta
alone. In marriage, a girl “took away” wealth from
her own family and was “gifted away” to the groom' s
household, where she was expected to be selfless and
sacrificial (literally). A properly dutiful wife was ex-
pected to climb willingly onto the funeral pyre of her
husband and burn alive to purge the sins of the en-
tire family . A pregnant woman was expected to burn
on a separate pyre after giving birth. With this act of
courage and devotion, a wife would earn the title of
sati and be venerated and honored forever. “Suttee”
is the English version of sati .
Sati comes from the word sat , meaning “truth.”
A sati was a woman “true to her ideals.” Since a
woman' s only value was to serve her husband, his
death eliminated justification for her living. Those
who got away with widowhood suffered countless
indignities and lived the remainder of their lives in
depredation and disgrace. Remarriage was forbid-
den to higher castes.
The origins of sati are unclear, although
references to such an act are made in some of the
post-Vedic scriptures such as the Mahabarata .
Increasingly prevalent after 400 AD, actual dictates
appeared around 700. By that time the life of a
woman apart from her husband was declared sinful.
Sati soon became a “religious duty” for kshatriyas
like princes and warriors, but soon spread to
other castes. Although a wife was supposed to self-
immolate voluntarily , most had to be forced onto
the funeral pyre. In situations where there was a
harem, all the wives would burn, commit mass
suicide, or be killed. Some were buried alive.
Initially , brahmin women were forbidden from
seeking this sort of salvation. A brahmin sati would
be guilty of suicide and would therefore disgrace
herself and her husband. However, eventually they
too adopted the practice.
In the eighth century , Muslim rulers attempted to
check sati but were unsuccessful. Islam had already
introduced the customs of veiling and purdah —the
complete seclusion of women. By the 1200s, Muslim
male and female social lives were completely sepa-
rate. While the Hindu Laws of Manu instructed
women to worship their husbands as gods, the Koran
sanctioned similar behavior, and added the practice
of polygamy . Hindu and Muslim customs regarding
women became intertwined, especially in the north.
The British, who came to India in 1608, were
able to do nothing about sati for 200 years. From
1815 to 1828, there were close to 8,000 (reported)
cases in Bengal alone. The British finally banned the
practice in 1829. However, the practice continued
in most regions, including its stronghold in
Rajputana (Rajasthan). Wife-suicide or killing was
not unique to India. It was practiced in China,
Egypt, Russia, Africa, and elsewhere.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search