Sati - the ritual burning of a widow on a funeral pyre after the death of her husband - is perhaps the most famous custom outside India.
The burning, or rather, the self-immolation of widows is the oldest Indo-Aryan custom, and it is not known exactly when it arose. Suffice it to say that at the time of the so-called catacomb culture, a woman was not yet thrown into the fire, but sacrificed and sent to the other world along with her husband. An explanation of this tradition can be found in the religious commandments - the wife was supposed to accompany her husband to the grave.
This is what the Aryans did
The well-known Russian historian Grigory Bongard-Levin argues that the rite, "at first glance striking with cruelty," took shape gradually. According to him, in ancient India, young men and women were allowed to marry for love, and not at the will of their parents. But since these were very young people, it often happened that after the wedding, both parties quickly began to regret their choice. As a result, many wives took a heartfelt friend on the side. Unable to leave their spouse without shame, they killed him by adding poison to wine or food. And then a law was passed, according to which widows, with the exception of pregnant women and those with children, should be burned together with their deceased spouses. It was assumed that a woman, facing the threat of her own death, would not encroach on her husband's life. And so it happened. The behavior of women has changed completely. For fear of wickedness, they not only looked after the safety of their spouses as their own, but even considered death with their spouse a great honor, a demonstration of their innocence.
These social changes were reflected in the religious form and in the epics of the Indians. In the Rig Veda, a collection of Hindu hymns, you can already find a lesson for a woman - to lie down in a funeral pyre next to her husband's body. But she could still avoid the painful death in the fire if the brother of the deceased agreed to marry her. Sati is also mentioned in the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana, which mentions the voluntary death in fire of the four wives of Vasudeva, Krishna's father, and the five wives of Krishna himself, who was killed by an arrow of a deer hunter. And the origin of the name of the ceremony itself is associated with the name of Sati, the wife of the great god Shiva, according to legend, who threw herself into the fire for the sake of her husband's honor.
Passion or duty
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At first, the ritual had a purely symbolic meaning: the widow lay down next to her deceased spouse for some time, after which she was recommended long-term asceticism. Widows with children and remarried were treated more severely. Shame awaited them in this life, and they lost their place next to their spouse in the future.
Over time, the custom turned from symbolic to real. Self-immolation began to mean not only an expression of loyal love and conjugal duty, but also life-long loyalty to the earthly master. Near Sagar, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, perhaps the earliest inscription was discovered, perpetuating the "heroic flair" of sati. The text is carved on a column around 510: “Bhanugupta, the bravest of mortals, the great king … fought in a great and glorious battle and departed to heaven, a god among the leaders. His wife, devoted and loving, beloved and beautiful, followed him into the flames of the fire. " Already in the 15th century, 3 thousand of his wives and concubines died at the same time in a giant funeral pyre of Maharaja Vijayana-gara. Nevertheless, relatively recently, in 1833, along with the body of Raja Idar, seven of his wives, two concubines, four maids and a faithful servant were burnt.
Tradition dictated that the widow should perform the ceremony within four months after the death of her husband, but only if she announced her decision to go to the fire. After that, she no longer had the right to refuse. Usually sati took place on the banks of a river or other body of water. Before the ceremony, the widow performed a ceremonial bath, loosened her hair, and put on her best clothes and jewelry. Ready to die, she walked slowly to the cremation site, accompanied by relatives and friends. Holding hands, they formed a living ring around the woman - a symbol of the impossibility of returning to her former life. Meanwhile, a stretcher with the corpse of the deceased was brought to the funeral pyre and set up on a wooden platform, lined on all sides with firewood, which had previously been doused with combustible oils and oil.
The washed body of the husband was wrapped in a white blanket, leaving the face open. At the fire, the widow took off all her jewelry and distributed them to relatives and friends. A priest approached the widow. And while she was conscious, he quickly pronounced mourning mantras over her, sprinkling her with holy water from the Ganges, and sprinkled her head with leaves of the sacred plant tulsi. Then loving relatives helped the woman numb with fear to rise to the fire. She lay down next to the body of the deceased. To be on the safe side, her arms and legs were chained to the boards. Then the fire was set on fire from different sides, and it instantly flared up. The victim screamed, her voice tried to be drowned out by the blows of the gong. A sickening stench emanated from the fire. One can only imagine what feelings the participants in the ritual action experienced. When the coals were coldthe ashes and remains of the dead were collected in a copper or bronze urn and poured into the river.
Dharma is to blame
Among the widows there were probably those who voluntarily went into the fire because they no longer wanted to live without a loved one. In addition, many were sincerely convinced that in the afterlife and in the lives to come, they would forever remain with their husbands. But still, for the most part, women simply understood well that if they did not immediately part with earthly life, then an unenviable future awaited them.
The widow who remained alive wore a long white sari and had no right to be in the company of men, including her sons, to look in the mirror, wear jewelry and use incense. She not only remained a widow throughout her life (no one took her in marriage, not even her husband's brother), but as an unclean woman, she could not participate in religious activities. She was instructed to lead a secluded life, eat only flour stew and sleep on the bare floor. All household members treated her with contempt.
After the death of her husband, the widow was legally entitled to only a small part of her husband's property. She continued to live in the house of his close relatives, where, as a rule, no one took care of her, so hunger and poverty awaited her.
The cruel rite of sati has long been banned in India. However, the authorities have not succeeded in completely annihilating him. The hard work of the Hindu fundamentalists contributes to its vitality. Orthodox believers consider sati to be the prescription of dharma (the law of piety) and actively promote this rite. Sober-minded people in India condemn the sati ritual, but believe that it will take place as long as a woman in India remains in the humiliated position in which she remained thousands of years ago. Even today, in some places, secretly from the police, ritual bonfires are still lit up.
Olga VOEVODINA