Suttee

Suttee
   Suttee, or sati, is a Hindu custom in which widows immolated themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands. Suttee was supposed to be voluntary, but it was in fact often coerced. The practice was banned in Indian territory held by some of the European powers and as early as 1515 by the Portuguese in Goa. The British, far and away the most powerful imperial force on the subcontinent, tolerated it into the nineteenth century, although individual officers made attempts to suppress it. In 1812, the Bengali reformer, Ram Mohan Roy, started a campaign to ban suttee, and it was formally suppressed in 1829 by Governor-General William Bentinck.
   See also <>.
   FURTHER READING:
    James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997.
   CARL CAVANAGH HODGE

Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Suttee — Sut*tee , n. [Skr. sat[=i] a faithful wife, fem. of sant existing, real, true, good, p. pr. of as to be. Cf. {Sooth}.] 1. A Hindoo widow who immolates herself, or is immolated, on the funeral pile of her husband; so called because this act of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • suttee — ou suttie (su tie, pour les deux orthographes) s. f. Sacrifice volontaire des veuves indiennes sur le bûcher funéraire de leur mari. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Sanscr. çuddhi, sacrifice volontaire …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • suttee — self cremation of a Hindu widow on her husband s funeral pyre, 1786, from Hindi, from Skt. sati virtuous woman, fem. of sat good, wise, lit. existing, prp. of asmi I am (cognate with L. esse; see ESSENCE (Cf. essence)). Properly, the word for the …   Etymology dictionary

  • suttee — [sə tē′, sut′ē] n. [Hindi sattī < Sans satī, chaste and virtuous wife < sat, good, pure, prp. of as, to be: for IE base see IS1] 1. a Hindu widow who allowed herself to be cremated alive on the funeral pyre of her husband s body 2. the… …   English World dictionary

  • suttee — sutteeism, n. /su tee , sut ee/, n. sati. * * * or sati Indian practice whereby a widow burns herself to death either on the funeral pyre of her husband or soon after his death. The custom may be rooted in ancient beliefs that a husband needed… …   Universalium

  • suttee — also sati noun Etymology: Hindi satī wife who performs suttee, from Sanskrit, devoted woman, from feminine of sat true, good; akin to Old English sōth true more at sooth Date: 1786 the act or custom of a Hindu widow willingly being cremated on… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • suttee — o sati Práctica india en la que una viuda se incinera, ya sea en la pira funeraria de su esposo o poco después de su muerte. Esta costumbre puede estar enraizada en la antigua creencia de que un esposo necesitaba su compañía en el más allá,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • suttee —    (suh TEE) [Hindi, from Sanskrit: virtuous woman] Formerly, the act of self sacrifice by a Hindu widow on the funeral pyre of her husband.    When the king died, she did her wifely duty and threw herself on his funeral pyre according to the… …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

  • suttee — noun The custom and/or act of a Hindu woman giving herself up to be cremated on her husband’s funeral pyre as a sign of her devotion to her late spouse …   Wiktionary

  • suttee — самосожжение вдов …   Термины гендерных исследований

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