The Ritual of Sati or Suttee
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You ever wonder what it would be like if woman never got there equal rights? Its crazy to think that there were times where woman did not have many rights and were thought of as under men. Learning about different cultures and how some religions have different traditions and believes as modern day women. The purpose of this paper is to inform you about a tradition of Hindu culture that is called the ritual of Sati.
The ritual of Sati or Suttee is an ancient Hinduism tradition that has been outlawed in the Eastern countries today. Sati or Suttee translated is “good woman” or “chaste wife”. (5) The ritual is performed, as it was The Laws of Manu. The Laws of Manu is documents that are based on their moral responsibilities of the Hindu belief. Once a married man was to pass way, the wife for the deceased man was to burn themselves on their husbands funeral pyres. (4) The ritual of sati is viewed as a wifes life lesson or her duty. Hindu women were expected to obey their duty to perform the ritual, other wise she was a disgrace to their family and there husbands memory. Hindu marriages were normally prearranged in which the woman normally went straight from her fathers house to her husbands. It was normal for the husband to be older then their spouse, in that case it was normal for the husband to die before the wife. The reasoning behind the ritual was because they believed that once the husband was deceased, the woman no longer had a purpose in life. If she were to not perform Sati, she would be viewed as a shame to her family. Also with not performing Sati she would not be able to acquire her own karma, which karma is believed as a key to reaching enlightenment. It is believed that once one has reached enlightenment one could be reborn into a higher person in the next life, for woman was greatly wanted since they believed you would be reborn as a man. Which women wanted to achieve since being a man was known as the higher class. It was also believed that woman preferred death then to be cursed with life as a widow (6). The ritual has been banned but is still practiced scarcely through parts of India.
In 1829, the British government, Lord Bentinck and the Governor-General of India banned the ritual. (4) It was concerned as suicide and in 1987; the Sati Prevention Act was then created and put into effect. (4) There has been documented incidents in parts of India where Sati has still been performed.
you ever wonder what it would be like if woman never got there equal rights? Its crazy to think that there were times where woman did not have many rights and were thought of as under men. Learning about different cultures and how some religions have different traditions and believes as modern day women. The purpose of this paper is to inform you about a tradition of Hindu culture that is called the ritual of Sati.
The ritual of Sati or Suttee is an ancient Hinduism tradition that has been outlawed in the Eastern countries today. Sati or Suttee translated is “good woman” or “chaste wife”. (5) The ritual is performed, as it was The Laws of Manu. The Laws of Manu is documents that are based on their moral responsibilities of the Hindu belief. Once a married man was to pass way, the wife for the deceased man was to burn themselves on their husbands funeral pyres. (4) The ritual of sati is viewed as a wifes life lesson or her duty. Hindu women were expected to obey their duty to perform the ritual, other wise she was a disgrace to their family and there husbands memory. Hindu marriages were normally prearranged in which the woman normally went straight from her fathers house to her husbands. It was normal for the husband to be older then their spouse, in that case it was normal for the husband to die before the wife. The reasoning behind the ritual was because they believed that once the husband was deceased, the woman no longer had a purpose in life. If she were to not perform Sati, she would be viewed as a shame to her family. Also with not performing Sati she would not be able to acquire her own karma, which karma is believed as a key to reaching enlightenment. It is believed that once one has reached enlightenment one could be reborn into a higher person in the next life, for woman was greatly wanted since they believed you would be reborn as a man. Which women wanted to achieve since being a man was known as the higher class. It was also believed that woman preferred death then to be cursed with life as a widow (6). The ritual has been banned but is still practiced scarcely through parts of India.
In 1829, the British government, Lord Bentinck and the Governor-General of India banned the ritual. (4) It was concerned as suicide and in 1987; the Sati Prevention Act was then created and put into effect. (4) There has been documented incidents in parts of India where Sati has still been performed.