Sati, the Blessing and the Curse: The Burning of Wives in India

by John Stratton Hawley (Editor)

Several years ago in Rajasthan, an eighteen-year-old woman was burned on her husband's funeral pyre and thus became sati . Before ascending the pyre, she was expected to deliver both blessings and blessings to guard her family and clan for many generations, and curses to prevent anyone from thwarting her desire to die. Sati also means blessing and curse in a broader sense. To those who revere it, sati symbolizes ultimate loyalty and self-sacrifice. It often figures near the core of a Hindu identity that feels embattled in a modern world. Yet to those who deplore it, sati is a curse, a violation of every woman's womanhood. It is murder mystified, and as such, the symbol of precisely what Hinduism should not be.

In this volume a group of leading scholars consider the many meanings of sati : in India and the West; in literature, art, and opera; in religion, psychology, economics, and politics. With contributors who are both Indian and American, this is a genuinely binational, postcolonial discussion. Contributors include Karen Brown, Paul Courtright, Vidya Dehejia, Ainslie Embree, Dorothy Figueira, Lindsey Harlan, John Hawley, Robin Lewis, Ashis Nandy, and Veena Talwar Oldenburg.

Genres: India

232 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 1993

About the author

John Stratton Hawley is Professor of Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Reviews

[Ekita Parmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The name of the book may suggest otherwise but a very balanced analysis of the Sati tradition..