Sati, a Form of Successive Ritual Deaths

The study of common rituals among people of different lands and finding their origins leads us to some commonalities among different nations. The incarnation of the widow at the burning ceremony of the body of her husband and accompanying him, has being done entitled as Sati or Sith.Sati and its various forms among Hindus dates back to the era from 1000 BC to 500 BC and is considered to be more ancient than Brahmin traditions. After the humanitarian actions of one of the most important modern correctional organizations entitled as Brahmo Samajj announced the abolition of Sati by Bentinck (British ruler) in 1829. Some scholars argue that this tradition has a mythic origin in India and Rome (Gardner, 2009: 75-77).This ritual in its successive deaths and its altruistic form in many burial grounds has shown its inhumane face and in its own form the symbol of love, loyalty, chastity in the love of the poetry system Shown as "Sati Nameh" or with other titles in India and Iran. The reflection of this ritual in Persian literature dates back to the late fourth century and early fifth century AH. The common theme of these romance, which is part of the Persian lyric literature, represents the Hindu community beliefs andcredence in which there is no trace ofSati’s violence and inhumane treats against widows and the mental and psychological pressures dominating Indians’ traditional society and social domination of the traditional Indian society and patriotic view of the Hindu religion and the determination of the woman and the lack of a desire for her independent social existence. This research examines the place of Sith's ritual in different religions and beliefs of different nations and their similarities and differences, and the existence of the relationship between successive deaths and Sith's beliefs about its causes and beliefs, and aims to irradiate the unknowns. According to the existing documents and archaeological studies in different regions, including Egypt, China, Russia, Rome and Tatar, the intention is to show that, "Sati" is not primarily an act of self-will and a sign of love and loyalty, but somethingcompulsory and it had been initially in royal families for certain reasons. The present research is a descriptive-analytical study. Theoretical foundations of the research are based on historical records and objective observations of writers and poets including Ibn Battutah, Taswaji, Nasser Khosrow, Khalqdir Hashemi Abbasi, Will Durant, Mustamli Bukhari, Shooshtari, Shamloo, Anand Ram, Nowei, Sirjafi, Ramhormoziand Marco Polo. The general setting is based on the practice of "sati" ritualsin India and its self-willformand compulsory successive deaths around the world.All documents are going to be investigated through the rest of the present study. As a result of the violent behaviors against widows in Indian community there have been a lot of self-immolations followed by the death of spouse. This has been regarded as a response to pressures imposed on her. Sati was just in some cases women’s own decisions in response to accept a painful death that was a sign of loyalty and chastity and love, and this self-inspired form is depicted beautifully in Indian romance. This type of suicides and physical harassments have been in Iran too. Iraj mourn, burning the garden and the residence and crying over them, self-harm and ultimately servants’ suicide for death of Foroud, Shirin and Khosrow Parviz, all of a friendly suicide, are some examples of this kind. Burning the corpse and following that self-immolation to show loyalty and love, indicates the importance and sanctity of the element of fire among Indians.  The sacredness of the fire on the one hand, and the attention to its cleansing properties- and regarding the deaths, eradicating their sins-  on the other hand, is rooted in their religious beliefs.The sanctity of this element in Iran and India was so fervent that the  test for abandonment and condemnation was determined by passing over the fire. (Vahedoost, 2004: 186). In other regions, king’s wives and his soldiers, servants and horses were buried together with the corpse which can be considered as another form of such ritual. Although committing these violent actions against widows and young ladies in a form of Sati has had different types, what is the same in all cases is that an alive person is killed while breathing and it seems that all these cruel actions are rooted in a common belief among different tribes and communities. This has been usually done on women and in successive deaths and its compulsory type in many grave lands has shown its real face. Historical documents show successive deaths among the tribes of northern Europe, the Slavs, the Baltics, the Indians of North America, and the Incas as a collective ritual and the establishment of one or more religious ceremonies with or without consent. "Sati" is one of the common rituals introduced in different forms throughout the life of humankind and has continued for a long time, and perhaps there would be the possibility of existing some relationships between “Sati” and religiousgift ceremonies and sacrifices in different communities. The familiarity of the Persians with the Hindu Sati in addition to cultural relations in different periods can be attributed to the indigenous ethnic groups and to what is known as mass memory.Rites and religious ceremonies may change over the course of the era, but in most cases, their generalizations remain stable in the minds of the public, and sometimes eliminate idealistic and desirable images contrary to their existential and sometimes violent reality they leave behind. In addition to the minds, these beliefs have been recorded in paintings, sculptures, songs, and especially in the literature of nations, and they address a part of our past, and what by studying them and discovering commons, is possible to find the roots of many traditions and rituals, and to show similarities in different geographic environments.This can be justifiedby common mythologies and ancient shared paradigms asthe mental implications among different ethnic groups. “Sati” has been made in a few cases on a voluntary basis, but what we see in the implementation of this tradition on a large scale and in its rude and inhumane face throughout the history of different peoples is that rooted in ignorance ofhuman ignorance about the world after death, and belief in the possibility of having a material life there, and ignoring woman’s independent existence in societies.The same reasons implementation of this ritual on women among different communities can be regarded as a kind of ignorance towards women independent and free personalities in the society. It has also been rooted in some common beliefs among living tribes and for Indians believing inreincarnation. The exact investigation of these rites and rituals and many of the affirmed notions in literary texts needs more vigilant studies and discussions. Particularly, when a same theme is repeated in a special period over and over again and gains acceptability. About twenty-three romantic poetries all ending with a same notion, sati indicates the imitative aspects of these poetries, all doing what one has done, could shed light on the acceptance of this notion ignoring its real essence and inhumane violent nature, something regarded as the symbol of love and loyalty and paradigm for romance within the community.