The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-01-11
BURNING WIDOWS.
a Terrifying Spectacle.

a Terrifying spectacle.
| In ITO died the Prince of Marala aged
above 80 years The ceremony OF his funeral
was one OF the most rcvcltlng ever known w
the annals Of Eastern superstition; no les. tnan
t,rty.,cven of his wives were burned Win MS
corpse 4 deep circular pit was dug IN u hcld
without he town; in the middle OF 1t was
erected "A pile of wood, ON the lett Oh which
ON A couch richly ornamcntcd. lay the hndy al
the deceased Prince in his finest robes. Alter
numbcricss rites Ncrc performed ny thc brah
mns. the pile Was set ON fire and immediately
the unhappy adirs appeared sparkling WIN
levels, and adorned with flowers. These we
| ans of this diabOiCal sacrifice walked several
times about the burning pile, the heat whereof
WA, felt at :. considerable distance The prin
Irpal lady then, holding the dagger OF her late
husband thus addressed herself 20 the Prince
| his successor:
Here" said she, us the dagger the King
made use Of to triumph over his enemies; be
ware, nrve~ To employ It To other purposes
never to imbrue it with the blood Of your sub
ircts; govern hem a> Il father ~ he has done
and YOU shall live long aad happy ~ he did
Since he is no more, nothing can keep me
longer in the world; all that remains for me
| is to follow him.
| With these words she resigned the dagger
| into the Princes hands, who took it from her
|
passion. The Princess now appeared agltatcd.
| one of her domc>tlcs. a Christian woman, had
frequently talked with her upon religion, anu,
though she never rcnounCcd her idols, had
made some impression on her mind. Perhaps
these now revived With tae most expressive
look she exclaimed
Alas! what is the end Of human happiness:
know that | shall plunge myself headlong
into hell"
On these words, horror was visible upon
every countenance, while, resuming her cour,
age, she boldly turned her face 10 the burning
pile, and, calling upon her gods, flung herself
into the midst Of the tiamcs
The second lady was the sister of the Prince
of the blood, VINO WAS present and assisted at
the drtestable sacrifice. She advanced to her
brother, and gave him the jewels whercwih
she was adorned His feelings gave way; he
bur, into Tears and fell on her neck in the
most tender embraces. She, however remained
unmOved, and with Il rcSOnte countenance
sometimes viewed the pile and sometimes the
assistant. Then loudly eXcaiming, "Chira
Chivaw the namesi one of her idols, she pre-
cipitated herself into The flames, rs the former
had done.
The other ladies soon followed after, some
dcCcnty composed, and suue with the most
bcw | Tered, dOwncast and sOrrowful looks. One
of them, shocked above the resi-, ran 10 "A CHRIS
ian soldier whom she belIclu among the
guards. aid, hanging about his neck, implorcu
HIM to save her. The new convert stunned
with surprise, pushed the unfortunate lady
from him, and, shrickiug aloud, She Cell into
the fiery trench. The soldier all shiverng |
with terror Immediately retired and dclirl !
Gus fever ended his life on the following right. |
Though many of the unhappy victims dis
played at first the utmost intrepidity, YET no
sooner did they feel the flames than they
screamed out in the most dreadful manner,
and struggling vereach other, sirove 10 gain
the brim of the pit, bul in VAN; the assistants
forced them back with their poles and heapcd
new fuel upon them The next day the Brah-
Minis gathered the bones and threw them into
the sea The pit WAS leveIcd, a temple erected
upon the spot, and the deceased Prince and his
wives were reckoncd among the deltcs.
From passage in Diodorus Siculus 1t APP
pears that this horrid Custom of the Indian
women burning themselves with the bodies OF
tleir husbands was introduced with the view
of max ing them the more concerned about
them alive. A wife had poisoned
ner husband and, TO prevent all others from
doing the like it WAS deCrecd that when hll>-
bands died, theiY wives should die with them
This assertion is, however, directly AT vari
anCe with the fact that the sacrifice must be