The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-05-23
Shocking Practice OF the ehlEo
Widows of India Has
BROKEN OUT Again.
They HurI Themselves On the Burning
Funeral Pyres OF Their Husbands
in Spite OF the Warnings OF
the English Government
on the Sabiect.


The British Government in 1adia il
much disturbed over the failure OF al
it's forts to stamp cut the horrloi'
Hindu practice OF suttee-tbe burn
ing alive Of q widow en- the fnneEa
pyre II her husband.
Such an example was ade a yea]
ago Of seven Of ths principals conVic-
ted Of having aided IL this barbarcuS
religious rite, when rich widoT Wen'
voluntarily to her fate, tha5 the IN
cials belisved there would be no 1oi'
ther recur,ancs Of the snoient bu'
now forbidden custom.
Yet, even while TIE guilty persons
connected with that OCCASION were
sppsaliDg 20 the courts, pEcEllsn3 &C
rencuuce religion which cenardee
snch a sacrifice OF LIE, another Wldo"
sided By relatives ard neipAbors OF
her village, has just now Sesl sent G.;
Wsy Of the flaming Eyre 90 IN be:
husband iE P.radiss-as is the belief
of orthodox H!ncuS.
It is not exactly known when the
practice Of suCtee originated. LS Is
mentioned by Diodorus S.calus as be-
inc con mon when tbs Msceoon'ans
first entered India. To-Day al the
holy spots along the routes OF Blncu
pilgrimage are dott>o with little
white pillars, each coEmenofs5lng 8
s,Sati," IS the good woman" and
faithful wife is called who 5tro~s her
self into the flames which consume
tie body Of her dead husband.
The emperor Akoar is said to have
prohibited suite, bus Vailly. No;
until the year 1920 did the Elslish
dare to interfere with the religious
ute SO deeplp rooted. Then Sir Wiz
nam Bsntirck oe eciarso thcse WEo as
sisted in the ceremony guilty o: cul
pable homicide" e. eafoics5 tn
law so vigorously that onlg IN iSo!asea
comn unities and In slcte5 was the
practice continued.
It Is known that in tie year 1917.
in the Bengal presidency alone, 700
widows were thus burned alive. This
religious custom does 1ot fc-ce WIG
ow to die in the flames OF Eef hus-
bands funeral pY1e. It never has
been necessary TO use conpulsic0.
The alternatives miserable and de
graded existence, n whicl she was
dispised by all sent the widow wiz
unsly to the flames.
Besides, the Rlnous regard this act
as that Of a virtoos aid faithful wife.
Unsil English rule forbade it, it va;
strongly recommended o. public opin
ion, among the Rsipu5s especially, ss
the only mescs OF ahe widows ana
her husbands hsppiaess in Tie fuouIs
state. Tie primitive View CT the IL
ture life helo By HiGGus regarded TIC
dead as having the game neeoo ss TIC
living.
This expisiDs the difficulty tbs
English government hasl0 stamping
ont the practice Of suu5ee.
Until year ago, when seven Hic-
dus were sentenced TO terms IN prison
for completely in the burning alive
with her husbands nody OF tne young
widow Of Chaudrhi MiSsir, a rich mer-
chant OF Bombay. there aad been 20
known instances OF this practice for
several yesrs, Suddenly. a little more
than a week $50 the Lucknow CHI
cials learned that tbs forbidden prac-
tice for several yeare. Suddenly a
little more than week ago the LUCK
now cf6cials learned that tbs forbid
den practice had just claimed vic
ow, little more than Child at Gavin
pore.
An investigation proved that tie
report was only too well founded. The
funeral pyre lad been set up il a
shallow chasn in an i'll kept outlying
street in which half. burnt sticks OF
wood lay. The officers were unable
IN this instance, to make any arrests
for the reason that tie names OF chose
guilty Of completely were carefully
guarded by fanatic adhe1ents to the
old religion.
But it was proved that On the same
pyre whose flames consumed the dead
body OF Chunder Mooke! jaar, a skill
ed laborer OF Cawnpore, bis fifteen
yesr old widow gaTeup herlife. TAere
were Hindu witnesses Of the act, who
while they took no part, apparently,
in the horrible rite, and who refused
to nsme any persons who Cid take
part, told the English Officials the
main details.
ChunGer MoCkerjhar, when taken
with his fatal illness, had only recent.
" married bis Child wife. Both we're
Of the old religion and we're known to
be deeply attached to each other. The
wife personally attended her SICK
husband, refusing to take rest while
be still lived, When after fe~ days
be died, she seemed dsz:d. She watch
I'd vscautly the preparations for Gre
nation. AS TAR as the cfhce could
earn no one urged her to imnoiate
herself.
In fact she cid not acconpacy tie
body to the pyre. It was only when
the wood had been lighted that her
slight figure, I'll swsthed IN white
suddenly rushed upon the scene.
Those near her noticed that her gar
ments were saturated with kerosene;
also that size had tightly bound up
her lower jaw, as though see were 81
ready corpse. This was probably for
the reason that she feared that the
sgony OF the flames might cause
her to cry out in spite OF al her reso
ution.
In her eyes, according to the testi-
nony, was the hslf-nsd light OF her
resolve to join her husband in the
other world, where he would still be
aer lord, and thus to escaps the dis
grace which widoghOod oa earth
,,N,,1S Npfr-r IN