SUTTEE, properly Sati, SANsic., a virtuous wife (from Sat, pure), a widow allowing herself to be burned with the corpse of her husband. This practice was abolished in British India on the 4th DecemIxT 1829 ; but scarcely year passes by free from its being carried out some of the native principalities. About January 1883, for instance, a sati was committed at Utarna, Jeypore territory, not far from the cantontnent of Deoli, by the widow of Sham Singh, the thakur of the village. The principal offenders—the 8011S and brothels of the deceased thakur—were sentenced each to rigorous imprisonment for terms of seven yeals, while minor accomplices received sentences of three years each. It never was general throughout India, but it was very frequently practised in the Mahratta States, in Gujerat, in ltajputana, in some of the Panjab districts ; and between 1813 and 1828, in Calcutta, the satis ranged from 300 to 600 yearly, and some cases were shockingly cruel.
Itarn-Natlin, the second Sanskrit pandit in the college of Fort 1Villiam, saw thirteen women burn themselves with one 3fooktua Rama of Oola, near Shanti-puru. After the pile, which was very large, had been set on fire, a quantity of pitch being previously thrown into it to make it burn the fiercer, another of this man's wives came, and insisted on burning ; while she was repeating the formulas, however, her resolution failed, and she wished to escape ; her son perceiving this, pushed her into the fire, which had been kindled on the sloping bank of the river, and the poor woman, to save herself, caught hold of another woman, a wife also of the deceased, and pulled her into the pile, where they both perished.
Scythin.—The rite was practised in early times atnongst Thracians, Gene, and Seythians. Dio dorus wrote n.c. 44, and he describes it to have occurred in the army of Eumenes, upwards of 300 years before the Christian era (Diodorus Siculus, lib. xix. chap. ii.). The custom is also tnentioned, but much less distinctly, by Stmbo, on the authority of Aristobultts and Onesieritus. Ai istobulus men tions the practice of self-immolation among the widows of Taxila ; it is noticed by Cicero in his Tusculan Disputation (sec. 27), and in a.n. 66, Plu
tarch in his 3Iorals says, 'And among the Indians, such chaste wives as arc true lovers of their hus bands, strive and contend with one another for the lire, and all the rest sing forth for the happiness of her who having the victory is burned with her deceased husband.' Ramusio quotes Propertius on Sati. A few lines will show how familiar this still enduring Indian practice was to the Romans 1900 years ago,— ' Uxorurn fusis stat pia turba combs ; Et certainen habit hedi, gum viva sequatur Conjugium ; putior est non licuisse mori. Ardent victrices, et fiammte pcctora prathent, Imponuntque Buis ora perusta viris.'-1'. 80.
iVorth-rnett.—The Danish north-men of Europe retained the recollection of the aati in the story of Balder, one of the sons of Odin, who was 'dab, by A bmnch of mistletoe, and Odin himself descended and obtained a promise from the guardians of the dead, that Balder should be restored if all created nature would weep for hint. All wept but one old crone whom Loki had possessed, so Balder could not be made to live again, and his faithful Nanna, refusing to survive her beautiful lord, perished on his funeral pile.
The Scythian idea of aati was connected with a future state. When the Scythians buried a king, they strangled one of his concubines, and buried her with him, together with his cup-bearer, cook, groom, waiting-man, messenger, favourite horses (Herod. iv. 71), to serve their master in the next world. Atnongst the Thracians with whom polygamy prevailed, the wife decided to be the best beloved was slain by her next-of-kin over the grave of her husband (Herod. v. 5), awl buried with him.
Ancient India.—On the occasion of burning the body of Kichaka, whom Mama had slain to avenge an insult to Draupadi, the deceased's relations wished to burn her with the body, but she WA/3 saved by Militia. The first recorded sati in the Mahabharata, was performed by Madri, the second wife of Pandu ; Kunti, the elder wife, contested the point, but the Brahmans who were present '0.11e it in favour of Madri, who accordingly per ,.