Suttee, << suh TEE, >> is a British term for a Hindu custom in which a widow willingly submits to be cremated along with her dead husband’s body or an article of his clothing. The word comes from the Sanskrit word sati, which means faithful wife. Women who follow their husbands into death in this manner are called satis by Hindus, and the custom is referred to as becoming a sati. Not all women called satis have died in this manner, but those who have are worshiped by some Hindus.
Ancient Indian writings describe the custom as a practice of royal widows. It resembles the sacrifice of family members as part of funeral customs for rulers in other regions of the world. British colonial rulers in India made suttee illegal in 1829, but the practice did not disappear entirely. The government of India outlawed the worship of satis in 1987, following the suttee death of a young widow. The ban on sati worship was intended to discourage the practice of suttee. Today, the practice is extremely rare, but satis remain admired in some parts of India.
