PDF Ashes of Immortality: Widow-Burning in India by Catherine Weinberger-Thomas in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A history of the practice of widow burning in HinduismBy JeriWhen the British conquered India; they came face to face with practices they could neither understand or condone. Chief among them was the age old custom of sati; widow burning; in which the dead man's widow entered her husband's funeral pyre and burned to death..When the British began to condemn and try to outlaw the burning to death of widows it actually "triggered a spectacular increase in such sacrifices between the years 1815 and 1828 in the region of Calcutta" (p 42).To the frustration of British officials; many of the women did not want their help. They looked upon their deaths as a trial by fire which proved their love for their husband and their innocence at his death - accusations of poisoning of elderly husbands being a common slur. It also gave honor to themselves and prestige to their families. One woman; when questioned as to why a woman could be induced to kill herself; answered; "Without a man; a woman is nothing" (p 170).Still; it was also true that there were many cases where the woman involved did not want to die. The pressure from relatives could be unrelenting; however. Some women were simply forced to kill themselves.In The Laws of Manu it was said that self sacrificial death "is not killing" (p 76) and could gain the devotee a greater chance of liberation from the endless repetition of life cycles. Above an image of Bhairava was a high pinnacle with a drop of 90 feet. Bhairava "required an annual sacrifice" (p 77) of one man. In the Narmada Khanda it was written that anyone who committed incest or murdered a parent could become sinless again by killing himself this way.Widow burning does continue; even today. "Between 1943 and 1987; some 30 women in Rajasthan ...immolated themselves on their husband's funeral pyre" (p 182).I should note that this book is not easy to read. Whether the translation is poor or not; I don't know; but the sentences ramble.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Not for BeginnersBy Rub Da DuckAfter reading Mala Sen's "Death By Fire" book which contained information of infanticide and widow burning India; I became entranced with widow burning that I wanted to know more-however; I picked the wrong book. "Ashes of Immortalilty" is a good book filled to the brim with history and knowledge of widow burning. However; to fully appreciate this book one needs to be familiar with the caste system of India; Hinduism; and a already knowledgable background of widow burning-for these reasons; I stopped reading the book.I will also mention that I stopped reading this book because how the author wrote. I know this book was translated; but none the less; how the author wrote was just a nightmare. Her paragraphs were always congested with poorly written sentences; with words I never heard ;while she jumped from thought to thought. I had to reread paragraphs and even sentences to understand thier potential.In Conclusion: this book is not for the faint of heart. If your a newbie like me in the widow burning interest; avoid this book and keep looking (thats what Im doing). For people who are familiar with the Indian culture and practices; you may find this book interesting. For those who want a second opinion; scroll back up and read the first Editorial Review done by Jay Bernstein-I wish had read his review before I bought this book :P