Deseret Evening News | 1905-12-16 | Page 106 | The Cuttom of Burning Widows On the Funeral Pyre Not Extinct

f r THE OF BURNING WIDOWS t f ih ON THE FUNERAL PYRE NOT EXTINCT f r I j UD impression hns J i t i THE T ground of or Into lato years that tho i 1 t Ii L f East Enst Indian custom of or I widows on the funeral pile had rJ i t i come com to an end but this Impression Is 18 Isa k jr t I a mistaken one Tho London Times ili t It contains In tho following article the i V H I j M 1 i results of ot somo Inquiries which the I 1 I r p English I In India have recently recent mado on the tho Immolation of widows within the tho paRt piRt year At the tho close of ot 1904 vernl person were convicted In of tho offense of ot abetting tho of a n widow on the funeral pyre pyro oi oiher II her husband Since then similar cu e have been heen reported from the ho neighbor neighborhood hood hOOlI of and from LOOK Ins back over the lant la t few IHS It In hi possible to recoil nt at least two other In Instanced of f one In the tho theother other In the wilds of Central India All these the e cases resemble one another In III their general features Tho unhappy py N widow decked nit Ill for her marriage took her place pIneo upon ullon the pyro p ro In tho thu presence of ot lur laro o crowds of her co coreligionists religionists who by their words tind gestures encouraged her to the tho com completion of her In two cases liar hor fortitude sustained her to the end In III others othera her may lOll have been drowned by b the tho accompaniment nf 0 triumphant shouts arid alid wild music em emanating from the crowds when the tho llamas kindled by relatives of the deceased roue rOllo to consume the living with the tho dead In ono one case at least when the tho woman 13 apo from the tho torment aha ahu was Willi driven book back to her death by frenzied bystanders In the fact that three quarters of or n 1 century after Lord William Ben denouncement d of sail as un Intolerable crime a n wretched woman should occasionally oc seek In death nu escape e from present awl and a miserable widowhood there Is III nothing necessarily disturbing Even I ven that I r few faw selfish relatives should for tor their own ends her rash resolve Is of ot no Importance What really Is mutter of ot concern Is the evi evl evidence dence of ot all th se cases and the tho west western western ern conception of as u n wicked lI and cowardly means of escape fron tron misery has hils made prowess In In Indin din Ilia In each mso of sail the tho whole neighboring Hindu population open sympathized with the tho principal actors actor In the tragedy tIu ell regarding reF Its accomplishment us ILS a triumph In two crises evidence wan waH with the utmost procured from reluctant witnesses who sought to screen tho offenders In an another other justice could In the tho absence of ot evidence against Individuals d nh only b bery very ery Inadequately by n flue l on tho Iho whole population Tho gave FaVe rise to an ani animated mated discussion among educated Hin Hindus dus Us ns to the tho validity of ancient texts t quoted In support o ot the practice of or sat Though tho weight of ot opinion was Wall then against t It II a fresh movement In support of It Willi observed nut not long loni ngo among classes not altogether un uneducated educated That such su h discussions and ond movements who aid bo h possible at nt this late Into date Is highly significant What Whatever Whatever ever he tho correct Interpretation of tho text there thelo can bo tie no doubt that lins for many mallY centuries enjoyed ho tho approval of of popular religious rell lous b lief eH It was wall well known Iown so 80 far back ho Iho Macedonian invasion O QI Inter It tt was wai universal Kitty tern stern repression t reduced Us Its to u few sporadic cases but thero bo no hesitation In saying th that r C tS tho spirit which prompted and applauded It IH III almost as strong siron now us liS It U 1 century ago Tho is probably a corrupt ono one on a 1 purer on an dent religion by priests for their o ends but It la hI one ona which is root own od e In of the people Tho sup sun of the custom owes owea its Jis sUccess largely to tha essential publicity of ot ti crime Springfield Republican