What is Sati / Suttee Custom

[paul linus]

Sati or Suttee refers to an age-old custom of burning alive, a newly widowed woman, be she old or young, after her husband's death. The practice is commonly thought to be based upon the legend of the Hindu goddess Sati who threw herself, in her grief, to die upon her husband's funeral pyre. There are arguments that dispute this interpretation of the Sati story.