Sati, the Blessing and the Curse: The Burning of Wives in IndiaJohn Stratton Hawley, Professor and Chair of the Religion Department at Barnard College Director of the Southern Asian Institute John Stratton Hawley Oxford University Press, 1994 - 214 pages Several years ago in Rajasthan, an eighteen-year-old woman was burned on her husband's funeral pyre and thus became sati. Before ascending the pyre, she was expected to deliver both blessings and curses: blessings to guard her family and clan for many generations, and curses to prevent anyone from thwarting her desire to die. Sati also means blessing and curse in a broader sense. To those who revere it, sati symbolizes ultimate loyalty and self-sacrifice. It often figures near the core of a Hindu identity that feels embattled in a modern world. Yet to those who deplore it, sati is a curse, a violation of every woman's womanhood. It is murder mystified, and as such, the symbol of precisely what Hinduism should not be.In this volume a group of leading scholars consider the many meanings of sati: in India and the West; in literature, art, and opera; in religion, psychology, economics, and politics. With contributors who are both Indian and American, this is a genuinely binational, postcolonial discussion. Contributors include Karen Brown, Paul Courtright, Vidya Dehejia, Ainslie Embree, Dorothy Figueira, Lindsey Harlan, John Hawley, Robin Lewis, Ashis Nandy, and Veena Talwar Oldenburg. |
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Page 85
Before immolating herself , she pronounced a curse that from then on no male in the family would be allowed to drink liquor . This story illustrates what might be called a conditional curse . It curses the family to be deprived of ...
Before immolating herself , she pronounced a curse that from then on no male in the family would be allowed to drink liquor . This story illustrates what might be called a conditional curse . It curses the family to be deprived of ...
Page 86
Thus , the curse is not simply aimed at punishing men for what they have or have not done . It is also designed to instruct and influence women , because , as the sati paradigm teaches , a woman must always share her husband's fate .
Thus , the curse is not simply aimed at punishing men for what they have or have not done . It is also designed to instruct and influence women , because , as the sati paradigm teaches , a woman must always share her husband's fate .
Page 87
In sum , while sativratas usually curse their husband's families , they may curse other related families if given cause . In either case , the sativrata's curse is taken to be benevolent , instructing those whom she loves .
In sum , while sativratas usually curse their husband's families , they may curse other related families if given cause . In either case , the sativrata's curse is taken to be benevolent , instructing those whom she loves .
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Table des matières
Introduction | 3 |
The Iconographies of Sati | 27 |
Sati in European Culture | 55 |
Droits d'auteur | |
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