Sati, the Blessing and the Curse - The Burning of Wives in India (Paperback)

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.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	November 1994
First published:	March 1993
Editors:	John Stratton Hawley (Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, Barnard College; Director, South Asian Institute)
Dimensions:	233 x 154 x 15mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	227
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-507774-2
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Hinduism Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Death & dying > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Hinduism
LSN:	0-19-507774-1
Barcode:	9780195077742

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