Widows' self-burning (Sati) in India

The author witnesses the ritual called "Sati" in which widows burn themselves along with their deceased husbands. Pieces of music are performed during the ritual. This passage by Ibn Baṭṭūṭa is regarded in the literature as one of the main sources for this ritual in pre-modern times, no descriptions are known that provide firther details.

[...] ثلاث زوجات فاتفقنَّ على إحراق أنفسهنَّ، وإحراق المرأة بعد زوجها عندهم أَمْر مندوب إليه غير واجب، لكن مَنْ أَحْرَقَتْ نفسها بعد زوجها أَحْرَزَ أَهْلُ بيتها شرفًا بذلك ونُسِبُوا إلى لوفاء، ومن لم تَحْرِق نفسها لبست خشن الثياب، وأقامت عند أهلها بائسة ممتهَنة لعدم وفائها، ولكنها لا تُكْرَه على إحراق نفسها. ولما تعاهَدَت النسوة الثلاث اللاتي ذكرناهُنَّ على إحراق أنفسهن، أَقَمْنَ قبل ذلك ثلاثة أيام في غناء وطرب، وأَكْل وشُرْب كأنهن يُوَدِّعْن الدنيا، ويأتي إليهن النساء من كل جهة، وفي صبيحة اليوم الرابع أتُِيَتْ كل واحدة منهنَّ بفرس فركبته، وهي متزينة متعطرة، وفي يمناها جوزة نارجيل تلعب بها، وفي يسراها مرآة تنظر فيها وَجْهَها، والبراهمة يحفون بها، وأقاربها معها، وبين يديها الأطبال والأبواق والأنفار، وكل إنسان من الكفار يقول لها: أبلغي السلام إلى أبي، أو أخي، أو أمي، أو صاحبي، وهي تقول: نعم. وتضحك إليهم، ورَكِبْتُ مع أصحابي لأرى كيفية صُنْعِهِنَّ في الاحتراق، فَسِرْنا معهنَّ نحو ثلاثة أميال وانتهينا إلى موضع مُظْلِم كثير المياه والأشجار متكاثف الظلال، وبين أشجاره أربع قباب، في كل قبة صنم من الحجارة، وبين القباب صهريج ماء قد تكاثفت عليه الظلال وتزاحمت الأشجار، فلا تخللها الشمس، فكان ذلك الموضع بقعة من بقع جهنم أعاذنا لله منها، ولما وَصَلْنَ إلى تلك القباب نَزَلْنَ إلى الصهريج وانغمسن فيه، وجَرّدْنَ ما عليهن من ثياب وحليٍّ فتَصَدَّقْنَ به، وأتُِيَتْ كل واحدة منهن بثوب قطن خشن غير مخيط، فرُبِطَ بعضه على وسطها وبعضه على رأسها وكتفيها، والنيران قد أضُْرِمَتْ على قرب من ذلك الصهريج في موضع منخفض، وصُبَّ عليها روغن كنجت (كنجد) وهو زيت الجلجلان فزاد في اشتعالها. وهنالك نحو خمسة عشر رجلًا بأيديهم حزم من الحطب الرقيق، ومعهم نحو عشرة بأيديهم خشب كبار وأهل الأطبال والأبواق وقوف ينتظرون مجيء المرأة، وقد حجبت النار بملحفة يمسكها الرجال بأيديهم؛ لئلا يدهشها النظر إليها، فرأيت إحداهن لما وصلت إلى تلك الملحفة نزعتها من أيدي الرجال بعنف، وقالت لهم: ماراميترساني أزاطش (آنش) من ميدانم أواطش إست رهاكني مارا، وهي تضحك، ومعنى هذا الكلام: أبالنار تخوفونني! أنا أعلم أنها نار محرقة. ثمَّ جَمَعَتْ يديها على رأسها خِدْمة للنار ورَمَتْ بنفسها فيها، وعند ذلك ضُرِبَت الأطبال والأنفار والأبواق، ورمى الرجال ما بأيديهم من الحطب عليها، وجَعَلَ الآخرون تلك الخشب من فوقها لئلا تتحرك وارتفعت الأصوات وكثر الضجيج، ولما رأيت ذلك كِدْتُ أسقط عن فرسي، لولا أصحابي تداركوني بالماء فغسلوا وجهي وانصرفْتُ [ص. ٢٩٤-٢٩٥]

[...] the three widows agreed to burn themselves. The burning of the wife after her husband's death is regarded by them as a commendable act, but is not compulsory; but when a widow burns herself her family acquire a certain prestige by it and gain a reputation for fidelity. A widow who does not burn herself dresses in coarse garments and lives with her own people in misery, despised for her lack of fidelity, but she is not forced to burn herself. When these three women to whom we have referred made a compact to burn themselves, they spent three days preceding the event in concerts of singing [ġināʾ, lit. 'singing'] and music [ṭarab] and festivals of eating and drinking, as though they were bidding farewell to the world, and the women from all around came [to take part]. On the morning of the fourth day each one of them had a horse brought to her and mounted it, richly dressed and perfumed. In her right hand she held a coconut, with which she played, and in her left a mirror, in which she could see her face. They were surrounded by Brahmans and accompanied by their own relatives, and were preceded by drums [aṭbāl], coiled trumpets [abwāq] and straight trumpets [anfār]. Everyone of the infidels would say to one of them 'Take greetings from me to my father, or brother, or mother, or friend' and she would say 'yes' and smile at them. I rode out with my companions to see what exactly these women did in this [ceremony of] burning. After travelling about three miles with them we came to a dark place with much water and trees with heavy shade, amongst which there were four pavilions, each containing a stone idol. Between the pavilions there was a basin of water over which a dense shade was cast by trees so thickly set that the sun could not penetrate them. The place looked like a spot in hell—God preserve us from it! On reaching these pavilions they descended to the pool, plunged into it and divested themselves of their clothes and ornaments, which they distributed as alms. Each one was then given an unsewn garment of coarse cotton and tied part of it round her waist and part over her head and shoulders. Meanwhile, the fires had been lit near this basin in a lowlying spot, and raughan kunjut, that is oil of sesame, poured over them, so that the flames were increased. There were about fifteen men there with faggots of thin wood, and with them about ten others with heavy balks in their hands, while the drummers [ahl al-aṭbāl] and trumpeters [ahl al-abwāq] were standing by waiting for the woman's coming. The fire was screened off by a blanket held by some men in their hands, so that she should not be frightened by the sight of it. I saw one of them, on coming to the blanket, pull it violently out of the men's hands, saying to them with a laugh, mārā mītarsānī az aṭash man mīdānam ū aṭash ast rahā kunī mārā, these words mean 'Is it with the fire that you frighten me? I know that it is a blazing fire. Thereupon she joined her hands above her head in salutation to the fire and cast herself into it. At the same moment the drums [aṭbāl], straight trumpets [anfār] and coiled trumpets [abwāq] were sounded, and men threw on her the firewood they were carrying and the others put those heavy balks on top of her to prevent her moving, cries were raised and there was a loud clamour. When I saw this I had all but fallen off my horse, if my companions had not quickly brought water to me and laved my face, after which I withdrew.

615-616

1335 circa