Note 27 — Chapter IV · THE WORSHIP OF THE SAINTED DEAD.

A curious modification of the practice of Satî, which so far has been traced only in Râjputâna, is what is known as Mâ Satî, or mother Satî, where the mother immolates herself with her dead child. Colonel Powlett27 remarks that in inquiring about it one is often told that it is really Mahâ Satî, or “the great Satî.” He adds that there can be no doubt that mother Satî really prevails, but was confined to the sandy and desert tract, where domestic affection is said to be stronger than elsewhere. “In one large remote village I found five monuments to Mother Satîs, one a Chhatri or pavilion of some pretensions. A Râjput lady from Jaysalmer was on a visit to her father’s family with her youngest son. The boy was thrown when exercising his pony, dragged in the stirrup and killed. His mother became Satî with her son’s body, and probably her example, for she was a person of some rank, led to the subsequent practice of Mâ Satî in the same district.”