SATI. The difficulties encountered in the study of sati—the death of a woman on her husband's funeral pyre, or on a separate pyre soon afterwards—are reflected in the terminology used. The term coined by the British in India (suttee) suggests the oppression of widows and the woman as victim, both reinforced by the term widow-burning. The same word in its original Sanskrit (satī, a feminine noun derived from sat, meaning "goodness" or "virtue") denotes not the practice but the practitioner: the "good woman" who, by choosing to join her husband in death, refuses to become an inauspicious widow. In its traditional context, the term satī conveys supreme virtue, personal strength, and religious autonomy. The most common Sanskrit terms for the practice are sahagamana ("going with"), anugamana ("going after"), and anumaraöa ("dying after"). In this article, the practice is denoted by the modern term sati, and...