The National Intelligencer And Washington Advertiser

Salem, August 4 1804.

NARRATIVE.

OF AN HINDOO WOMAN,

Who lately burnt herself on the funeral

pile of her husband.

" As I was returning from Calcutta,

I saw the ahamoron, or a woman burning

herself with the corpse of her husband

for the first time in my life. We were

near the village of Nova Serai ; as

it was evening, we got out from our

boat in the river Hoogly to walk, when

we saw a great number of people as-

sembled on the river side. I asked them

for what they were met ? they told me

to burn the body of a dead man. I en-

quired whether the wife would die with

him ? they answered yes, and pointed to

the woman.

" She was standing by the pile,

which was made of large billets of wood

about two feet and a half high, four

feet long and two wide, on the top of

which lay the dead body of her husband.

Her nearest relation stood by her, and

near her was a small basket of sweet

meats, called Kivy. I asked them whe-

ther this was the woman's choice, or

whether she was brought to it by an

improper influence ? they answered that

it was perfectly voluntary.

" I talked till reasoning was of no

use, and then began to exclaim with

all my might against what they were

doing, telling them that it was shocking

murder. They told me it was an act

of holiness ; and added, in a very surly

manner, that if we did not like to see

it, I might go farther off.

" I told them I would not go; that

I was determined to stay and see the

murder, and that I should certainly bear

witness of it at the tribunal of God. I

exhorted the woman not to throw away

her life, to fear nothing, for no evil

would follow her refusal to burn. But

she, in the calmest manner mounted the

pile, and danced on it, with her hands

extended, as if in the utmost tranquillity

of spirit-Previous to her mounting

the pile, the relation, whose office it was

to set fire to it, led her six times round

it at two intervals, that is, thrice at each

circumambulation.

" As she went around, she scattered

three sweetmeats from the basket among

the people, who picked them up, & ate

them as very holy things.

" This being ended, and she having

mounted the pile, and danced as stated

above(which appearance was only de-

signed to shew us her contempt of death,

and to prove to us that her dying was

voluntary)she then lay down by the

corpse, and put one arm under his neck,

and the other over it, when a quantity of

leaves, and other substances, were heap-

ed over them to a considerable height,

and then glue was poured on the

top.

" Two bamboos were then put over

them, & fire put to the pile, which imme-

diately blazed very fiercely, owing to

the dry and combustible materials of

which it was composed. No sooner was

the fire kindled, than all the people

set up a great shout Hurree Bol, Hur-

ree Bol, which is a common shout of

joy, and an invocation of Hurree, the

wife of Huror Sieb.

" It was impossible to hear the wo-

man, had she groaned, or even cried

aloud, on account of the mad noise of

the people, and it was impossible for her

to stir or struggle on account of the bam-

boos, which are held down upon them

like the levers of a press. We made

much objection to their using these bam-

boos, and insisted it was using force to

prevent the woman getting up, when

the fire burnt her. But they declared

it was only done to keep the pile from

falling down.

" We could not bear to see more but

went away exclaiming loudly against

the murder, and full of horror at what

we had seen."