That would be fascinating to read - your project! Please share it with us, if you feel up to it!

I understand some things about Sati but not much of the complexity, I must admit. It stems from the death of Shiva's first wife, right? That she killed herself when Shiva was insulted, and then was reborn as Parvati?

I think the belief in reincarnation plays an essential role in this practice. Suicide to someone who believes in reincarnation and believes that they have been reincarnated thousands of times before already, and will be reincarnated thousands of times in the future - is a very different prospect from suicide as seen through the eyes of someone who believes we only get one life, and then either go to heaven or hell (British Christian imperialists) or someone who believes we get one life and then nothing (atheist materialists).

I can understand, if Sati is completely voluntary, how it can have a certain appeal to someone who really loves their husband, and believes that they can be together again in the next life.

However I also heard that Sati became so entrenched in Indian culture that women who didn't want to commit suicide were sometimes burned alive against their will - or that women who refused Sati were shunned and ostracised.