Sati (practice)

Sati (also known as suttee) was a custom in India for thousands of years before it was banned in 1829. It was a practice where when a person's husband died, the wife would also have to die. The wife would either throw herself onto her husband's funeral pyre (a big pile of burning wood) or sometimes she would drink poison or even have a special cord cut to kill her. This custom was very cruel and no longer allowed.