Kangra - Monuments of Sutteeism
about 1864
The little brick monuments in this picture commemorate the Hindu widows who committed ritual suicide (Suttee) on the funeral pyre of their husbands. Westerners unused to India's religions and customs, were horrified and fascinated by such practices. Photographs like this one were bought in huge numbers by tourists and colonial officials, collecting souvenirs of their time in India. They were also distributed in Britain by a London firm, which made its money by offering glimpses of a distant and seemingly exotic culture to a curious home audience.
