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Revision as of 16:26, 22 April 2012 editHomunculus (talk | contribs)Pending changes reviewers5,194 edits Undid revision 488659740 by AnAimlessRoad (talk) Chinese state-run media is not a reliable source on this subject.← Previous edit Latest revision as of 20:36, 3 January 2025 edit undoManavati (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,685 edits Correction: Parvati wasn't born yet. She was the re-incarnation of Sati and thus could not been present during Sati self-immolation or assisted the Yagna's destruction.Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit 
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{{Short description|Ritualistic and political suicide method}}
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{{about|the ritualistic suicide practice|the record company|Self Immolation}} {{about|the act of self-immolation|the record company|Self Immolation (record label)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
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] protesting the ] by self-immolation on 11 June 1963.]]
{{Suicide sidebar}}
'''Self-immolation''' is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of ] or in acts of ]. Due to its disturbing and ] nature, it is considered one of the most extreme methods of protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/self-immolation-can-be-a-form-of-protest-or-a-cry-for-help-are-we-listening/2019/05/30/49e145e8-82fc-11e9-933d-7501070ee669_story.html|title=Self-immolation can be a form of protest. Or a cry for help. Are we listening?|author=Dvorak, Petula|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 May 2019|accessdate=29 August 2021|archivedate=30 May 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530233939/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/self-immolation-can-be-a-form-of-protest-or-a-cry-for-help-are-we-listening/2019/05/30/49e145e8-82fc-11e9-933d-7501070ee669_story.html}}</ref>


== Etymology ==
]'s photograph of ] during his self-immolation.]]
'''Self-immolation''' refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of ] or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest. Michael Biggs compiled a list of 533 "self-immolations" reported by Western media from the 1960s to 2002, though in this work his definition includes more than just self-immolation by fire.<ref name=biggs/>


The English word '']'' originally meant (1534) "killing a sacrificial victim; sacrifice" and came to figuratively mean (1690) "destruction, especially by fire". Its etymology was from ] {{lang|la|]}} "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal (]); to sacrifice" in ].<ref>''The Oxford English Dictionary'', 2009, 2nd ed., v. 4.0, ].</ref><ref>, Oxford Dictionaries.</ref> In the Mewar region of India, women practiced a form of self-immolation called '']'' to avoid being raped by invading armies.{{citation needed|date = April 2024}}
==Etymology==
The word "immolate" is used in the English language when denoting consumption by fire, whether autonomously or imposed. The Latin-based English word ''immolate,'' which for centuries was rarely used, means sacrifice oneself, without any reference to burning, so more generally self-immolation means suicide without specifying the method. The word itself comes from the Latin "immolare", to sprinkle with meal, in reference to the ritual sprinkling of the heads of sacrificial victims with wine and fragments of '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/self-immolation |title=self-immolation - Definitions from Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |accessdate=2 December 2009}}</ref><ref>''The Concise Oxford Dictionary'', 7th Edition, 1984</ref>


==Effects==
It was Western media coverage of Buddhist monks immolating themselves in protest of the ]ese regime in 1963 that introduced the word "self-immolation" to a wide English-speaking audience and gave it a strong association with fire. The alternative name ''bonzo'' comes from the same era, because the ] who immolated themselves were often referred to by the term ''bonze'' in English literature prior to the mid-20th century, particularly when describing monks from East Asia and French Indochina. This term is derived via French from the Japanese word ''bonsō'' for a priest or monk, and has become less common in modern literature.
Self-immolators frequently use accelerants before igniting themselves. This, combined with the self-immolators' refusal to protect themselves, can produce hotter flames and deeper, more extensive burns.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1409232/amp |date=9 April 2012 |title=Burn Care, Self-Immolation: Pain And Progress |first=Cara |last=Santa Maria |work=Huffington Post |access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
Self-immolation has been described as excruciatingly painful. Later the burns become severe, nerves are burnt and the self-immolator loses sensation at the burnt areas. Some self-immolators can die during the act from inhalation of toxic ] products, hot air, and flames.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://amp.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/apr/26/theeditorpressreview |title=What does death by burning mean? |date=26 April 2003|author=Tvaruzkova, Lucie|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>


The human body has an inflammatory response to burnt skin, which happens after 25% is burnt in adults. This response leads to blood and body fluid loss. If the self-immolator is not taken to a burn centre in less than four hours, they are more likely to die from shock. If no more than 80% of their body area is burnt and the self-immolator is younger than 40 years old, there is a survival chance of 50%. If the self-immolator has over 80% burns, the survival rate drops to 20%.<ref name=LosAngelesTimes>{{cite web |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/02/what-happens-after-someone-sets-themself-on-fire.html|title=What happens after people set themselves on fire? |first=Emily |last=Alpert |date=15 February 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref>
== History ==
Self-immolation is tolerated by some elements of ] and ], and it has been practiced for many centuries, especially in ], for various reasons, including ], political protest, devotion, and renouncement. Certain warrior cultures, such as in the ]s and ]s, also practiced self-immolation. An article entitled ''History of Religions'', written by Jan Yun-Hua, investigates the medieval Chinese Buddhist precedents for self-immolation.<ref name="jan">{{cite web|author=thichnhattu |url=http://www.buddhismtoday.com/english/vietnam/figure/003-htQuangduc.htm |title=The Self-Immolation of Thich Quang Duc |publisher=Buddhismtoday.com |accessdate=15 March 2012}}</ref>


==History==
{{quote|Relying exclusively on authoritative Chinese Buddhist texts and, through the use of these texts, interpreting such acts exclusively in terms of doctrines and beliefs (e.g., self-immolation, much like an extreme renunciant might abstain from food until dying, could be an example of disdain for the body in favor of the life of the mind and wisdom) rather than in terms of their socio-political and historical context, the article allows its readers to interpret these deaths as acts that refer only to a distinct set of beliefs that happen to be foreign to the non-Buddhist.<ref name="jan"/>}}
]'') of the Rajput women, during the ] in 1568]]


Self-immolation is tolerated by some elements of ] and ], and it has been practiced for many centuries, especially in India, for various reasons, including '']'', political protest, devotion, and renouncement. An example from mythology includes the practice of ] when the Hindu goddess Parvati's incarnation of the same name (see also ]) legendarily set herself on fire after her father insulted her in Daksha Yajna for having married Shiva, the ascetic god. Shiva and the army of ghosts attacked Daksha's Yajna and destroyed the sacrifice, and Shiva beheaded and killed Daksha. Later, Daksha was revived by Shiva and Daksha Yajna was completed when Daksha apologized. Certain warrior cultures, such as those of the ]s and ]s, also practiced self-immolation.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
During the ], entire villages of ] burned themselves to death in an act known as "fire baptism".<ref>{{Cite book |first=Loren |last=Coleman |title=The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3B4lTTZE58oC&pg=PA46 |location=New York |publisher=Paraview Pocket-Simon and Schuster |year=2004 |page=46 |isbn=0-7434-8223-9}}</ref> Scattered instances of self-immolation have also been recorded by the ] priests of France in the early 17th century.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} However, their practice of this was not intended to be fatal: they would burn certain parts of their bodies (] such as the forearm or the thigh) to symbolise the pain Jesus endured while upon the ].{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} A 1973 study by a prison doctor suggested that people who choose self-immolation as a form of suicide are more likely to be in a "disturbed state of consciousness", such as ].<ref name="Prins">{{Cite book|title=Offenders, Deviants or Patients?: Explorations in Clinical Criminology|first=Herschel|last=Prins|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2010|page=291}}</ref>


There are several well-known examples from antiquity to modern times. ], also spelled Calanus ({{langx|grc|Καλανὸς}})<ref></ref> ({{circa|398}} – 323 BCE), was an ancient Indian ],<ref name=w>{{cite book |last1=Wheeler |first1=James Talboys |title=The History of India: India from the earliest ages: Hindu, Buddhist, and Brahmanical revival |date=1973 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |pages=171–72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXpDAAAAYAAJ&q=kalanos+brahmin |access-date=23 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=hunter>{{cite book |last=Hunter |first=W.W. |title=The Indian empire : its people, history, and products (1886) |year=2005 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location=New Delhi |isbn=9788120615816 |page=169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUhvfR1S_UEC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=William Wilson |title=The Imperial Gazetteer of India |date=1887 |publisher=Trübner & Company |pages=173 |isbn=978-81-7019-118-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qhw3AQAAMAAJ&q=kalanos+brahmin&pg=PA173 |access-date=23 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Classica Et Mediaevalia |date=1975 |publisher=Librairie Gyldendal |pages=271–276 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YiMUAQAAMAAJ&q=kalanos+brahmin |access-date=23 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> and philosopher from ]<ref name=Halkias>{{cite journal|last1=Halkias|first1=Georgios|title=The Self-immolation of Kalanos and other Luminous Encounters Among Greeks and Indian Buddhists in the Hellenistic World|journal=Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies|date=2015|volume=8|pages=163–186|url=http://jocbs.org/index.php/jocbs/article/view/111/128|access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref> who accompanied ] to ] and later, after falling ill, self-immolated by entering into a pyre, in front of Alexander and his army. ] called him Caranus ({{langx|grc|Κάρανος}}).<ref></ref>
==Political protest==
] widow burning herself with the corpse of her husband ('']''), 1657]]
{{see also|List of political self-immolations}}
]]]
A number of Buddhist monks (including the most famous case of ]) immolated themselves in protest of the discriminatory treatment endured by Buddhists under the Roman Catholic administration of President ] in ] — even though violence against oneself is prohibited by most interpretations of Buddhist doctrine. The twenty-third chapter of the '']'' recounts the life story of the ], which served as the main inspiration for the monks and nuns who self-immolated to protest the Vietnam War. In the Sutra, the Medicine King demonstrates his insight into the ] nature of his body by ritualistically setting his body aflame, spreading the "light of the Dharma" for twelve hundred years. ] adds: "The bodhisattva shined his light about him so that everyone could see as he could see, giving them the opportunity to see the deathless nature of the ultimate."<ref>Nhá̂t Hạnh. (2003). ''Opening the heart of the cosmos: Insights on the Lotus Sutra''. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press. p. 144.</ref>
] was a monk of the ] tradition (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as ] and ], met ] in ] around 22 BC and burnt himself to death in Athens shortly thereafter.<ref>Strabo, xv, 1, .</ref><ref>], ; see also Halkias, Georgios "The Self-immolation of Kalanos and other Luminous Encounters among Greeks and Indian Buddhists in the Hellenistic world". ''Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies'', Vol. VIII, 2015: 163–186 </ref>


The monk Fayu ({{lang-zh|c=法羽}}) (d. 396) carried out the earliest recorded Chinese self-immolation.<ref>Benn (2007), 33–34.</ref> He first informed the "illegitimate" prince Yao Xu ({{lang-zh|c=姚緒}})—brother of ] who founded the non-Chinese ] state ] (384–417)—that he intended to burn himself alive. Yao tried to dissuade Fayu, but he publicly swallowed incense chips, wrapped his body in oiled cloth, and chanted while setting fire to himself. The religious and lay witnesses were described as being "full of grief and admiration".
The widespread coverage of the self-immolations of the Buddhist monks in western media established the practice as a type of a political protest. Self-immolations are often public, dramatic, political, and thus newsworthy. They can be seen as a type of ]s for the collective cause. Unlike ]s, self-immolations are not intended to inflict physical harm or material damage.<ref name=biggs>{{cite book |chapter=Dying Without Killing: Self-Immolations, 1963–2002 |first=Michael |last=Biggs |title=Making Sense of Suicide Missions |editor=Diego Gambetta |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |chapterurl=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/immolation.pdf | isbn=9780199297979 }}</ref> They attract attention and become glorified as ], because of the perception of great pain, but they do not guarantee death for the burned. While the burning of vital tissue can be very painful during self-immolation, shock or ] quickly make the event painless,<ref name="Prins"/> as do the onset of ] which destroy the ]s. Suicides by self-immolation have led to numerous ]s: researchers have counted almost 100 self-immolations covered by the '']'' and '']'' between 1963 and 1971.<ref>{{cite book| title=Comprehensive textbook of suicidology |first=Ronald W. |last=Maris |coauthors=Alan Lee Berman, Morton M. Silverman, Bruce Michael Bongar |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Zi-xoFAPnPMC&pg=PA306 |page=306 |publisher=Guilford Press |year=2000 |isbn=9781572305410}}</ref> Most of these suicides occurred in the United States protesting the ] and Asia. In 1968 the practice spread to the ] with self-immolation of Polish accountant and ] veteran ], as well as that of Czech student ]. Non-political suicides by fire also became more prevalent.


Following Fayu's example, many Buddhist monks and nuns have used self-immolation for political purposes. While some monks did offer their bodies in periods of relative prosperity and peace, there is a "marked coincidence" between acts of self-immolation and times of crisis, especially when secular powers were ].<ref name=autogenerated1>(2007), 199.</ref> For example, ]'s (c. 667) ''Xu Gaoseng Zhuan'' ({{lang-zh|c=續高僧傳|l=Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks}}) records five monastics who self-immolated on the ] in response to the 574–577 persecution of Buddhism by ] (known as the "]").<ref>Benn (2007), 80–82.</ref>
The practice ] – as many as 1,451 and 1,584 self-immolations have been reported in 2000 and 2001.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Loren |last=Coleman |title=The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3B4lTTZE58oC&pg=PA66 |location=New York |publisher=Paraview Pocket-Simon and Schuster |year=2004 |page=66 |isbn=0-7434-8223-9}}</ref> A particularly high wave of self-immolations in India has been recorded in 1990 protesting the ].<ref name=biggs/>


For many monks and laypeople in Chinese history, self-immolation was a form of Buddhist practice that modeled and expressed a particular path that led towards Buddhahood.<ref name=autogenerated1 />
At least 33 Tibetans have ] since protests began in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sinodaily.com/reports/Chinas_Tibetan_Buddhists_in_vicious_cycle_999.html |title=China's Tibetan Buddhists 'in vicious cycle' |publisher=Sinodaily.com |accessdate=15 March 2012}}</ref>
<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/world/asia/china-a-ranking-monks-protest-suicide.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss</ref><ref>{{dead link|date=March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Reuters in Beijing |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/04/tibetan-woman-fire-protest-chinese |title=Tibetan woman dies after setting herself on fire in protest at Chinese rule &#124; World news &#124; guardian.co.uk |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=15 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=7:04&nbsp;am GMT 6 Mar 2012 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/9125105/Tibetan-teenager-becomes-third-person-to-self-immolate-in-three-days.html |title=Tibetan teenager becomes third person to self-immolate in three days |publisher=Telegraph |date=6 March 2012 |accessdate=15 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=6:27&nbsp;am GMT 13 Mar 2012 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/9139760/Teenage-monk-sets-himself-on-fire-on-53rd-anniversary-of-failed-Tibetan-uprising.html |title=Teenage monk sets himself on fire on 53rd anniversary of failed Tibetan uprising |publisher=Telegraph |accessdate=15 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5juxw02HrP5zciDOvOg75hvm3Sigg?docId=CNG.7e0b7b93a2e67c1152731dc62d9b5a24.511 |title=AFP: Tibetan immolation prompts big gathering: groups |publisher=Google |date=17 March 2012 |accessdate=29 March 2012}}</ref><ref>http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Another-Tibetan-Monk-Dies-in-Self-Immolation-144707565.html</ref><ref>http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/burn-03282012142200.html</ref><ref>, Washington Post, April 2, 2012, ]</ref>
The Dalai Lama has said he does not encourage the protests, but he has praised the courage of those who engage in self-immolation. However, the Chinese government claims that he and the Tibetan exiled government are inciting these acts.<ref>{{cite web|author=6:27&nbsp;am GMT 13 Mar 2012 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/9139760/Teenage-monk-sets-himself-on-fire-on-53rd-anniversary-of-failed-Tibetan-uprising.html |title=Teenage monk sets himself on fire on 53rd anniversary of failed Tibetan uprising |publisher=Telegraph |date=13 March 2012 |accessdate=29 March 2012}}</ref>


Historian Jimmy Yu has stated that self-immolation cannot be interpreted based on Buddhist doctrine and beliefs alone but the practice must be understood in the larger context of the Chinese religious landscape. He examines many primary sources from the 16th and 17th century and demonstrates that bodily practices of self-harm, including self-immolation, were ritually performed not only by Buddhists but also by ] and literati officials who either exposed their naked body to the sun in a prolonged period of time as a form of self-sacrifice or burned themselves as a method of procuring rain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yu |first=Jimmy |title=Sanctity and Self-Inflicted Violence in Chinese Religions, 1500–1700 |year=2012 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-984490-6 |pages=115–130 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199844906.001.0001}}</ref>
A wave of self-immolation protests is currently occurring in conjunction with the ] protests in the ], with at least 14 recorded incidents. These actions have helped inspire the ], including the ], the main catalyst of which was the self-immolation of ], the ] (including many ]), and the ] and there have also been self-immolation protests in ], Mauritania, and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=205180|title=Self-immolation spreads across Mideast inspiring protest}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hogg_5xSMcj4xPppcXbCrFlycHBw?docId=CNG.e943001219a6d9ad02686ab0695962cb.431|title=Second Algerian dies from self-immolation: official}}</ref>
In 2011 Yenesew Gebre, an Ethiopian high school teacher, committed suicide from immolation in protest toward the Zenawe regime and its campaigns of oppression against the Ethiopian population.


During the ], entire villages of ] burned themselves to death in an act known as "fire baptism" (self-burners: ''samosozhigateli'').<ref>{{cite book |last=Coleman |first=Loren |author-link=Loren Coleman |title=The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines |title-link=The Copycat Effect|publisher=] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7434-8223-3 |language=en |page=46}}</ref> A 1973 study by a prison doctor suggested that people who choose self-immolation as a form of suicide are more likely to be in a "disturbed state of consciousness", such as ].<ref name="Prins">{{Cite book|title=Offenders, Deviants or Patients?: Explorations in Clinical Criminology|first=Herschel|last=Prins|author-link=Herschel Prins|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2010|page=291|quote=Topp ... suggested that such individuals ... have some capacity for splitting off feelings from consciousness.&nbsp;... One imagines that shock and asphyxiation would probably occur within a very short space of time so that the severe pain ... would not have to be endured for too long.}}</ref>
In the six months immediately after ]'s death, ].<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16526462</ref>

== Political protest ==
{{Further|List of political self-immolations}}
Regarding self-immolation as a form of political protest, the ] said in 2013 and 2015:

{{blockquote|I think the self-burning itself <!-- on --> practice of non-violence. These people, you see, they easily use bomb explosive, <!-- more casualty people --> . But they didn't do that. Only sacrifice their own life. So this also is part of practice of non-violence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 June 2013 |title=Dalai Lama shares wisdom on dissent, death and politicians |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3781436.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022160622/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3781436.htm |archive-date=2013-10-22 |publisher=ABC News|location=Australia}}</ref><ref name="Kauffmann2015">{{cite book|author=Thomas Kauffmann|title=The Agendas of Tibetan Refugees: Survival Strategies of a Government-in-Exile in a World of Transnational Organizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uipRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70|year=2015|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-78238-283-6|page=70}}</ref>}}

Self-immolations are often public and political statements that are often reported by the news media. They can be seen by others as a type of ] for a collective cause, and are not intended to inflict physical harm on others or cause material damage.<ref name=biggs>{{cite book |chapter=Dying Without Killing: Self-Immolations, 1963–2002 |first=Michael |last=Biggs |title=Making Sense of Suicide Missions |editor=Diego Gambetta |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |chapter-url=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sfos0060/immolation.pdf | isbn=978-0-19-929797-9 }}</ref>

=== South Vietnam Buddhist crisis ===
The ] in ] saw the persecution of the country's majority religion under the administration of Catholic president ]. Several Buddhist monks, including the most famous case of ], immolated themselves in protest.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

=== U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ===
The example set by self-immolators in the mid 20th century sparked similar acts between 1963 and 1971, most of which occurred in Asia and the United States in conjunction with protests opposing the ]. Researchers counted almost 1000 self-immolations covered by '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{cite book| title=Comprehensive textbook of suicidology |first=Ronald W. |last=Maris |author2=Alan Lee Berman |author3=Morton M. Silverman |author4=Bruce Michael Bongar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zi-xoFAPnPMC&pg=PA306 |page=306 |publisher=Guilford Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-57230-541-0}}</ref>

On 2 November 1965, ], an anti-war activist, doused himself in kerosene and set himself on fire below the office of Secretary of Defense ] at the Pentagon, to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War.<ref>, ''Time Magazine'', 12 November 1965; accessed 23 July 2007.</ref>

=== Soviet bloc ===
]
In 1968, the practice spread to the ] with the self-immolation of Polish accountant and ] veteran ], as well as those of two Czech students, ] and ], and of toolmaker ], in protest against the ].

In 1972, ], a 19-year-old Lithuanian student self-immolated to protest against the ], sparking the ]; another 13 people self-immolated in that same year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anušauskas |first1=Arvydas |author-link1=Arvydas Anušauskas |title=KGB reakcija į 1972 m. įvykius |url=http://www.genocid.lt/Leidyba/13/aarvydas.htm |access-date=10 August 2023 |website=]}}</ref>

In 1978, Ukrainian dissident and former political prisoner ] burnt himself near the tomb of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko protesting against the russification of Ukraine under Soviet rule. On 2 March 1989, ] set himself on fire on the Bradu ski slope at Poiana Brașov as a sign of protest against the communist regime.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

=== India and Sri Lanka ===
In India, as many as 1,451 and 1,584 self-immolations were reported in 2000 and 2001, respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Loren |last=Coleman |title=The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines |url=https://archive.org/details/copycateffect00lore |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Paraview Pocket-Simon and Schuster |year=2004 |page= |isbn=0-7434-8223-9}}</ref> A particularly high wave of self-immolation was recorded during the ] against the caste-based ].<ref name=biggs/> ] has the highest number of self-immolators in ] to date, although not all of them were politically motivated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Self-immolation cases in Tamil Nadu much above national average |url=https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1000963 |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=daijiworld.com |language=en}}</ref> ] have protested against the ], the ], and their ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-27 |title=DMK MP video controversy: How 1965 anti-Hindi protests changed Tamil Nadu's political landscape |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dmk-mp-video-controversy-how-1965-anti-hindi-protests-changed-tamil-nadus-political-landscape-101703664072274.html |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-11-26 |title=Man self-immolates protesting 'move to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/man-self-immolates-protesting-move-to-impose-hindi-on-tamil-nadu/articleshow/95785210.cms |access-date=2024-04-17 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-01-30 |title=Self-immolation entwined in Dravidian movement |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/self-immolation-entwined-in-dravidian-movement/articleshow/4049348.cms |access-date=2024-04-17 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

=== China and Tibet ===
As of June 2022, there had been 161 confirmed ] and ten others made in solidarity outside of Tibet.<ref name="Simon">Marie Simon, interview of Katia Buffetrille, , first published 29 March 2012</ref><ref name="innertrot">{{cite news|author1=Free Tibet|title=Tibetan Monk Dies After Self-Immolating in Eastern Tibet|url=https://freetibet.org/news-media/na/tibetan-monk-dies-after-self-immolating-eastern-tibet|access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/tibetan-dies-after-self-immolation-reports-say/ | publisher=Fox News| title=Tibetan dies after self-immolation, reports say | date=21 July 2013}}</ref> The ] placed the blame on "]" by the ].<ref name="reuters1">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE81J06B20120220|title=Teenage Tibetan monk self-immolates, dies: rights group |agency=Reuters|date=19 February 2012 |access-date=29 May 2012}}</ref> The Chinese government blamed the Dalai Lama and his supporters for inciting these acts.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/9139760/Teenage-monk-sets-himself-on-fire-on-53rd-anniversary-of-failed-Tibetan-uprising.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/9139760/Teenage-monk-sets-himself-on-fire-on-53rd-anniversary-of-failed-Tibetan-uprising.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Teenage monk sets himself on fire on 53rd anniversary of failed Tibetan uprising |work=The Telegraph|date=13 March 2012 |access-date=29 March 2012 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Several Tibetan scholars criticized the Dalai Lama for not speaking more strongly against self-immolations. In 2013, the Dalai Lama questioned the effectiveness of self-immolations but said they are caused by Beijing. The United States called on both sides to moderate their stance.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/10117850/Dalai-Lama-doubts-effect-of-Tibetan-self-immolations.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/10117850/Dalai-Lama-doubts-effect-of-Tibetan-self-immolations.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Dalai Lama doubts effect of Tibetan self-immolations | date=13 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Arab Spring ===
A wave of self-immolation suicides occurred in conjunction with the ] protests in the ], with at least 14 recorded incidents. The ] was sparked by the self-immolation of ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lageman |first1=Thessa |title=Remembering Mohamed Bouazizi: The man who sparked the Arab Spring |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/17/remembering-mohamed-bouazizi-his-death-triggered-the-arab |publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=27 February 2024}}</ref> Other cases followed during the ] and the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/self-immolation-spreads-across-mideast-inspiring-protest|title=Self-immolation spreads across Mideast inspiring protest|website=The Jerusalem Post &#124; JPost.com|date=25 January 2011 |accessdate=17 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hogg_5xSMcj4xPppcXbCrFlycHBw?docId=CNG.e943001219a6d9ad02686ab0695962cb.431|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125022309/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hogg_5xSMcj4xPppcXbCrFlycHBw?docId=CNG.e943001219a6d9ad02686ab0695962cb.431|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2011|title=Second Algerian dies from self-immolation: official|accessdate=17 March 2023}}</ref>

=== United States and the Israel-Hamas War ===
] held outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.]]

On 1 December 2023, a protester self-immolated in front of the Israeli consulate in ] while draped in a ] in response to the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fiallo |first=Josh |date=2023-12-01 |title=Pro-Palestine Protester Sets Herself Ablaze Outside Atlanta Consulate |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/pro-palestine-protester-sets-herself-ablaze-outside-israeli-consulate-in-atlanta |access-date=2024-01-13 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref>

On 25 February 2024, ],<ref name="aaronbushnell2">{{cite web |last1=Gannon |first1=Casey |last2=Hansler |first2=Jennifer |last3=Rose |first3=Rashard |date=26 February 2024 |title=US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in Washington |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/25/politics/man-sets-himself-on-fire-israeli-embassy-washington-dc/index.html |access-date=26 February 2024 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> an active-duty U.S. Air Force service member, self-immolated outside the ] in ], in protest against the ]. He lit himself on fire while shouting "Free ]".<ref name="gazagenocide2">{{cite web |last=Kavi |first=Aishvarya |date=25 February 2024 |title=Man Dies After Setting Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy in Washington, Police Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/world/middleeast/israel-embassy-man-on-fire.html |access-date=26 February 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Nick |date=2024-02-25 |title=Man sets himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in DC |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4488151-man-sets-himself-on-fire-outside-israeli-embassy-in-dc/ |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref> It was filmed and livestreamed on ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Nieto |first=Phillip |date=25 February 2024 |title=Air Force Service Member Sets Himself on Fire Outside Israeli Embassy |url=https://www.mediaite.com/news/air-force-service-member-sets-himself-on-fire-outside-israeli-embassy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226033225/https://www.mediaite.com/news/air-force-service-member-sets-himself-on-fire-outside-israeli-embassy/ |archive-date=26 February 2024 |access-date=26 February 2024 |work=]}}</ref> Bushnell died of his injuries on 26 February.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Geoghegan |first1=Tom |last2=Epstein |first2=Kayla |date=26 February 2024 |title=Aaron Bushnell: US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68405119 |access-date=26 February 2024 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

On 11 September 2024, a man named Matt Nelson self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate and the Four Seasons hotel in ] in protest of the ]. He recorded a video urging the United States government to stop sending weapons to Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-14 |title='We Are All Culpable': Matt Nelson Self-Immolates To Protest Israel's Gaza Onslaught{{!}} Countercurrents |url=https://countercurrents.org/2024/09/we-are-all-culpable-matt-nelson-self-immolates-to-protest-israels-gaza-onslaught/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=countercurrents.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 5 October 2024, a photojournalist named Samuel Mena Jr attempted to self-immolate in front of the ] in ] at a pro-Palestinian protest. He survived with burn injuries to his arm and was taken to a hospital.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-05 |title=Arizona man sets himself on fire during pro-Palestinian protest |url=https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/arizona-man-sets-himself-on-fire-washington-dc-pro-palestinian-protest-samuel-mena-jr/75-87df9da5-adf9-4739-920a-b88b756565b0?ref=exit-recirc |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=12news.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==
Other cases of self-immolation:
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== References == == References ==
{{reflist|2}} {{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* King, Sallie B. (2000). , ''Buddhist-Christian Studies'' 20, 127–150 {{Subscription }}
* Kovan, Martin (2013). . ''Journal of Buddhist Ethics'' 20, 775–812
* Kovan, Martin (2014). . ''Journal of Buddhist Ethics'' 21, 384–430
* Patler, Nicholas. Quaker History, Fall 2015, 18–39.

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
*
{{Suicide navbox}}


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Latest revision as of 20:36, 3 January 2025

Ritualistic and political suicide method This article is about the act of self-immolation. For the record company, see Self Immolation (record label).

Thích Quảng Đức protesting the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam by self-immolation on 11 June 1963.
Suicide
Social aspects
Crisis
Types and methods
Epidemiology
History
In warfare
Related phenomena
By country
Organizations

Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of protest or in acts of martyrdom. Due to its disturbing and violent nature, it is considered one of the most extreme methods of protest.

Etymology

The English word immolation originally meant (1534) "killing a sacrificial victim; sacrifice" and came to figuratively mean (1690) "destruction, especially by fire". Its etymology was from Latin immolare "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal (mola salsa); to sacrifice" in ancient Roman religion. In the Mewar region of India, women practiced a form of self-immolation called Jauhar to avoid being raped by invading armies.

Effects

Self-immolators frequently use accelerants before igniting themselves. This, combined with the self-immolators' refusal to protect themselves, can produce hotter flames and deeper, more extensive burns. Self-immolation has been described as excruciatingly painful. Later the burns become severe, nerves are burnt and the self-immolator loses sensation at the burnt areas. Some self-immolators can die during the act from inhalation of toxic combustion products, hot air, and flames.

The human body has an inflammatory response to burnt skin, which happens after 25% is burnt in adults. This response leads to blood and body fluid loss. If the self-immolator is not taken to a burn centre in less than four hours, they are more likely to die from shock. If no more than 80% of their body area is burnt and the self-immolator is younger than 40 years old, there is a survival chance of 50%. If the self-immolator has over 80% burns, the survival rate drops to 20%.

History

The self-immolation (jauhar) of the Rajput women, during the Siege of Chittorgarh in 1568

Self-immolation is tolerated by some elements of Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism, and it has been practiced for many centuries, especially in India, for various reasons, including jauhar, political protest, devotion, and renouncement. An example from mythology includes the practice of Sati when the Hindu goddess Parvati's incarnation of the same name (see also Daksayani) legendarily set herself on fire after her father insulted her in Daksha Yajna for having married Shiva, the ascetic god. Shiva and the army of ghosts attacked Daksha's Yajna and destroyed the sacrifice, and Shiva beheaded and killed Daksha. Later, Daksha was revived by Shiva and Daksha Yajna was completed when Daksha apologized. Certain warrior cultures, such as those of the Charans and Rajputs, also practiced self-immolation.

There are several well-known examples from antiquity to modern times. Kalanos, also spelled Calanus (Ancient Greek: Καλανὸς) (c. 398 – 323 BCE), was an ancient Indian gymnosophist, and philosopher from Taxila who accompanied Alexander the Great to Persis and later, after falling ill, self-immolated by entering into a pyre, in front of Alexander and his army. Diodorus Siculus called him Caranus (Ancient Greek: Κάρανος).

A Hindu widow burning herself with the corpse of her husband (sati), 1657
"Samosozhigateli (those who burn themselves)" by Grigoriy Myasoyedov, depicting Old Believers

Zarmanochegas was a monk of the Sramana tradition (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as Strabo and Dio Cassius, met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch around 22 BC and burnt himself to death in Athens shortly thereafter.

The monk Fayu (Chinese: 法羽) (d. 396) carried out the earliest recorded Chinese self-immolation. He first informed the "illegitimate" prince Yao Xu (Chinese: 姚緒)—brother of Yao Chang who founded the non-Chinese Qiang state Later Qin (384–417)—that he intended to burn himself alive. Yao tried to dissuade Fayu, but he publicly swallowed incense chips, wrapped his body in oiled cloth, and chanted while setting fire to himself. The religious and lay witnesses were described as being "full of grief and admiration".

Following Fayu's example, many Buddhist monks and nuns have used self-immolation for political purposes. While some monks did offer their bodies in periods of relative prosperity and peace, there is a "marked coincidence" between acts of self-immolation and times of crisis, especially when secular powers were hostile towards Buddhism. For example, Daoxuan's (c. 667) Xu Gaoseng Zhuan (Chinese: 續高僧傳; lit. 'Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks') records five monastics who self-immolated on the Zhongnan Mountains in response to the 574–577 persecution of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou (known as the "Second Disaster of Wu").

For many monks and laypeople in Chinese history, self-immolation was a form of Buddhist practice that modeled and expressed a particular path that led towards Buddhahood.

Historian Jimmy Yu has stated that self-immolation cannot be interpreted based on Buddhist doctrine and beliefs alone but the practice must be understood in the larger context of the Chinese religious landscape. He examines many primary sources from the 16th and 17th century and demonstrates that bodily practices of self-harm, including self-immolation, were ritually performed not only by Buddhists but also by Daoists and literati officials who either exposed their naked body to the sun in a prolonged period of time as a form of self-sacrifice or burned themselves as a method of procuring rain.

During the Great Schism of the Russian Church, entire villages of Old Believers burned themselves to death in an act known as "fire baptism" (self-burners: samosozhigateli). A 1973 study by a prison doctor suggested that people who choose self-immolation as a form of suicide are more likely to be in a "disturbed state of consciousness", such as epilepsy.

Political protest

Further information: List of political self-immolations

Regarding self-immolation as a form of political protest, the 14th Dalai Lama said in 2013 and 2015:

I think the self-burning itself practice of non-violence. These people, you see, they easily use bomb explosive, . But they didn't do that. Only sacrifice their own life. So this also is part of practice of non-violence.

Self-immolations are often public and political statements that are often reported by the news media. They can be seen by others as a type of altruistic suicide for a collective cause, and are not intended to inflict physical harm on others or cause material damage.

South Vietnam Buddhist crisis

The Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam saw the persecution of the country's majority religion under the administration of Catholic president Ngô Đình Diệm. Several Buddhist monks, including the most famous case of Thích Quảng Đức, immolated themselves in protest.

U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War

The example set by self-immolators in the mid 20th century sparked similar acts between 1963 and 1971, most of which occurred in Asia and the United States in conjunction with protests opposing the Vietnam War. Researchers counted almost 1000 self-immolations covered by The New York Times and The Times.

On 2 November 1965, Norman Morrison, an anti-war activist, doused himself in kerosene and set himself on fire below the office of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara at the Pentagon, to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War.

Soviet bloc

The memorial to Romas Kalanta in Kaunas in the place of his self-immolation. The inscription reads Romas Kalanta 1972.

In 1968, the practice spread to the Soviet bloc with the self-immolation of Polish accountant and Armia Krajowa veteran Ryszard Siwiec, as well as those of two Czech students, Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc, and of toolmaker Evžen Plocek, in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.

In 1972, Romas Kalanta, a 19-year-old Lithuanian student self-immolated to protest against the Soviet regime in Lithuania, sparking the 1972 unrest in Lithuania; another 13 people self-immolated in that same year.

In 1978, Ukrainian dissident and former political prisoner Oleksa Hirnyk burnt himself near the tomb of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko protesting against the russification of Ukraine under Soviet rule. On 2 March 1989, Liviu Cornel Babeș set himself on fire on the Bradu ski slope at Poiana Brașov as a sign of protest against the communist regime.

India and Sri Lanka

In India, as many as 1,451 and 1,584 self-immolations were reported in 2000 and 2001, respectively. A particularly high wave of self-immolation was recorded during the Mandal Commission protests of 1990 against the caste-based system of reservation. Tamil Nadu has the highest number of self-immolators in India to date, although not all of them were politically motivated. Tamils in Indian and Sri Lanka have protested against the imposition of the Hindi language, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and their mistreatment by the Sri Lankan government.

China and Tibet

As of June 2022, there had been 161 confirmed self-immolations in Tibet and ten others made in solidarity outside of Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama placed the blame on "cultural genocide" by the Chinese. The Chinese government blamed the Dalai Lama and his supporters for inciting these acts. Several Tibetan scholars criticized the Dalai Lama for not speaking more strongly against self-immolations. In 2013, the Dalai Lama questioned the effectiveness of self-immolations but said they are caused by Beijing. The United States called on both sides to moderate their stance.

Arab Spring

A wave of self-immolation suicides occurred in conjunction with the Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa, with at least 14 recorded incidents. The 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution was sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. Other cases followed during the 2011 Algerian protests and the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

United States and the Israel-Hamas War

A vigil to Aaron Bushnell held outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.

On 1 December 2023, a protester self-immolated in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta while draped in a Palestinian flag in response to the Israel–Hamas war.

On 25 February 2024, Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty U.S. Air Force service member, self-immolated outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., in protest against the United States' ongoing support for Israel. He lit himself on fire while shouting "Free Palestine". It was filmed and livestreamed on Twitch. Bushnell died of his injuries on 26 February.

On 11 September 2024, a man named Matt Nelson self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate and the Four Seasons hotel in Boston, Massachusetts in protest of the United States' ongoing support for Israel. He recorded a video urging the United States government to stop sending weapons to Israel.

On 5 October 2024, a photojournalist named Samuel Mena Jr attempted to self-immolate in front of the White House in Washington DC at a pro-Palestinian protest. He survived with burn injuries to his arm and was taken to a hospital.

See also

Other cases of self-immolation:

References

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  48. "'We Are All Culpable': Matt Nelson Self-Immolates To Protest Israel's Gaza Onslaught| Countercurrents". countercurrents.org. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  49. "Arizona man sets himself on fire during pro-Palestinian protest". 12news.com. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.

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