Self-immolation

Self-immolation is an act of killing oneself as a sacrifice. While usage since the 1960s has typically referred only to setting oneself on fire, the term historically refers to a much wider range of suicidal options, such as leaping off a cliff, starvation, or seppuku (also called hara-kiri; ritual disemboweling). Self-immolation is often used as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom. 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 1950s to 2002, using the general definition (not just by fire), and including any intentional suicide "on behalf of a collective cause".

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 Latin "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal (mola salsa); to sacrifice" in ancient Roman religion. "setting oneself on fire, especially as a form of protest" was first recorded in Lady Morgan's (1817) France.

It was Western media coverage of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc's suicide by fire in protest of the Buddhist crisis caused by the Vietnamese Ngo Dinh Diem 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 Buddhist monks who immolated themselves were often referred to by the term bonze in English literature before the mid-20th century, particularly when describing monks from East Asia and French Indochina. This term is derived from the Japanese word bonzō (凡僧) for a priest or monk, and has become less common in modern literature.

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, sati, political protest, devotion, and renouncement. Certain warrior cultures, such as those of the Charans and Rajputs, also practiced self-immolation.

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