What is "attestupa"

Ättestupa is the mythical practice of senicide during Nordic prehistoric times: elderly people are said to have thrown themselves, or were thrown, to their deaths. According to legend, this was done when the old people were unable to support themselves or assist in a household. Even though there are many places in the Nordic countries that are said to have been used as ättestupa, today it is not thought that the practice actually existed, but that the notion of ättestupa is a persistent myth.