Save the Body to Save the Soul: Interpreting Sati in Jesuit Missionary Sources

This paper examines the subject of the self-cremation of widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands in certain regions of India during the modern era. Starting from the contemporary context and the debate sparked by the ‘Sati of Roop Kanwar’ in 1987, the author investigates the missionary sources of the period, focusing on the perspective of Catholic missionaries, particularly the Jesuits, operating within the Portuguese Empire. The analysis aims to understand how missionaries engaged with the practice of sati, sometimes seeking to influence widows to choose conversion to Christianity as an alternative to self-immolation. Embedded in the historiographical debate of recent decades and utilizing missionary testimonies, the study seeks to broaden the analysis of sati practices, attempting to move beyond the dichotomous interpretation of widows as victims or heroines. The article raises questions about the voluntary nature of sati practices, the understanding of female subjectivity, and the potential influence of Catholic missionaries on the evolution of the European perspective on widow immolation during the modern era.