The Washington bee., 1912-02-10
TRIAL BY ORDEAL,
The Farce Called Justice That
Siam Used TO Play.
TESTS OF FIRE AND WATER.
The Accused and the Accuser Each
Had TO Face the Same Kind of Music,
and Whichever Way the Case Was
Decided the Judges Were Winners.

AHS i-vuCih iLS'IlOuS OF justice IN
civilized Europe do not include trial by
ordeal. but in the east it is still 4 rec
Ognized means Of proving an accused
persons innocence or guilt, In a coun-
try like Siam, now so closely in touch
with western influences, the ordeal by
fire was practiced a generation ago.
This is the Oldest form of ordeal in
Siam, as in any country. When pre-
pairing for the ceremony two trenches
were dug side by side. They were
each about ten feet long, two feet wide
and two feet deep. These were filed
with layers Of redhOt coal to a depth of
ten inches The plaintiff. or accuser,
walked over one fiery path and the de-
fendant over the other In order to
prevent the parties from unduIv hur-
rying OvE2 their tasks rods were placed
across their shoulders, and certain OF
the officials leaned heavily on these,
one at the end of each rod. In reality
they partly defeated their own ends,
for the great pressure of the horny
sOIes Of feet unused to boots somewhat
quenched the fire beneath them When
the walk was completed the soIes of
the feet were examined in order to de-
tect any burns or blisters. This exam
ination was repeated every day for fif-
teen days, and at the end Of that time
the man who showed no signs Of being
hurt in any way was adiudged the
winner During the course Of the trial
the Judges sat in a specially erected
and gayly decorated pavilion. where
they feasted royalty, the expense Of
which had to be betrayed Jointly by
the persons engaged in the lawsuit.
1t happened more than once that the
fire failed to make any impression on
the feet Of the competitors. In such
cases they were both compelled to un-
dergo another trial by means of the
water ordeal If both parties got
singed, then they were both held to be
guilty of something or other. and so
they were both punished with heavy
fines.
The water ordeal is a kind Of diving
competition. The spot chosen was Ell
ther some part Of the nearest river or
else large, deep pond. The law in
sisted that the spot must be one where
the water was clear'5U8 cool anSyree
from leeches and mud. IN the case Of
q river there was 10 be no strong cur
rent. The preliminary preparations
were simple and consisted in driving
two tough poles into the bed Of the
pond or river for the competitors TO
take hold of on immersion These
poles were placed about ten feet apart
Before the actual trial took place a
cOckfght was held, in which the two
birds were supposed TO represent the
two litigants. and the result of this
preliminary conflict was held to be
ominouS of the results that would at
tend the serious trial
This was never omitted. because the
spectators, who were assembled in
hundreds to watch the event always
treated it as kind Of holiday and
gambled largely rs 10 the issue of the
day: hence the cockfght was sort
Of guide to them i'm their Spcculations.
The two persons next addressed them
selves to the water deigeS and asked
for their protection and help. each be
seechiu@ them 10 help him only and
each promising gifts and offerings
should ne be successful
Then they stepped into the water
until it reached up to their necks.
They were hampcred 10y heavy collars
similar TO those sometimes worn by
Chinese prisoners. Round their wrists
they wore bracelets of uuspun thread,
which had been blessed 10y the priests
and which were considered to possess
q protective charm against aJ adverse
influences. Finally each one had a
strong rope fastened tightly round the
waist by means of which he could he
hauled out cf the water, because when
: both men were possessed of great
breathing capacity it sometimes hap
pened that after prolonged immersion
the competitors were too much ex-
hausted to get themselves out Of the
water.
When all was ready a horizontal pole
was placed across the shoulders Of
/ each person. and at a given signal
/ from a metal gong the two poles were
simultaneously depressed by the Off
cialS. and SO the two heads were
thrust under water, The divers grip
ped their wooden stakes and grimIv
/ held their heads under the surface Of
/ the river until one or both found them
/ selves in danger Of immediate suffo-
/ cation. The man who remained under
/ the water the longer Of the two won
/ the day The trial was subject to a
/ time limit
In certain cases diving by proxy was
/ aIlowea, and then a general search was
made for able and willing substitutes
There is a story extant, says Ernest
! Young In the London Tatler. Of how
! a Persian trader quarTeled with a
| Burmese about some commercial fraud.
! The Burmese engaged as his represen-
tative the champion diver OF the dis
! tTict. but the Persian outvitted him