<資料・研究ノート>コンバウン時代のビルマの神判

Abstract

When I visited Mandalay in October of 1968, I have unexpectedly obtained a Burmese manuscript called parabaik. The MS. is made of fairly thick paper about 40cm in length and 15cm broad. Text in Burmese characters is written with white ink on both sides of a double fold paper in black color. The contents of the text are four forms of oath for Trial by Ordeal and their records. Though the MS. states that all the ordeals were carried either in 18th or first half of the 19th century, the MS. itself is not original document, because it has a date of copy in the year 1238 of Burmese era, namely 1876AD. There were, according to the description of the MS., four kinds of trial by ordeal in Burma during Konbaung dynasty. The first of them is the ordeal by Lead, the second by Water, the third of Rice, and the fourth by Fire. In the ordeal by lead, the accuser and the accused wrapped their forefingers of right hand with split bamboo, and thrust them in molten lead weighed 333.3 kyats heavy. One who injured his forefinger was regarded guilty, and the other innocent. In the ordeal by water, two poles, one for upstream and another downstream, were erected in deep water. The litigants faced each other were pressed down simultaneously in the water with bamboo pole putting on their shoulders by gaoler. One who raised his head earlier was decided to be guilty. In the ordeal of rice, the two parties took five kyats of broken rice each through a leaf funnel in their mouths, chew and swallowed. One who exhaused rice earlier was credited, and another lost the case. In the ordeal by fire, the litigants hold two candles, made of nine threads in nine fathoms length and three kyats weight of waxes, and lit at the same instance. One whose candle expired earlier was regarded to be guilty. Four features can be pointed out concerning the Trial by Ordeal in Konbaung dynasty : (1) the trial was always carried out at the fixed place such as the precinct of certain Pagoda. (2) both of the accuser and the accused made religious offerings to the Nats and performed certain ceremonials in obedience to the precedent. (3) two parties sweared that they never use any amulet nor charm at all for preventing evil and obtaining good. (4) a senior officer read aloud the written pledges of the litigants three times, made them round and put into necks of two parties.