116 the goods stay in the governor’s keep for a few days, and if they cannot find the miscreant during this time, they then return them to the rightful owner, but one quarter of them remain in the governor’s possession. And if the said thief denies the crime or they cannot find the stolen goods, they tie him to the pillory, as we do, and they leave him there for nine or ten days to see if he confesses. They give him very little to eat and treat him very badly. If he does not confess during this time, they call his accuser and tell him that the man has not confessed and ask if he wants to have him judged or released; if he says that he wants him to be put on trial, they arrest him and make him fast, wash himself thoroughly and commend himself to his God. He must not chew any betel and cleans his teeth, so that he can go on trial the following day; if he accepts these orders, then they untie him from the pillory the next day and they take him to a tank of water, where he gives himself a good wash, with a a great deal of ceremony. Then they take him to a temple, where he pledges his oath in the following way: if he is a gentile then they heat up a copper pan of oil until it is very hot, boiling, and in order to ascertain if it is hot, they throw some leaves from a certain tree into it and the oil makes them pop out. Once they have observed this, two clerks take the miscreant’s right hand and look at it to see if there are any wounds on it. They note down the state of the hand and they show it to the accuser. Once they have conducted this examination, they order him to look at the idol in front of him and say three times, I did not commit the theft that this man accuses me of, nor do I know who did; and then they order him to put twofingers from that hand into the oil, which is boiling. He puts hisfingers in as far as the knuckles and takes them out, with the clerks looking at it again, in the presence of the accuser and the governor. And with all these examinations, they note what the hand looks like and they tie it up tight with a cloth, whether it is burned or not. They then return him to the pillory for another three days, after which the
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