The tangena ordeal was a form of trial by ordeal practiced in Madagascar to determine the guilt or innocence of an accused party. The trial utilized seeds of the tree species Cerbera manghas, which produces seeds that contain highly toxic cardiac glycosides including cerberin and tanghinin.
A 19th-century artist's depiction of the tangena ordeal being undergone in a Madagascan forest glade (the victim is lying at the feet of group under right-hand trunk of immense tree)
Cerbera manghas (known formerly as Cerbera tanghin), showing plum-like fruit, halved to reveal toxic seed - as depicted in a coloured plate from Köhler's Medizinal Pflanzen
Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience.
In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, trial by ordeal, such as cruentation, was sometimes considered a "judgement of God" : a procedure based on the premise that God would help the innocent by performing a miracle on their behalf. The practice has much earlier roots, attested to as far back as the Code of Hammurabi and the Code of Ur-Nammu.
Water-ordeal; miniature from the Luzerner Schilling
After being accused of adultery Cunigunde of Luxembourg proved her innocence by walking over red-hot plowshares.
Peter Bartholomew undergoing the ordeal of fire, by Gustave Doré.
Sita in an agnipariksha, Yuddha Kanda
