In the Burmese court, eunuchs were kept to control the female servants like in other Asian courts, but they were not castrated men like in those courts. Usually only tough and fearless big women. But among the eunuchs there are not only women but also some men.
One of the chief eunuchs who served during the reign of King Mintoon was a man named Pechei, and the man was born with an imperfect male organ due to an injury at a young age.
In addition, U Pho, the younger brother of King Minton’s queen, Lapan Sis, also served as an eunuch in the court, and was also in charge of controlling the Mahagiri magic ring. U Pho was given the title of Nemyo Thiha Shwetaung and Tamongtai Village by King Mintoon.
West Clerk to those eunuchs, Controlled by the West. The West Minister and the West Clerk are all men, and they are usually old people, and the King has special trust in the character of these persons and appoints them as such. The West Minister and the West Clerk are in command and control of the West Office, which is one of the state’s five information dispatch offices, and have the authority to judge cases in the rear of the palace.
To the west of the palace, the monks, men and women who would enter and exit the royal residence mixed together. West clerks and eunuchs on duty had to accompany their respective court mistresses.
The eunuchs had to place the rice on their chests and tie a red cloth over the wasp’s chest. In tying the red shawl, he had to tie it above his son in front of him, and the two ends of the shawl that protruded from the binding had to be placed in front of him. They have to wear large gold earrings in their ears.
The eunuchs could not only oppress ordinary servants, The virgins who were called Khin Le had no right to discipline them, and had to hand them over to the respective royal mistresses. In such a discipline, the chief eunuch could not be punished with his always-held turtle tail, while the rest of the eunuchs had to be beaten with a whip.
One of the eunuchs’ special duties was to take the order of death from the parliament and hand it over to the gentle maiden. That order was always presented to the king when he left the toilet in the morning. From this, the king’s response behavior through the sweet maiden was followed by the eunuchs to reach the parliament.
During King Minton’s reign, the eunuchs were only nominal and did not carry out specific duties. During the reign of Thipao Min, the number of eunuchs was more than 100, and the queen’s royal family always accompanied her wherever she went. The queen, the head of the royal family, usually leaves the place she wants to go to only after the eunuchs have hidden her in advance.
It is also known that in the case of having a lover among women, which usually happened in the back hall of the palace, the head of the queen, Su Phura Lat, particularly condemned and ordered the eunuchs to severely suppress those sinners.
These are the responsibilities and part of the life of the eunuchs who served in the Yadanapap era.
