Blood brother
Encyclopedia
Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...

 who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

, where the blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

 of each man is mingled together. The process usually provides a participant with a heightened symbolic sense of attachment with another participant.

Örvar-Oddr's saga contains a notable account of blood brotherhood. The Norwegian warrior Örvar-Oddr felt a desire to test his fighting skills with the renowned Swedish warrior Hjalmar
Hjálmar
- Current :*Þorsteinn Einarsson - Guitar and vocals*Sigurður Halldór Guðmundsson - Keyboards and vocals*Guðmundur Kristinn Jónsson - Guitar* Valdimar Kolbeinn Sigurjónsson - Bass* Helgi Svavar Helgason - Percussion- Former :...

. Thus Örvar-Oddr sailed to Sweden with five ships and met Hjalmar who had fifteen ships. Hjalmar could not accept such an uneven balance of strength and sent away ten of his own ships so that the forces would be even. The two warriors fought for two days with a lot of blood-letting and poetry, but it was a draw. Finally, they realized that they were equals and decided to become sworn brothers by letting their blood flow under a strand of turf raised by a spear. Then the strand of turf was put back during oaths and incantations.

The Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....

n ceremony involved nicking their arms with a sharp object and licking the blood off of each other's arms.

Among the Scythians, the covenantors would allow their blood to drip into a cup; the blood was subsequently mixed with wine and drunk by both participants. Every man was limited to having at most three blood brotherhoods at any time, lest his loyalties be distrusted; as a consequence, blood brotherhood was highly sought after and often preceded by a lengthy period of affiliation and friendship (Lucian
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature.His ethnicity is disputed and is attributed as Assyrian according to Frye and Parpola, and Syrian according to Joseph....

, Toxaris). The Romanian haiducs had a similar ceremony, though the wine was often replaced with milk so that the blood would be more visible.

In Asian cultures
Culture of Asia
The culture of Asia is human civilization in Asia. It features different kinds of cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia...

, the act and ceremony of becoming "blood brothers" is generally seen as a tribal relationship, that is, to bring about alliance between tribes. It was practiced for this reason most notably among the Mongols and early Chinese. There is some evidence that Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 also did it for this purpose.

Blood brothers among large groups was common in ancient Mediterranean Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 where, for example, whole companies of Greek soldiers would become as one family. It was perhaps most prevalent in the Balkan Peninsula during the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 era, as it helped the oppressed people to more effectively fight the enemy. Blood brothers were also common in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. Christianity also recognized sworn brotherhood in a ceremony known as adelphopoiesis
Adelphopoiesis
Adelphopoiesis, or adelphopoiia from the Greek , derived from "brother" and "I make", literally "brother-making" is a ceremony practiced at one time by various Christian churches to unite together two people of the same sex...

 (in the Eastern Orthodox church) or ordo ad fratres faciendum (in the Roman Catholic church).

Blood brotherhood, highly ritualized and subjected to a strong code, was a common practice in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, especially among the mountaineers. Some relics of this tradition survive to this day.

It is still practiced today, but mostly as a throw-back to tribal times. The tradition of intertwining arms and drinking wine in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and elsewhere, is believed to be a representation of becoming blood brothers.

In modern times, a common blood brother ceremony includes having each person make a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or the forearm
Forearm
-See also:*Forearm flexors*Forearm muscles...

, and then the two cuts are pressed together and bound, the idea being that each person's blood now flows in the other participant's veins. However, such an act is considered highly inadvisable from a medical standpoint due to the risk of blood-borne diseases.

Mythology

In the mythology of northern Europe, Gunther
Gunther
Gunther is the German name of a semi-legendary king of Burgundy of the early 5th century...

 and Högni became the blood brothers of Sigurd
Sigurd
Sigurd is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. The earliest extant representations for his legend come in pictorial form from seven runestones in Sweden and most notably the Ramsund carving Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of...

 when he married their sister Gudrun
Gudrun
Gudrun is a major figure in the early Germanic literature centered on the hero Sigurd, son of Sigmund. She appears as Kriemhild in the Nibelungenlied and as Gutrune in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.-Norse mythology:...

; in Wagner's Ring Cycle, the same occurs between Gunther
Gunther
Gunther is the German name of a semi-legendary king of Burgundy of the early 5th century...

 and Wagner's version of Sigurd, Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...

, which is marked by the "Blood Brotherhood Leitmotiv."

Additionally, it is briefly stated in in Lokasenna that Odin and Loki were once blood brothers.

Famous blood brothers

  • Zhang Fei
    Zhang Fei (Three Kingdoms)
    Zhang Fei was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Early career:Zhang Fei was originally a wealthy butcher from Zhuo Commandery...

    , Guan Yu
    Guan Yu
    Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...

     and Liu Bei
    Liu Bei
    Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

    . In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
    Romance of the Three Kingdoms
    Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

     by Luó Guànzhōng
    Luo Guanzhong
    Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

     these three men swore in their famous Oath of the Peach Garden
    Oath of the Peach Garden
    The Oath of the Peach Garden was a fictional event in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In this event, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took an oath of fraternity in a ceremony amid peach blossom trees, and became sworn brothers from then on. Their goal in taking the...

     that despite not being born on the same day, their sworn brotherhood would end with them dying on the same day. Histories only mention that the three men were "close like brothers."
  • Yesükhei and Toghril. Yesükhei was Genghis Khan
    Genghis Khan
    Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

    's father. Toghril is better known by his Chinese name Wang Khan
    Wang Khan
    Wang Khan, also Ong Khan, was the title given to the Kerait ruler Toghrul by the Jurchen Jin Dynasty of China. Like the rest of their tribe he may have been Nestorian Christian...

    .
  • Temüjin (Genghis Khan) and Jamukha were childhood friends and blood brothers, although Jamukha later betrayed Temüjin and was executed by him.
  • Two Norman knights who took part in the Conquest of Britain
    Norman conquest of England
    The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

     in 1066, Robert d'Ouilly and Roger d'Ivry
    Roger d'Ivry
    Roger d'Ivry or d'Ivri was an 11th century nobleman from Ivry-la-Bataille in Normandy. He took part in William of Normandy's conquest of England in 1066 and founded the Abbey of Notre-Dame-d'Ivry in 1071...

    , were well-known as blood-brothers. It was said that they had agreed beforehand to share the profits of this adventure. They both survived Hastings
    Battle of Hastings
    The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...

     and were granted lands in Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

     and elsewhere, then worked together on various projects such as Wallingford Castle
    Wallingford Castle
    Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...

    .
  • In the Chinese tale Journey to the West
    Journey to the West
    Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...

    , Sun Wukong
    Sun Wukong
    Sun Wukong , also known as the Monkey King is a main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West . In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices...

    (the Monkey King) became blood brothers with a bull demon, but later on this brother relationship was forgotten because of a conflict that occurred involving the Bull demon's son that caused other problems for Wukong.
  • Chris Hinton and Ryan Sheibley were well respected warriors of their time with a blood brothers like sworn allegiance to their country.
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