Blood brother
Blood brother refers to two or more men, not related by birth parents, who swear loyalty to one another. This is usually done in a ceremony where the blood of each man is mingled together (sometimes mixed together in wine and drunk by all parties). In simple terms, this is an extension of fraternization.
In Asian cultures, 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 also did it for this purpose; not surprising considering they descended from Mongols.
Blood brothers among large groups was common in ancient Mediterranean Europe 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 era, as it helped the oppressed people to more effectively fight the enemy. Blood brothers were also common in Serbia, Albania and Bulgaria.
It is still practiced today, but mostly as a throw-back to tribal times. Obviously, modern blood brothers do not have the security of their individual tribes at stake. It does make for poignant movie moments though.
Famous Blood Brothers
- Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Liu Bei. The three men swore that despite not being born on the same day, their sworn brotherhood would end with them dying on the same day.
- Yesükhei and Toghril. Yesükhei was Genghis Khan's father. Toghril is betten known by his Chinese name Wang Khan.
- Odin and Loki in Norse mythology.
Other Languages
- Anda in Mongolia
- Bloedbroeder in Dutch
- Vlamides in Epeirus
- Bratimi in Macedonia
- Brazerides in Peloponnesus
- Adelfokhti in Crete
- Kardasides, arkadasides and markadasides in other areas