Added: 11/08/2007 |
The Act Of Blood BrotherThe act of blood brother was set in 1930s in Shanghai. Although the concept of becoming blood brother is quite common in some religions. A ceremony is held where to men take oath of becoming blood brothers for the rest of their lives, who will watch each others back like brothers do. Another kind of blood brotherhood is the common one i.e. brothers related by birth. This happens only if siblings are from same mother or same father.
Orvar-Odd's saga contains a notable account of blood brotherhood. The Norwegian warrior Orvar-Odd felt a desire to test his fighting skills with the renowned Swedish warrior Hjalmar. Orvar-Odd felt a desire to test his fighting skills with the renowned Swedish warrior Hjalmar. Therefore Orvar-Odd's saga sailed to Sweden with five ships to fight Hjalmar who was there all ready to fight with fifteen ships. Hjalmar thought the battle was uneven so he sent 10 ships back to fight evenly. Both the warriors fought for two continuous days while shedding lots of blood but they fight was a draw. At that moment both the rivalries realized that they were equally powerful. So both the warriors’ joined a pact of becoming blood brother. Swear to their lives that they will lookout for each other.
In some cultures a ceremony is held to become a blood brother where the arms of the two men is cut with a sharp object and licking each others blood. The Scyths let their blood drop in a glass which is later on mixed with wine and drunken by both men.
In Asian cultures the act of blood brother is practiced to bring two tribes closer together and on good terms. It was practiced for this reason most notably among the Mongols and early Chinese. There are some facts that Native Americans also did it for this purpose.
Blood brothers among large groups were common in ancient Mediterranean Europe where two groups of soldiers used to become one whole family whole companies of. 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. The concept of becoming blood brother was also common in Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria.
The ceremony of blood brother and becoming one is still practiced in Greece. The ceremony of wining together brought different cultures, races, cast and tries together.
Famous fictional blood brothers
•Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
•Mickey Johnstone and Eddie Lyons in the Willy Russell musical Blood Brothers, who, unbeknownst to them, are actually twin brothers and were born and died on the same day.
•The Lone Ranger and Tonto.
•The fictional characters of Little Bear and Boone from Lynne Reid Banks book Indian in the Cupboard as well as Omri and Little Bear; at the last moment during the ceremony Little Bear made Omri his blood brother as well.
•Odin and Loki in Norse mythology.
•In Mary Renault's rendition of the legend of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Soter and Alexander became blood brothers.
The concept and the ritual to practice the ceremony of blood brother have completely faded since the world has become so self-interested. The promise kept by the blood brothers used to be a promise they would never broke. In these days you might still find people who would keep their promise but very rare.
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