If in most countries a quarrel is a common occurrence, and often it does not end in anything terrible, then in the Caucasus things are somewhat different. There, offenders can expect blood feud for the death of a close relative, for his desecrated honor, humiliation, etc. It is precisely this interesting, but very terrible rite that will be discussed in this article.
What is this?
First of all, it is necessary to define the concepts. So what is blood feud? According to the dictionary, this is a special custom that developed even during the tribal society as a kind of way to protect the dignity, honor and even property of a kind by killing the offender. It should also be said that, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, blood feud in most cases is classified as an aggravating circumstance.
A bit of history
It will also be interesting that even before the laws of Moses, blood vengeance was protected by law and was not punished. In the Bible, there is even such a term as "goel", which means "redeemer". This means that a person who inherited property could redeem hisenslaved relative, as well as his redeemed land allotment. And for the death of a man from his family, he had to avenge by shedding the blood of the murderer. It will also be interesting that for people who committed an unintentional murder and were afraid of blood feud, cities of refuge were created at that time, where they could hide. If a person came out of it, and blood feud overtook him, the person who killed him was not considered a criminal and did not bear any punishment, according to the letter of the law.
Recent past
Over time, to avenge the death or insult of loved ones in this way was forbidden by laws. All cases of misunderstanding were considered by the elders, sometimes without making a final verdict for years. However, despite this, during the recent war in Chechnya, the number of blood feud attacks was very widespread. It's simple, the laws of society did not work, the laws of war were considered the first. It was much easier to find the offender and take revenge on him, and not everyone was often punished. At this time, people forgot that to forgive a person is as worthy and important as blood vengeance.
About the rite itself
Very interesting, though scary in nature, is the custom of blood feud. If a person was killed in some quarrel, and the culprit is known, people were sent to him from a neutral environment. This was necessary in order for them to report that blood feud had been declared against the killer. If earlier they took revenge on the one who committed the crime, then during the reign of Imam Shamil this was somewhat changed. They could take revenge not only on the one who committed the crime, but also on his paternal relative, and they trusted the family itself to choose. And if the killer was not a very respected person, they could execute his brother, who in the village had a stronger weight from a social point of view. Everything was done in order to bring more pain to the relatives of the killer (however, this was rather not the rule, but the exception).
Important Facts
So, there are several rules of blood feud. What do you need to know?
- Krovniki cannot live in one area, for example, a village. If this happened, then those to whom revenge was announced should have left the village in a matter of hours. Often in this case, houses with all their belongings were sold for next to nothing, and families fled so far that the rite could not overtake them.
- As in criminal practice, blood feuds have no statute of limitations. However, a few years ago, it was removed, and through the efforts of the elders, the warring families reconciled.
- Even a woman can avenge a relative, but only if there are no men left in the family. It can be either mother or sister.
- The motive for blood feud can also be different. So, they were executed not only for the murder of their family member, but also for insult, humiliation, encroachment on property, etc.
Recently, there have been cases when, as a result of blood feud, not one person died, but several. This happened because the offenders did not agree with their guilt, and the avengers proved theirs. Often these conflictsbecame uncontrollable and ended very badly.
Reconciliation
It is also worth mentioning that blood feuds may not be committed, for this there is a special process of reconciliation. In this case, the guilty party - all relatives, neighbors and people worried about them - can dress in dark outfits, cover their heads and go to the place of the ritual. So, you can not ask for mercy or look into the eyes of those who want revenge. Reconciliation can happen after special prayers are read and after the offender is shaved baldly and his beard is shaved (the defendant does this). Only then can the offender be considered forgiven. However, often at the moment of this action, the one who was charged with blood feud died. The shaving man just couldn't help it and slit his opponent's throat.
Ransom
There is also a ransom that saves from blood feuds. The beginning of reconciliation was considered that the relatives of the murdered person agreed to accept the dowry. As for the size, it was different. It varied depending on how many relatives the dead person had left - the less, the smaller the ransom they had to pay.
Conclusions
It is worth saying that even if today blood feud in the Caucasus is prohibited by the laws of the Russian Federation, it still exists and is often committed. Today, however, more and more people agree to pardon the killer. So, there are cases when the offenders said goodbye thanks to a certain amount of money, sometimes -by decision of the elders.
