If in most countries a quarrel is a common occurrence, and often it doesn’t end with anything terrible, then in the Caucasus things are somewhat different. There, bloody revenge can be expected for the death of a close relative, for his scolded honor, humiliation, etc. This is exactly what this interesting, but very terrible rite will be discussed in this article.
What it is?
First of all, it is necessary to determine the concepts. So what is blood feud? According to the dictionary, this is a special custom that developed during the tribal system of society as a way to protect the dignity, honor and even property of a kind by killing the offender. It should 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
An interesting fact is that even before the laws of Moses appeared, blood vengeance was protected by law and not punishable. There is even a term in the Bible such as goel, which means redeemer. This means that a person who inherited property could redeem his enslaved relative from slavery, as well as his redeemed land allotment. And for the death of a man from his family, he had to take revenge by spilling the blood of a killer. It will also be interesting that for people who committed unintentional murder and were afraid of blood feud, refuge cities were created at that time where they could hide. If a man left him and a blood feud overtook him, the man 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, revenge for the death or resentment of loved ones is thus forbidden by the laws. All cases of misunderstanding were examined by elders, sometimes not passing a final sentence 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 often not everyone was punished. At this time, people forgot that forgiving a person is as worthy and important as blood vengeance.
About the rite
A very interesting, albeit scary in nature, is the custom of blood feud. If a man was killed in a quarrel, and the culprit is famous, people from a neutral environment were sent to him. This was necessary in order for them to report that the killer was declared blood feud. 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 themselves to choose. And if the murderer was a man not too respected, they could execute his brother, who in the village had a greater weight from a public point of view. Everything was done in order to bring more pain to the relatives of the killer (however, it 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 locality, for example, in a village. If this happened, then those who were declared revenge were to leave the village in a matter of hours. Often, in this case, houses with all property were sold for almost nothing, and families ran so far that the rite could not overtake them.
- As in criminal practice, blood feud has no statute of limitations. However, several years ago it was removed, and the warring families reconciled with the efforts of the elders.
- Even a woman can avenge a relative, but only if there are no men left in the family. It can be either a mother or a sister.
- The motive of blood feud may also be different. So, they 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 several people died as a result of blood feud. This happened because the offenders did not agree with their guilt, and the avengers proved their own. Often such conflicts became uncontrollable and ended in disastrous condition.
Reconciliation
It is worth saying that blood feud may not be committed, for this there is a special process of reconciliation. In this case, the guilty party - all relatives, neighbors and people worrying about them - can dress in dark clothes, cover their heads and go to the place of the ritual. So, you can’t ask for a pardon or look into the eyes of those who want revenge. Reconciliation can happen after reading special prayers and after the offender is shaved baldly and their beard shaved (the defendant does this). Only then can the offender be considered forgiven. However, often at the time of this action the one to whom the blood feud was presented died. The shaving man simply could not restrain himself and cut the throat of the enemy.
Buyout
There is also a certain ransom saving from blood feud. The beginning of the reconciliation was the fact that the relatives of the murdered man agreed to accept the dowry. As for the value, it was different. It varied depending on how many relatives were left with the victim - the less, the less and the ransom they had to pay.
conclusions
It is worth saying that even if blood feud in the Caucasus is prohibited by the laws of the Russian Federation, it still exists and is often committed. However, today also more and more people agree to pardon the killer. So, there are cases when offenders said goodbye due to a certain amount of money, sometimes - by decision of the elders.