BROTHER - MAKING. With the ancient Greeks, two persons would vow to each other per manent hospitality and protection for themselves and their descendants,—the Greek corer. Itis the German Gast-freund. This is practised amongst the Bedouins, who take an oath before one or two witnesses. Amongst the Rajput races of India, the women adopt a brother by the gift of a bracelet. The intrinsic value of such pledge is never looked to, nor is it necessary that it should be costly, though it varies with the means and rank of the donor, and may be of flock silk and spangles, or of gold chains and gems. The accept ance of the pledge is by the katchli or corset, of simple silk, or satin, or gold brocade and pearls. Colonel 'l'od was the Rakhi-band-bhai of the three queens of Udaipur, Bundi, and Kotah, as also of Chand-Bai, the maiden sister of the Rana, and of many ladies of the chieftains of rank. Though the bracelet may be sent by maidens, it is only on occasions of urgent necessity and danger. The adopted brother may hazard his life in his adopted sister's cause, and yet never receive a mite in reward, for he cannot even see the fair object who, as brother of her adoption, has constituted him her defender.
Hindus take a vow of friendship and mutual support with certain forms, and even in a com munity little remarkable for faith, it is infamous to break this oath. Part of the ceremony is divid ing a bel or wood-apple (Feronia elephantum), half of which is kept by each party, and from this the compact is called Bel Bandhar.
Amongst the Oraon girls, sworn friendships or sister-making occur, called Gui,' between two. They each say—' Tu aor main gui jurabi; amren phul lagabi.' Then each plucks flowers and arranges them neatly in the other's hair ; they exchange necklaces, embrace, and give a joint feast. When two Karen wish to become brothers, one kills a fowl, cutting off its beak, and rub biug the blood on the front of the other's legs, sticking on them some of the feathers. The augury of the fowl's bones is then consulted, and if favourable, the ceremony is repeated by the other party. If the omens be still aus picious, they say, We will be brothers (doh), we will grow old together, we will visit each other.' Brotherhood amongst the Burmese is termed doh, also thway thouk, blood - drinker, because they mix a few drops of blood from the arms of the contracting parties with water, and drink it. The following forms were observed, near the eastern frontier of the Akyab district, on the occasion of the reconciliation of two clans or villages of the Chin (or Khyeng) tribe, named Bainbah and !dentin, between whom a blood-feud had previously existed. At the foot of a Nyoung Bin, supposed to be the residence of a Nat,' a pot of khonng was placed half-buried in the earth. In the orifice of the pot some fresh leaves of the tree were placed, and through them, into the liquor, were thrust two pipes to suck with, a gun, a spear, a dah, alligators' teeth, tigers' tusks. and some bamboo sticks with notches, cuts, and splits of a mystic character. This being ready, one of the oldest of the Tounginin (hill chief) present killed a small pig, extracted its heart, and, filling the pot with water, commenced a harangue invoking the Nat' to pour down his wrath on the two Mantin and Bainbah men sitting by the pot, and cause their destruction by any of the ways indicated by the different articles thrust into the pot, if they bore each other and did not remain friends thenceforth and for ever.
This invocation being over, the Malan took up the pig's heart, and, pressing a drop of blood from it into the liquor, the two men exchanged words, and commenced sucking up tho liquor, adding more water. After them, two other representativt a of the two villages bad a suck, and then the dif ferent implements, etc. were removed, and all the other Chins present began drinking (by suction) out of the same pot, and another one supplied for general use. Sonic war dances were performed, and the Chins then cooked the pig, ate, drank, and were merry. The khoung pots were filled with fermented rice, to which water was added as required. The oath thus administered is said to be most binding on Chins, and, once taken, seldom if ever violated. Bin is the Bur mese for tree. Nyoung includes a large number of the ficus tribe. Nat is the Burmese word used to translate the Indian Deva. Originally it denotes a local divinity, often a Hamadryad. Khoung is a kind of rice-beer made and used by the hill tribes all over Burma.
Mr. Burns thus related the ceremony of brother making among the Kyaus:—Singuding sent on board to request me to become his brother accord ing to Kyan fashion. The ceremony is called by the Kyaus Ber-biang, by the Borneons Ber sallibah. Handed with our nakodah, and, after some preliminary talk to allow the crowd to assemble, the affair comtnenced ; we sat in the verandah of a long house, surrounded by some hundreds of men, women, and children, all look ing eagerly at the white stranger who was about to enter their tribe. Stripping my left arm, Kum Lia took a small piece of wood, shaped like a knife blade, and, slightly piercing the skin, brought blood to the surface, which he carefully scraped off; then nakodah Gadore drew blood in the same way from Singuding's right arm, the one next me, and a small cigarette being produced, the blood on the wooden blades was spread on the tobacco,— scarcely spread, for the quantity was as small as could be imagined. A chief then rose, and, walk ing to a sort of window, looked full upon the river, and invoked the spirits of good and evil to be witness of this tie of brotherhood ; the cigarette was then lighted, and each of us took several puffs, and the ceremony was over.
In Hindu marriages, one of the necessary forma is for the bridegroom to place the bride's foot successively on seven lines drawn on rice in a platter. }rem this has been adopted the practice of any two persons pledging mutual friendship by taking seven steps, Saptapathi, together ; and the term Saptapathinam has come to signify friendship.—Elpiis. p. 193 ; rods Travels ; Jour. Indian Archipelago, v. No. 12; Forbes, 290. See Sabat.