The Blood Oath Rites of the Scythians and Huns

The Blood Oath Rites of the Scythians and Huns

The blood oath is a ritual, usually between two men, that provides a symbolic sense of attachment and eternal friendship. Blood oath rituals, common among nomadic peoples in ancient times, were also practiced in settled societies over time. Those who practice the blood oath ritual are called blood brothers and they are allies to the death in the face of the enemy.

Blood Oath in the Scythians

The Scythians were a nomadic people who inhabited the Pontic Steppes and western Central Asia around the 7th century BC. Although it is not known exactly where they lived before, it is thought that they came from the east or southeast.

Scythians traded with Greek city-states in the south and west for centuries. They generally exported animal products such as fur, in return they received wine and agricultural products.

The commercial relationship between the Scythians and the Ancient Greeks caused both societies to be influenced by each other. For this reason, the first to talk about the social structure of the Scythians are mostly Ancient Greek historians.

Jewelers of the Steppe: Scythians and Scythian Art

The first detailed information about the blood oath rituals of the Scythians was written by the Carian historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC.

According to Herodotus, the Scythians pour their own blood into an earthen pot during the blood oath ceremony. For this, they use a small piercing object or sword. Then they mix this blood with wine and drink it. Sometimes they even offer this drink to important people who are there. People who drink or lick each other’s blood are considered blood brothers from that moment on. A friendship that will last until death is born for them.

Max Ebert, a professor of prehistory, wrote that horns are sometimes used instead of earthen pots for drinking during blood oath rituals.1

According to İlhami Durmuş, a professor of history, the rituals in the Scythians are the same as the blood oath ceremonies in the ancient Turks.2

Blood Oath in the Huns and the Xiongnu People

Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, a Russian sinologist, stated that ceremonies similar to the blood oath ritual of the Scythians were also practiced among the Xiongnu people.

In the 1st century BC, a white horse was sacrificed in the ceremony that took place on the top of a mountain between Ho-han-ye, the leader of the Xiongnu people, and the Chinese ambassadors. Then Ho-han-ye dipped his sword in wine mixed with blood and drank this wine with a skull cup.

Organizing the ceremony on a mountain seems to be related to the mountain cult. Mountains were considered sacred in many communities, as they were thought to be close to God. In addition, the sacrifice of a white horse is a common tradition among nomadic tribes. Because the horse is one of the sacred animals of the nomads. And the white color is a symbol of innocence and purity, as one might guess.

It is also stated by J.J.M. De Groot, a historian and sinologist, that white horses were sacrificed and bloody drinks were drunk during the oath ceremonies between the Xiongnu people and the Chinese.3

It is thought that blood oath traditions spread to Europe through the Migration of Tribes and similar oath rituals were practiced among the Huns.

In this context, the blood oath ceremony between the leaders of the seven Hungarian tribes can be given as an example.

Blood Oath of the Scythians and Huns.
blood pact, hungarians,
The fresco, completed in the late 19th century by the Hungarian painter Bertalan Székely, is about the blood oath between seven Hungarian leaders.

This ceremony is almost the same as the oath ceremonies of both Scythians and Huns.

Blood Oath and Blood Brotherhood in Other Societies

The blood oath traditions inherited from the Scythians and Huns were similarly continued by other communities in the region. British archaeologist Ellis Minns stated that these rituals were common among Hungarians and Cumans.4

With the appearance of the Göktürks, the sword and knife became more prominent in the oath ceremonies. This seems to be related to the sacredness of iron in the Göktürks, known as a blacksmith community.

Abdülkadir İnan, a historian and folklorist, wrote that oath ceremonies were also practiced among Uyghurs and that Uyghurs drank oath wine.5

Based on the Icelandic Gísla Saga, it can be said that blood oaths were also practiced in Scandinavian communities.

In the Lokasenna poem, thought to have been written in the 10th or 11th century, it is written that Odin and Loki are blood brothers.

Blood and Wine

The tradition of drinking blood, which was common in oath ceremonies during the Antiquity, was replaced by the tradition of drinking wine in many communities in later periods.

Wine is a common metaphor in both art and literature. In art, blood symbolizes love, wealth and joy, and in spiritualism it is associated with transformation.



  1. “Südrußland: Skytho-Sarmatische Periode”, Max EBERT, deGruyter, ISBN: 9783111915067[]
  2. “İskitler”, İlhami DURMUŞ, Akçağ Yayınları, ISBN: 9786055413958[]
  3. “Die Hunnen Der Vorchristlichen Zeit”, Jan Jakob Maria De Groot, deGruyter, 1921[]
  4. “Scythians And Greeks”, Ellis Hovell MINNS, Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 9780511791772[]
  5. Eski Türklerde ve Folklorda ‘Ant’“, Abdülkadir İNAN, Ankara Üniversitesi, Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt 4, Sayı 8[]
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