Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-07-06
BLOOD VENGEANCE.
Law and Custom Concerning the Blood
Feuds of Persia.

| Law and Custom Concerning the isiood-
| Feuds of Persia.
| In the center of the town of Teheran-
| the seat of government of Nussir-Deen, the
King of Kings the Asylum of the Universe
is a large square; it is called the Square OF
the Gun. The huge piece of ordnance that
gives its name to the place is very like one
of the cannon which stand behind the
| horse guards. Clustered round it are q
group of weary-looking men. They are
| murderers; safe for the time being from
the law generally even from the avenger
of blood the place is bast CT sanctuary.
! Under the shadow or within touch of this
gun, the murderer even the traitor, is safe.
| Let him once leave this refuge, if only for
| Il few wards, and the criminal will fall into
the hands Of the law or the clutch of the
avenger of blood. For in Persia the muir
! derer has not so much to fear the law OF
| his country as the vengeance, legal or
| otherwise, of his victim relatives. Blood
! has price, and the price must be paid, Or
| the criminal must be prepared to shed his
own. The price is not arbitrary; it Is fixed
at So much for freed man, another price
for a woman, another for slave.
Nominally, and according to the relig-
! ious law. even the hairs of q mans beard
| have Il price lin camels} if extracted by
violence And within the last twenty
years we have known a case of a Mussul-
man who sent in 4 regular account in this
| form to Il European.
To fifteen hairs from the head ofRejeb
Its equivalent being fifteen camels 10 kerans:
| 1850 kerans AZ pounds sterling).
| Please pay bearer. lSeal OF high priest,
This document was quite in legal form
but, as the aggrieved Reich was unable to
| produce any hairs, tritling present salts
| fled him. So much for tooth; so much
for an eve: so much for each drop of
| blood; finally, so much for q life. And if
the guilty person cannot pay this price,
| then his own life is at the mercy of the vic
| TINS relatives. Such Is the law. But il is
a point of honor with the relatives of a
murdered man not to take money if posi-
| bic, but TO exact their right. Hence arise
blood feuds.' These are principally OBJ
served in the south Of Persia. There,
where every many is armed to the teeth,
| blood feuds are common. " must leave
you here, sahib, eXclaims your guide,
| quite rs 4 matter of course u have Il
blood feud with the next village. ana my
! life is not safe beyond this point. Some
| times these blood feuds remain I'M
avenged for many years; the guilty man
wisely keeping out of the reach Of the
| avengcr of blood by remaining in a village
! where the other dare not show his face on
account of the Nemesis awaiting him also
in that particular district.
Time sometimes, though rarely, heals
these feuds. 4 man gets tired of being
| hunted, of feeling that he may be shot or
stabbed, or poisoned at any moment, and
| he compromises. He gives the family of
| his victim a horse or money or so many
| bags of dates, or perhaps even the hand of
| his daughter IN marriage. Or perhaps a
youth OF 20 will shoot down an aged man,
the murderer of his grandfather, whom
perhaps he has never seen, and, fleeing TO
the arms of his delighted mother, will
| exclaim: have avenged our blood -
| thus bringing a " blood-feud on his own
| head. These are some of the results Of
! the universal practice in the south of Per-
sia, Of carrying arms. 1t must be remem-
| bered too, that the murderer in these
cases is not looked upon with horror-he is
| simply a man who has done his duty.
! North of Shiraz these blood-feuds are
| uncommon, and an Ispahani would GER
! tainly prefer the price or, failing that, 4
| decent sum in cash, TO judicial revenge.
As rule in the present day, a murderer is
executed. and never handed over to the
tender mercies Of his victims friends, but
legally the relatives can themselves take
The guilty mans life Foreign Letter.