Blood-brotherhoods and similar rites have been employed by men to mark friendships and alliances for thousands of years. Evidence of the practice can be found in the lore, literature and recorded history of most cultures—from Norse and Celtic mythologies to the tribes of Africa, Australia and the South Pacific, to the fiction of Jack London and Mark Twain.
This survey of blood-brotherhood rites is a toolbox for the imagination, containing a wealth of research about blood-brotherhood myths and practices from a wide variety of cultures and time periods, including excerpted texts and original translations by Nathan F. Miller. This follow-up to Androphilia: A Manifesto also documents a unique, modern adaptation of this ancient ritual, performed to bond author Jack Donovan and his long time compadre.
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By Justin Kolar
Oct 15, 2009
"Excellent" As one of a handful of men who were around for the discusions that took place around Jack Donovan's first book Androphilia, I was excited that long-held beliefs about sexuality, and more importantly, Manhood, were finally being addressed and given a proper label. When I heard that a follow up was in the works, this time focusing on the age old tradition of blood-brotherhood as a more fitting and appropriate solution to the "same-sex marriage" question, I was very excited. Blood Brotherhood provides a collection of stories of blood-binding rituals that men have made with their fellows, taken from such diverse places as African myth, Norse sagas, and Tom Sawyer. The book also explores the subject of tattoos and the relation tattooing has always had to the bonds that male friends make with one another, from sailors to the criminal fringe. A special blood-brother rite is included, which illustrates how these stories and myths can inspire new traditions... More > for men who wish to formalize and celebrate their own relationships. One might expect such a book to be dry or to read too much like an academic thesis. That isn't the case here. Reading this book was actually a lot of fun.< Less
