28 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY 



The avenger is not actuated by personal passion. . . . He acts 

 under what he considers as a moral obligation, just as the European judge 

 who, in obedience to the same principle of blood for blood, hands over 

 the condemned murderer to the hangman.&quot; (38: 109.) 



There is a belief that the soul of the murdered person does 

 not get rest till he is avenged. (66 : 186.) 



The proper agent of revenge is the nearest male relative of the 

 victim, although other relatives and even place-fellows may join. 

 ( 5 : 582 ; 53 : 35, 287, 446 ; 19 : 69 ; 50 : 61 ; 45 : 292. ) The primary 

 object of the revenge is the death of the murderer himself. It 

 is said to be usual for the avenger to explain to the murderer 

 the reason for his taking-off. ( 16. 1 : 177. ) But, especially if 

 the slayer cannot be apprehended, some of his relatives are also 

 liable to be put to death. There appears to be a definite idea 

 of personal responsibility, although with that goes communal 

 liability also. Rink classes revenge carried out on some kindred 

 or place-fellow as &quot;neither decidedly admissive nor altogether 

 unlawful.&quot; (53 : 35.) If a murdered man leaves an infant son, 

 the latter is obliged to avenge his father s death as soon as he 

 arrives at puberty. (45:292.) This is a frequent theme in 

 folk-lore, (e. g., 53:368, 450.) The boy s training has this 

 as its chief end. Now thou hast seen thy father killed, it will 

 not do for thee to grow up in idleness,&quot; is a grandfather s 

 admonition. (53 : 355.) At the conclusion of a tale of this type, 

 Rink gives us what he calls the &quot;very characteristic remark&quot; 

 of the native narrator: 



&quot;It is generally supposed that if his foster-father had not continually 

 excited him [to revenge the murder of his parents], he would scarcely 

 have grown to be so immensely strong.&quot; (53: 207.) 



Boas tells us of a strange method of executing the blood- 

 revenge among the central Eskimo. 



Strange as it may seem, a murderer will come to visit the relatives 

 of his victim (though he knows that they are allowed to kill him in 

 revenge) and will settle with them. He is kindly welcomed and some 

 times lives quietly for weeks and months. Then he is suddenly challenged 

 to a wrestling match, and if defeated, is killed, or if victorious he may 

 kill one of the opposite party, or when hunting he is suddenly attacked 

 by his companions and slain/ (5: 582; cf. 53: 340.) 



Often the blood-feud consists of a long series of retaliations, 

 the first revenge calling forth another, and so on. It may even 



