In traditional, customary practices of the Amhara region (independent of modern political conflicts), fleeing to another area after committing a homicide is a vital, institutionalized step to prevent an immediate cycle of blood feuds (Dembeles) and buy time for a peaceful settlement.
This customary legal tradition shares striking parallels with the Old Testament concept of "Cities of Refuge" (Numbers 35), where a killer could escape to a designated city to avoid being killed by the victim's avenging family before a fair trial could take place.
Traditionally, this practice functions through several key cultural mechanisms:
1. Evading the "Avenger of Blood" (Dem Mellash)
In Amhara customary law, if a person kills a community member, the family of the victim is culturally bound by an honor-shame complex to seek direct retribution. The Dem Mellash (blood avenger) is expected to kill the perpetrator or, in some cases, any male relative of the perpetrator's family to balance the score. By physically removing themselves and fleeing to another district or region, the killer prevents immediate vigilante justice and spontaneous bloodshed.
2. Safeguarding the Perpetrator's Kin
Blood feuds traditionally do not target just the killer; the victim’s family may retaliate against the killer’s brothers, father, or uncles. When a homicide occurs, the killer flees, and often their close family members will also go into hiding or temporarily abandon their land. This isolation contains the geographic scope of the crisis.
3. Activating the Council of Elders (Shimaglle)
In the Old Testament, the city of refuge held the killer until they could stand trial before the assembly. In the Amhara tradition, the killer's flight creates a physical and emotional cooling-off period necessary for traditional mediation (Shimglna). [1]
* While the killer is hidden away, neutral community elders (Shimaglle) step in to approach the grieving family.
* The elders act as intermediaries because it is too dangerous and culturally inappropriate for the perpetrator's family to approach the victims directly.
4. Reaching a Gumaa (Blood Wealth) Settlement
Once the elders successfully de-escalate the tension, they negotiate a traditional settlement called Gumaa(or Guma).
* Compensation: The killer’s family agrees to pay blood money or material compensation to the victim's family to "wash away" the blood guilt.
* The Ritual: A highly structured reconciliation ritual is performed where both families share a symbolic meal, drink local beer (Tella), and slaughter a sheep (Guma).