How Did Temujin And Jamuqa Commit The Last Ceremony?

When Temujin was eleven he became the sworn friend of a boy named Jamuqa when they exchanged gifts and played together. Much later, they again declared themselves sworn friends when they exchanged gifts, renewing the bond. The third time they declared their allegiance was different. This time, they were both adults, the ceremony was much more lengthy and meaningful, and was held in the midst of many witnesses. In The Secret History, the author describes how Temujin and Jamuqa pronounced their friendship to one another with a long oath about how they would be forever tied to each other through their mutual love and care. They then exchanged gifts of valuable loot from aristocrats they had conquered and held a feast to celebrate, then spent the night sleeping together. This extravagant ceremony and the fact that the two men still kept and even created tighter and tighter bonds with each other into adulthood shows how much …show more content…
This final event that would lead to Temujin’s naming was the last encounter between the two rivals. When his rival was finally presented before him, Temujin actually wished to make amends with Jamuqa and rule together, as they would if they had never broken their bond. Jamuqa’s response was that of a man full of regret. He responded with only a request that he be killed in the most honorable way recognized by the Mongols, rather than make up with his old friend. He told Temujin that if he were to be kept alive, he would only prove to be a nuisance to the tribe leader, and that if he were to be killed, Temujin might have less to concern himself with. Without these intentions by Jamuqa, Temujin would not have been named Genghis Khan, because there can of course be only one universal leader for the Mongols, and the legacy we know of today as that of Genghis Khan would have been severely