Victory Ale

The Forkbeard himself now, from a wooden keg, poured a great tankard of ale, which must have been of the measure of five gallons. over this he then closed his fist. It was the sign of the hammer, the sign of Thor. The tankard then, with two great bronze handles, was passed from hands to hands among the rowers. The men threw back their heads and, the liquid spilling down their bodies, drank ale. It was the victory ale.
Marauders of Gor, pg 82

Above the salt

Salt, in its bowls on the tables, divided men into rankings. Those sitting above the salt were accorded greater prestige than those sitting below it. If one sat between the salt and the high seat, one sat "above" the salt; if one sat between the salt and the entrance to the hall, one sat "below" the salt. At the high-seat table, that at which the high seat sat, all counted as being "above the salt." Similarly, at the tables parallel to the high-seat table, smaller tables flanking the long fire on both sides, the tables nearest the high seat counted as being above the salt, those farthest away being below the salt. The division, was made approximately at the third of the hall closest to the high seat, but could shift, depending on the numbers of those in attendance worthy to be above the salt. The line, so to speak, imaginary to be sure, but definitely felt as a social reality, dividing those above from those below the salt, was uniformly "drawn" across the width of the hall. Thus, it was not the case that one at a long side table, who was above the salt, would be farther away from the high seat than one at one of the center tables, who was "below" the salt. In Ivar Forkbeard�s hall, incidentally, the salt distinctions were not drawn; in his hall all being comrades in arms, all were "above the salt." Svein Blue Tooth�s holdings, on the other hand, were quite large and complexly organized. It would not have seemed proper, at least in the eyes of Svein Blue Tooth and others, for a high officer to sit at the same table with a fellow whose main occupation was supervising thralls in the tending of verr.
Marauders of Gor pg 187

Tasting of salt

"'Friend', he had said. 'Friend,' I had said. We had then tasted salt, each from the back of the wrist of the other."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 70

"Let there be salt between us," he said.
"Let there be salt between us," I said.
He placed salt from the small dish on the back of his right wrist. . . .
I placed salt on the back of my right wrist. . . .
I touched my tongue to the salt in the sweat of his right wrist, and he touched his tongue to the salt on my right wrist. "We have shared salt," he said.
He then placed in my hand the golden tarn disk, of Ar, with which I had purchased my instruction.
"It is yours," I said.
"How can that be?" he asked.
"I do not understand," I said.
He smiled. "We have shared salt," he said.

Tribesmen of Gor - Page 60

Welcoming guests

Though the hall of Ivar Forkbeard was built only of turf and stone, and though he himself was outlaw, he had met me at its door, after I had been bidden wait outside, in his finest garments of scarlet and gold, and carrying a bowl of water and a towel. "Welcome to the hall of Ivar Forkbeard," he had said. I had washed my hands and face in the bowl, held by the master of the house himself, and dried myself on the towel.
Marauders of Gor, pg

Worship and the Sign of the Hammer

"Standing on the fragments of of the circle, Ivar Forkbeard cried out, his ax lifted, and his left hand too, 'Praise to Odin!' And then, throwing his ax to his left shoulder, holding it there by his left hand he turned and faced the Sardar, and lifted his fist, clenched. It was not only a sign of defiance to the Priest-Kings, but the fist, the sign of the hammer. It was the sign of Thor."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 48

"The Forkbeard himself now, from a wooden keg, poured a great tankard of ale, which must have been the measure of five gallons. Over this he then closed his fist. It was the sign of the hammer, the sign of Thor..."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 82