The Separation of Castes by Knowledge
The Five High Castes
The Lower Castes of Gor
Not Everyone on Gor is of a Caste
Displaying of the Caste Colours
"Caste is important to Goreans in a way that is difficult for members of a non-caste society to understand. Though there are doubtless difficulties involved with caste structure, the caste situation lends an individual identity and pride, allies him with thousands of caste brothers, and provides him with various opportunities and services. Recreation on Gor is often associated with caste, and tournaments and entertainments. Similarly, most public charity on Gor is administered through caste structure."(Slave Girl of Gor, page 213)
"I was also instructed in the Double Knowledge - that is, I was instructed in what the people, on the whole, believed, and then I was instructed in what the intellectuals were expected to know. Sometimes there was a surprising discrepancy between the two. For example, the population as a whole, the castes below the High Castes, were encouraged to believe that their world was a broad flat disc. Perhaps this was to discourage them from exploration or to develop in them a habit of relying on common-sense prejudices - something of a social control device.
On the other hand, the High Castes, specifically the Warriors, Builders, Scribes, Initiates and Physicians, were told the truth in such matters, perhaps because it was thought they would eventually determine it for themselves, from observations such as the shadow of their planet on one or another of Gor's three small moons during eclipses, the phenomenon of sighting the tops of distant objects first, and the fact that certain stars could not be seen from certain geographical positions; if the planet had been flat, precisely the same set of stars would have been observable from every position on its surface.
I wondered, however, if the Second Knowledge, that of the intellectuals, might not be as carefully tailored to preclude inquiry on their level as the First Knowledge apparently was to preclude inquiry on the level of the Lower Castes. I would guess that there is a Third Knowledge, that reserved to the Priest-Kings." (Tarnsman of Gor, page 41)
"We are going to the Chamber of the Council," he said.
I followed him.
The Chamber of the Council is the room in which the elected representatives of the High Castes of Ko-ro-ba hold their meetings. Each city has such a chamber. It was in the widest of cylinders, and the ceiling was at least six times the height of the normal living level. The ceiling was lit as if by stars, and the walls were of five colours, applied laterally, beginning from the bottom - white, blue, yellow, green, and red, caste colours. Benches of stone, on which the members of the Council sat, rose in five monumental tiers about the walls, one tier for each of the High Castes. These tiers shared the colour of that portion of the wall behind them, the caste colours.
The tier nearest the floor, which denoted some preferential status, the white tier, was occupied by Initiates, Interpreters of the Will of Priest-Kings. In order, the ascending tiers, blue, yellow, green, and red, were occupied by representatives of the Scribes, Builders, Physicians, and Warriors. (Tarnsman of Gor, pages 61-62)
Initiates Scribes Builders Physicians Warriors HIGH INITIATES
The Goreans generally, though there are exceptions, particularly the Caste of Initiates, do not believe in immortality. Accordingly, to be of a city is, in a sense, to have been a part of something less perishable than oneself, something divine in the sense of undying, Of course, as every Gorean knows, cities too are mortal, for cities can be destroyed as well as men. And this perhaps makes them love their cities the more, for they know that their city, like themselves, is subject to mortal termination. (Outlaw of Gor, page 22)Four times a year, correlated with the solstices and equinoxes, there are fairs held in the plains below the mountains, presided over by committees of Initiates, fairs in which men of many cities mingle without bloodshed, times of truce, times of contests and games, of bargaining and marketing. (Outlaw of Gor, page 47)
The High Initiate had risen to his feet and accepted a goblet from another Initiate, probably containing minced flavored ices, for the day was warm. Free women, here and there, were delicately putting tidbits beneath their veils. Some even lifted their veils somewhat to drink of the flavored ices. Some low-caste free women drank through their veils, and there were yellow and purple stains on the rep-cloth.
(Assassins of Gor, page 141)Merchants also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year near the Sardar Mountains. I say "in effect" because the fairs are nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which, however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, to members of the lowly, much despised Caste of Merchants, without which, incidentally, the fairs most likely could not exist, certainly not at any rate in their current form. (Nomads of Gor, page 85) And the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes as low as the Peasants, the Saddle-Makers, the Weavers, the Goat-Keepers, the Poets and the Merchants, but none of them groveled as did the Initiates; how strange, I thought (the Initiates claimed to be most like Priest-Kings, even to be formed in their image, and yet I knew that a Priest-King would never grovel; it seemed the Initiates, in their efforts to be like gods, behaved like slaves."
(Priest Kings of Gor, page 294)
SCRIBES
It took not much time to purchase a small bundle of supplies to take into the Sardar, nor was it difficult to find a scribe to whom I might entrust the history of the events at Tharna. I did not ask his name or he mine. I knew his caste, and he knew mine, and it was enough. He could not read the manuscript as it was written in English, a language as foreign to him as Gorean would be to most of you, but yet he would treasure the manuscript and guard it as though it were a most precious possession, for he was a scribe and it is the way of scribes to love the written word and keep it from harm, and if he could not read the manuscript what did it matter-perhaps someone could someday, and then the words which had kept their secret for so long would at least enkindle the mystery of communication and what had been written would be heard and understood.
(Priest-Kings of Gor, page 15)"...an intent, preoccupied scribe, lean and clad in the scribe's blue."
(Hunters of Gor, page 41)"Many castes, incidentally, have branches and divisions. Lawyers and Scholars, for example, and Record Keepers, Teachers, Clerks, Historians and Accountants are all Scribes." (Assassin of Gor, page 208) In many cities, of course, including Ar, time tends to be kept publicly. Official clocks are adjusted, of course, according to the announcements of scribes, in virtue of various astronomical measurements, having to do with the movements of the sun and stars. The calendar, and adjustments in it, are also the results of their researches, promulgated by civil authorities. The average Gorean has a variety of simple devices at his disposal for making the passage of time. Typical among them are marked or calibrated, candles, and dials, sand glasses, clepsydras and oil clocks. (Magicians of Gor, page 358) Many Gorean letters have a variety of pronunciations, depending on their linguistic context. Certain Scribes have recommended adding to the Gorean alphabet new letters, to independently represent some of these sounds which, now, require alternative pronunciations, context- dependent, of given letters. Their recommendations, it seems, are unlikely to be incorporated into formal Gorean. (Explorers of Gor, page 9)
BUILDERS
"Inside the tunnel, though dim, was not altogether dark, being lit by domelike, wire-protected energy bulbs. These bulbs, invented more than a century ago by the Caste of Builders, produce a clear, soft light for years without replacement." (Tarnsman of Gor, page 197)The women of a given caste, it should be noted, often do not engage in caste work. For example, a woman in the Metalworkers does not, commonly, work at the forge, nor is a woman of the Builders likely to be found supervising the construction of fortifications. (Fighting Slave of Gor, page 209)
PHYSICIANS
"On the first day the Physician, a quiet man in the green garments of his caste, examined me, thoroughly. The instruments he used, the tests he performed, the samples he required were not unlike those of Earth...I could see neither cords nor battery cases. Yet the room was filled with a soft, gentle white light, which the physician could regulate by rotating the base of the bulb. Further, certain pieces of his instrumentation were clearly far from primitive. For example, there was a small machine with gauges and dials. In this he would place slides, containing drops of blood and urine, flecks of tissue, a strand of hair. With a stylus he would note readings on the machine, and, on the small screen at the top of the machine, I saw, vastly enlarged, what reminded me of an image witnessed under a microscope."
(Captive of Gor, page 93)The Player was a rather old man, extremely unusual on Gor, where the stabilization serums were developed centuries ago by the Caste of Physicians in Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and transmitted to the physicians of other cities at several of the Sardar Fairs. Age, on Gor, interestingly, was regarded, and still is, by the caste of Physicians as a disease, not an inevitable natural phenomenon. (Assassins of Gor, page 30) The fairs, too, however, have many other functions. For example, they serve as a scene of caste conventions, and as loci for the sharing of discoveries and research. It is here, for example, that Physicians, and Builders and Artisans may meet and exchange ideas and techniques. It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized. it is here that songs are performed, and song dramas. Poets and Musicians, and jugglers and magicians, vie for the attention of the crowds. Here one finds peddlers and great merchants. (Beasts of Gor, page 44)
WARRIORS
"I am of the caste of Warriors, and it is in our codes that the only death fit for a man is that in battle, but I can no longer believe that this is true, for the man I met once on the road to Ko-ro-ba died well, and taught me that all wisdom and truth does not lie in my own codes."
(Priest Kings of Gor, page 14)"It is not the scarlet, not the steel, not the helm which makes a warrior."
(Beasts of Gor, page 340)"You have drawn a weapon against me," I said.
"You are of the warriors?" said the fellow. He wavered. He, too, knew the codes.
"Yes," I said.
"And he?" asked the fellow.
"He, too," I said.
"You are not in scarlet," he said.
"True," I said. Did he think that the color of a fellow's garment was what made him a warrior? Surely he must realize that one not of the warriors might affect the scarlet, and that one who wore the grimed gray of a peasant, one barefoot, and armed only with the great staff, might be of the scarlet caste. It is not the uniform which makes the warrior, the soldier." (Magicians of Gor, page 129)"Such things, I think, make Tharna an unusual city. She defends herself well, incidentally, and some, though perhaps they jest, speculate that her silver may be safer even than that of Argentum, which is an ally of Ar. One man of Tharna, it is said, is a match for ten from most cities. Whereas that is doubtless not true, it is not disputed that Tharnan warriors are among the most dangerous on Gor. it is indicative of this sort of thing that Tharnan mercenaries usually command high fees. Many mercenary companies use them as cadre and officers." (Dancer of Gor, page 386)
"Warriors, of course, are trained to rely upon peripheral vision. If he approached me too closely, coming within a critical distance, I could dash the page upward into his eyes and wrench the table up and about, plunging one of the legs into his diaphragm. Some authorities recommend breaking the kantharos into shards on the face, taking the tarbet above the bridge of the nose with the rim. This can be even more dangerous with a metal goblet. Many civilians, I believe do not know why certain warriors, by habit, request their paga in metal goblets when dining in public houses. They regard it, I suppose, as an eccentricity. I heard him make another sound of contempt, and then he strode away toward another table. He was still alive." (Renegades of Gor, page 76-77) "The theoretical justification of the games of Love War, from the Turian point of view, is that they provide an excellent arena in which to demonstrate the fierceness and prowess of Turian warriors, thus perhaps intimidating or, at the very least, encouraging the often overbold warriors of the Wagon Peoples to be wary of Turian steel. The secret justification, I suspect, however, is that the Turian warrior is fond of meeting the enemy and acquiring his women, particularly should they be striking little beasts, like Hereena of the First Wagon, as untamed and savage as they are beautiful; it is regarded as a great sport among Turian warriors to collar such a wench and force her to exchange riding leather for the bells and silks of a perfumed slave girl." (Nomads of Gor, page 116)
Lower Castes of Gor
ASSASSIN (BLACK CASTE COLOR)
For years the black of the Assassins had been outlawed in the city. Pa-Kur, who had been Master of the Assassins, had led a league of tributary cities to attack Imperial Ar in the time when its Home Stone had been stolen and its Ubar forced to flee. The city had fallen and Pa-Kur, though of low caste, had aspired to inherit the imperial mantle of Marlenus, had dared to lift his eyes to the throne of Empire and place about his neck the golden medallion of a Ubar, a thing forbidden to such as he in the myths of the CounterEarth.
....(continuing)...
Yet none would stand in the way of Kuurus for he wore on his forehead, small and fine, the sign of the black dagger.
When he of the Caste of Assassins has been paid his gold and has received his charge he affixes on his forehead that sign, that he may enter whatever city he pleases, that none may interfere with his work.
(Assassin of Gor, Second Scroll, pages 6-7)On the hilt of the dagger, curling about it, was the legend, 'I have sought him. I have found him.' It was a killing knife. 'The Caste of Assassins?' I had asked.
'Unlikely,' had said the Older Tarl, 'for Assassins are commonly too proud for poison.'
(Assassins of GOR, page 42)
BAKERS
"I stayed for four days in the rooms above the shop of Dina of Turia, there I dyed my hair black and exchanged the robes of the merchant for the yellow and brown tunic of the Bakers; to which caste her father and two brothers had belonged."
(Nomads of Gor, page 237)
MERCHANTS
"Down the stairway slowly, in trailing white silk, bordered with gold, the colors of the Merchants... ...Aphris of Turia, then, was of the caste of merchants."
(Nomads of Gor, page 91)"I wore a white robe, woven of the wool of the Hurt, imported from distant Ar, trimmed with golden cloth, from Tor, the colors of the Merchant."
(Hunters of Gor, page 7)"My assistant, a large fellow, but obviously stupid, smooth-shaven as are the perfumers, in white and yellow silk, and golden sandals, bent over, hurried forward. He carried a tray of vials."
(Marauders of Gor, page 111)"The brand used by Forkbeard is not uncommon in the north, though there is less uniformity in Torvaldsland on these matters than in the south, where the merchant caste, with its recommendations for standardization, is more powerful. All over Gor, of course, the slave girl is a familiar commodity."
(Marauders of Gor, page 87)Merchants also, in effect, arrange and administer the four great fairs that take place each year near the Sardar Mountains. I say "in effect" because the fairs are nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which, however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, to members~of the lowly, much despised Caste of Merchants, without which, incidentally, the fairs most likely could not exist, certainly not at any rate in their current form.
(Nomads of Gor, page 85)
SLAVER
"Samos wore the blue and yellow robes of the Slaver."
(Hunters of Gor, page 7)"The Slavers, incidentally, are of the Merchant caste, though, in virtue of their merchandise and practices, their robes are different."
(Assassin of Gor, page 208)The distinction, of course, is between belonging to the caste of slavers and being a slaver. Whereas members of the cast of slavers are slavers, not all slavers are members of the caste of slavers. For example, I am not of the slavers, but in Port Kar I am known as Bosk, and he is known as many things, among them pirate and slaver. Too, both Marcus and myself were of the warriors, the scarlet caste, and as such were not above taking slaves. Such is not only permitted in the codes, but encouraged by them. "The slave is a joy and a convenience to the warrior." Neither of us, of course, was a member of the caste of slavers. It, incidentally, is sometimes regarded as a subcaste of the merchants, and sometimes as an independent caste. It does have its own colors, blue and yellow, whereas those of merchants are yellow and white, or gold and white.
(Magicians of Gor, page 317)This is a wooden walkway, about five feet wide and one hundred feet long. On the walkway, back and forth, smiling, looking one way then the other, turning about, parade stripped bond-maids. They are not for sale, though many are sold from the platform. The platform is instituted for the pleasure of the free men. It is not unanalogous to the talmit competitions, though no talmit is awarded. There are judges, usually minor Jarls and slavers. No judge, incidentally, is female. No female is regarded as competent to judge a female's beauty; only a man, it is said, can do that. (Marauders of Gor, page 154)
**Please Note: While the following castes, most likely, have assigned caste colours, the references were not able to be found in the scrolls readily.**
BARGEMEN
I crossed the Cartius on a barge, one of several hired by the merchant of the caravan with which I was then serving. These barges, constructed of layered timbers of Ka-la-na wood, are towed by teams of river tharlarion, domesticated, vast, herbivorous, web-footed lizards raised and driven by the Cartius bargemen, fathers and sons, interrelated clans, claiming the status of a cast for themselves.
(Nomads of Gor, page 4)
CHARCOAL MAKERS
His stature and burden proclaimed him a member of the Caste of Carriers of Wood, or Woodsmen, that Gorean caste which, with the caste of Charcoal Makers, provides most of the common fuel for the Gorean cities."
(Outlaw of Gor, page 27)
CLOTH WORKERS
"The carders and the dyers, incidentally, are subcastes separate from the weavers, All are subcastes of the rug makers, which itself, interestingly, perhaps surprisingly, is accounted generally as a subcaste of the cloth workers.Rug makers themselves, however usually regard themselves in their various subcastes, as being independent of the cloth workers. A rug maker would not care to be confused with a maker of kaftans, turbans or djellabas."
(Tribesman of Gor, page 47)
GOAT-KEEPERS
And the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes as low as the Peasants, the Saddle-Makers, the Weavers, the Goat-Keepers, the Poets and the Merchants, but none of them groveled as did the Initiates; how strange, I thought (the Initiates claimed to be most like Priest-Kings, even to be formed in their image, and yet I knew that a Priest-King would never grovel; it seemed the Initiates, in their efforts to be like gods, behaved like slaves."
(Priest Kings of Gor, page 294)
LEATHER WORKERS
Harness Makers
"This street, however, had a name. It was Harness Street, apparently so called from long ago when it was once a locale of several harness makers. The harness makers are members of the caste of Leather Workers. The “harness makers” on Gor, provide not just harnesses but an entire line of associated products, such as saddles, bridles, reins, hobblings and tethers. Presumably the harness makers on this street would not have dealt in slave harnesses." (Magicians of Gor, page 109)
METAL WORKERS
"The girl was brought into the shop and stood in the branding rack, which was then locked on her, holding her upright. The metal worker placed her wrists behind her in the wrist clamps, adjustable, each on their vertical, flat metal bar. He screwed shut the clamps. She winced. He then shackled her feet on the rotating metal platform.
"Left thigh or right thigh?" he asked.
"Left thigh," said Ulafi. Slave girls are commonly branded on the left thigh. Sometimes they are branded on the right thigh, or lower left abdomen.
The metal worker turned the apparatus, spinning the shaft, with its attached, circular metal platform. The girl's left thigh now faced us. It was an excellent thigh. It would take the mark well. The metal worker then, with a wheel, tightening it, locked the device in place, so that it could not turn." (Explorers of Gor, page 71)My opponent was not Andreas, but a squat, powerful man with short-clipped yellow hair, Kron of Tharna, of the Caste of Metal Workers." (Outlaw of Gor, page 113) The women of a given caste, it should be noted, often do not engage in caste work. For example, a woman in the Metal Workers does not, commonly, work at the forge, nor is a woman of the Builders likely to be found supervising the construction of fortifications. (Fighting Slave of Gor, page 209) "I have five brands, said the Metal Worker, *the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar." (Explorers of Gor, page 70)
FREE PEASANT
Economically, the base of the Gorean life was the free peasant, which was perhaps the lowest but undoubtedly the most fundamental caste"
(Tarnsman of Gor, page 43)In rare cases, one might have been permitted by the Council of High Caste to raise caste. None of course would accept a lower caste, and there were lower castes, the caste of Peasants for example, the most basic Caste of all Gor.
(Outlaw of Gor, page 27)
PLAYERS & MUSICIANS
In most cities it is regarded, incidentally, as a criminal offense to enslave one of the Caste of Players. A similar decree, in most cities, stands against the enslavement of of one who is of the Caste of Musicians.
(Beasts of Gor, page 44)The Players are not a Caste, nor a clan, but they tend to be a group apart, living their own lives. They are made up of men from various castes who often have little in common but the game, but that is more than enough. They are men who commonly have an extraordinary aptitude for the game but beyond this men who have become drunk on it, men lost in the subtle, abstract liquor of variation, pattern and victory, men who live for the game, who want it and need it as other men might want gold, or others power and women, or others the rooled, narcotic strings of toxic kanda."
(Assassin of Gor, page 27)***Note: The Caste of Players refers to the players of the game of Kaissa***
POETS & SINGERS
"On Gor, the singer, or poet, is regarded as a craftsman who makes strong sayings, much like a potmaker makes a good pot or a saddle-maker makes a worthy saddle. He has his role to play in the social structure, celebrating battles and histories, singing of heroes and cities, but also he is expected to sing of living, and of love and joy, not merely of arms and glory; and, too, it is his function to remind the Gorean from time to time of loneliness and death, lest they should forget that they are men. " (Outlaw of Gor, pages 103-104)The Caste Singers and Poets while highly prized in most cities on Gor were not as high regarded in others. For instance they were not welcomed guests in the city of Tharna. But in other areas of Gor it was a criminal offense to enslave one of the Caste of Musicians. "The Caste of Poets is not so bad," I said to Linna. "Of course not," she said, "but they are outlawed in Tharna."
(Outlaw of Gor, page 105 )"It could have been worse, I thought. After all, though the Caste of Singers, or Poets, was not a high caste, it had more prestige than, for example, the Caste of Pot-Makers or Saddle-Makers, with which it was sometimes compared."
(Outlaw of Gor, page 103)"This trick was taught to me by Andreas of Tor, years ago, of the Caste of Singers, for doors in the city of Tor are commonly of this variety. His own knot was a sixty-two turn knot, his father's was seventy-one; one of his brothers used a hundredand-four turn knot, which, as I recall, Andreas thought a bit pretentious."
(Assassin of Gor, page 54)"In spite of some reservations the Poet, or Singer, was loved on Gor. It had not occurred to him that he owed misery and torment to his profession, and on the whole, the Caste of Poets was thought to be a most happy band of men "A handful of bread for a song," was a common Gorean invitation extended to members of the caste, and it might occur on the lips of a peasant or a Ubar, and the poet took great pride that he would sing the same song in both the hut of the peasant and the halls of the Ubar, though it won for him only a crust of bread in one place and a cap of gold in the other, gold often squandered on a beautiful woman who might leave him nothing but his songs. "
(Outlaw of Gor, page 104 )
POTTERS & POT-MAKERS
"On Gor, the singer, or poet, is regarded as a craftsman who makes strong sayings, much like a potmaker makes a good pot or a saddle-maker makes a worthy saddle. " (Outlaw of Gor, pages 103-104)"Hup's rag might once have been of the Caste of Potters."
(Assassin of Gor, page 10)It could have been worse, I thought. After all, though the Caste of Singers, or Poets, was not a high caste, it had more prestige than, for example, the Caste of Pot-Makers or Saddle-Makers, with which it was sometimes compared." (Outlaw of Gor, page 103)
SADDLE MAKERS
On Gor, the singer, or poet, is regarded as a craftsman who makes strong sayings, much like a potmaker makes a good pot or a saddle-maker makes a worthy saddle. (Outlaw of Gor, page 103-104)It could have been worse, I thought. After all, though the Caste of Singers, or Poets, was not a high caste, it had more prestige than, for example, the Caste of Pot-Makers or Saddle-Makers, with which it was sometimes compared." (Outlaw of Gor, page 103)
TARN KEEPERS
The tarn-whistle, as one might expect, is used to summon the bird. Usually, the most highly trained tarns will respond to only one note, that sounded by the whistle of their master. There is nothing surprising in this inasmuch as each bird is trained, by the Caste of Tarn Keepers, to respond to a different note. When the tarn is presented to a warrior or sold to one, the whistle accompanies the bird. (Outlaw of Gor, page 24)
THIEVES
"On his right cheek, over the cheekbone was the Thief brand of the Caste of Thieves of Port Kar, who use the small brand to identify their members." (Assassin of Gor, page 96)"The thief's scar in Port Kar is a tiny, three-pronged brand, burned into the face over the right cheekbone. It marks the members of the Cast of Thieves in Port Kar. That is the only city in which, as far as I know, there is a recognized Caste for Thieves."
(Mercenaries of Gor, page 239)
WEAVERS
And the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes as low as the Peasants, the Saddle-Makers, the Weavers, the Goat-Keepers, the Poets and the Merchants, but none of them groveled as did the Initiates; how strange, I thought (the Initiates claimed to be most like Priest-Kings, even to be formed in their image, and yet I knew that a Priest-King would never grovel; it seemed the Initiates, in their efforts to be like gods, behaved like slaves."
(Priest Kings of Gor, page 294)
WOODSMEN - WOOD-CARRIERS>
"His stature and burden proclaimed him a member of the Caste of Carriers of Wood, or Woodsmen, that Gorean caste which, with the caste of Charcoal Makers, provides most of the common fuel for the Gorean cities."
(Outlaw of Gor, page 27)"Whereas I was of high caste and he was of low, yet in his own hut he would be, by the laws of Gor, a prince and sovereign, for then he would be in the place of his own Home Stone."
(Outlaw of Gor, page 29)The Gorean woodsman, it might be mentioned, before he will strike a tree with an axe, speaks to the tree, begs its forgiveness and explains the use to which the wood will be put."
(Captive of Gor, page 238)Not Everyone on Gor is of a Caste... "Caste is important to the Gorean in ways that are difficult to make clear to one whose social structures do not include the relationships of caste. In almost every city, for example, one knows there will be caste brothers on whom one may depend.
Charity, too, for example, is almost always associated with caste rights on Gor. One of the reasons there are so few outlaws on Gor is doubtless that the outlaw, in adopting his way of life, surrenders caste rights.
The slave, too, of course, has no caste rights. He stands outside the structure of society. He is an animal. It is said on Gor that only slaves, outlaws, and Priest-Kings, rumored to be the rulers of Gor, reputed to live in the remote Sardar Mountains, are without caste.
This saying, however, it might be pointed out, as Goreans recognize, is not strictly true. For example, some individuals have lost caste, or been deprived of caste; some individuals have been born outside of caste; certain occupations are not traditionally associated with caste, such as gardening, domestic service and herding; and, indeed, there are entire cultures and peoples on Gor to whom caste is unknown..."
(Fighting Slave of Gor, page 210)
"Race, incidentally, is not a serious matter generally for Goreans, perhaps because of the intermixtures of people. Language and city, and caste, however, are matters of great moment to them, and provide sufficient basis for the discriminations in which human beings take such great delight."
(Beasts of Gor, page 156)The caste system was socially efficient, given its openness with respect to merit, but I regarded it as somehow ethically objectionable. It was still too rigid, in my opinion, particularly with respect to the selection of rulers from the High Castes and with respect to the Double Knowledge. But far more deplorable than the caste system was the institution of slavery. There were only three statuses conceivable to the Gorean mind outside the caste system: slave, outlaw, and Priest-King. A man who refused to practise his livelihood or strove to alter status without the consent of the Council of High Castes was, by definition, an outlaw and subject to impalement.
(Tarnsman of Gor, pages 45-46)
On the shoulders of their gray tunics only a small band of color indicated caste. Normally the caste colors of Gor would be in abundant evidence, enlivening the streets and bridges of the city, a glorious spectacle in Gor's bright clear air.
I wondered if men in this city were not proud of their caste, as were , on the whole, other Goreans, even those of the so called lower caste.
(Outlaw of Gor, page 70)When I returned to Ko-ro-ba with Talena, a great feast was held and we celebrated our Free Companionship. A holiday was declared, and the city was ablaze with light and song. Shimmering strings of bells pealed in the wind, and festive lanterns of a thousand colors swung from the innumerable flower-strewn bridges. there was shouting, and laughter, and the glorious colors of the castes of Gor, mingled equally in the cylinders. (Tarnsman of Gor, page 216)
