Brands

There are various types of slave brands some used for punishment, some for ownership and some represent the tribe the slave was branded in. A brand may be used in the castes as well, as in the Caste of Thieves listed below, slaves are not the only ones in Gor that wear brands.

Why brand a slave?   Brand Types  Brand locations
Branding Rack   Free Person Brands
 

More Collar/Branding/Submission quotes
 

         "The brand was on Gor legal, institutional status; that which it marks it makes an object; its victim has not  rights, or appeal, within the law."
Slave Girl of Gor Page 60

Kan-lara
The Gorean word for slave brand
 Eta smiled.
She pointed to her brand. "Kan-lara," she said.
She pointed to my brand. "Kan-lara Dina," she said.
I repeated these words.
Slave Girl of Gor, page 80

Why brand a slave?

When an individual captures a girl for his own uses, he does not always mark her, though it is commonly done. On the other hand, the professional slaver, as a business practice, almost always brands his chattels, and it is seldom that an unbranded girl ascends the block.  The brand is to be distinguished from the collar, though both are designation of slavery. The primary significance of the collar is that it identifies the master and his city. The collar of a given girl may be changed countless times, but the brand continues throughout to bespeak her status.
Outlaw of Gor, page 189

I have wondered upon occasion why brands are used on Gorean slaves. Surely Goreans have at their disposal means for indelibly but painlessly marking the human body. My conjecture, confirmed to some extent by the speculations of the Older Tarl, who had taught me the craft of arms in Ko-ro-ba years ago, is that the brand is used primarily, oddly enough, because of its reputed psychological effect. In theory, if not in practice, when the girl finds herself branded like an animal, finds her fair skin marked by the iron of a master, she cannot fail, somehow, in the deepest levels of her thought, to regard herself as something which is owned, as mere property, as something belonging to the brute who has put the burning iron into her thigh. Most simply, the brand is supposed to convince the girl that she is truly owned; it is supposed to make her feel owned. When the iron is pulled away and she knows the pain and degradation and smells the odor of her burned flesh, she is supposed to tell herself, understanding its full and terrible import, I AM HIS. Actually I suppose the effect depends greatly on the girl. In many girls I would suppose the brand has little effect besides contributing to their shame, their misery and humiliation. With other girls it might well increase their intractability, their hostility.
Outlaw of Gor Page 189
 

Brand Types:

Common kajira brand

"With a heavy glove, Hassan pulled an iron from the brazier. "What do you think of this brand?" he
asked. It was the Taharic slave mark. "It is beautiful," I said. "But let us assure ourselves that this will be a common slave, one fit to sell north." "A good idea," said Hassan. He returned the one iron to the brazier and reached for another. It glowed red. It was a fine iron, clean and precise. At it's tip, bright red, was the common Kajira slave mark of Gor. "
Tribesmen of Gor Page 337

Dina
a flower found on Gor, this shape is also at times used as a brand shape

"I had seen the design at the tip of the iron. It was a small flower, stylized, it was circular, about an inch and a half in diameter, it was not unlike a small rose, it was incredibly lovely and delicate."
Slave Girl of Gor, page 52

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kaura brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
Explorers of Gor, page 70

Forkbeard

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. The brand used by the Forkbeard, found rather frequently in the north, consisted of a half circle, with, at its right tip, adjoining it, a steep, diagonal line. The half circle is about an inch and a quarter in height. The brand is, like many, symbolic. In the north, the bond-maid is sometimes referred to as a women whose belly lies beneath the sword.
Mauraders of Gor, page 87

Kassar's
One of the four tribes of  The wagon People, also known as The Blood People. Their brand is three circles joined at the center by lines, a symbolic representation of the bola. Kassar's use this brand to mark Their bosk and slaves

The standard of the Kassars is that of a scarlet, three-weighted bola, which hangs from a lance; the symbolic representation of a bola, three circles joined at the center by lines, is used to mark their bosk and slaves;
Nomads of Gor, page 106

Kataii
One of the four tribes of  The wagon People. Their brand represents the yellow bow facing to the left.

the standard of the Kataii is a yellow bow, bound across a black lance, their brand is also that of a bow, facing to the left
Nomads of Gor, page 106

Kaura

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kaura brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
Explorers of Gor, page 70

kef
this is the first letter of the Gorean alphabet as well as the most common slave brand shape, shaped like a cursive K.

"The man, placing heavy gloves on his hands, withdrew from the brazier a slave iron. Its tip was a figure some inch and a half high, the first letter in the cursive script, in the Gorean alphabet, of the expression Kajira. It is a beautiful letter."
Hunters of Gor, page 51

For example,. in the slave brand, the 'kef', though clearly a Kef and in cursive script, is more floral, in the extended, upturned, frondlike curls, than would be the common cursive Kef. This tends to make the mark more feminine. It is at this point that the symbolism of the brand becomes clear. The two frondlike curls indicate femininity and beauty; the staff, in its uncompromising severity, indicates that the femininity is subject to discipline; the upturned curves on the frondlike curls indicate total openness and vulnerability. it is a very simple, lovely brand, simple, as befits a slave, lovely, as befits a woman.
Explorers of Gor  pg. 12

 I had now been branded, a small, graceful mark burned into my left thigh, high, under the hip. It had a vertical bar, a rather strict one, with two curling, frondlike extensions, rather near its base, as though in submission to it. It looked a little like a 'K.'
Magicians of Gor, page 67

Knife
Like a tattoo, an appropriate design is cut into the thigh of a slave and a colored powder is rubbed into it. Used in the jungle of Schendi.

From the box he then took a small, curved knife and a tiny, cylindrical leather flask. I gritted my teeth, but made no sound. With the small knife he gashed my left thigh, making upon it a small, strange design. He then took a powder, orange in color, from the flask and rubbed it into the wound.
Explorers of Gor, page 330

Kurii

Incidentally, there are many brands on Gor. Two that almost never occur on Gor, by the way, are those of the moons and collar, and of the chain and claw. The first of these commonly occurs in certain of the Gorean enclaves on Earth, which serve as headquarters for agents of the Priest-Kings, the second tends to occur in the lairs of Kurii agents on Earth; the first brand consists of a locked collar and, ascending diagonally above it, extending to the right, three quarter moons; this brand indicates the girl is subject to Gorean discipline, the chain-and-claw brand signifies, of course, slavery and subjection with the compass of the Kur yoke.
Explorers of Gor, page 12

Mark of Port Kar

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kaura brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
Explorers of Gor, page 70

Palm

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kaura brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
Explorers of Gor, page 70

Paravaci
One of the four tribes of the Wagon Peoples also know as the Rich People. Their brand is styled like that of a bosk head, a semi-circle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle.

the Paravaci standard is a large banner of jewels beaded on golden wires,
forming the head and horns of a bosk its value is incalculable,
the Paravaci brand is a symbolic representation of a bosk head,
a semicircle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle.
Nomads of Gor, page 106

Penalty brands
there are various penalty brands, a liar, a thief and traitor/traitress
there may be more but quotes haven't been found to back them as of yet.

Four men held me, naked, near the brazier. I could feel the heat blazing from the canister. The sky was very blue, the clouds were white.
"Please, no!" I wept.
I saw Rask, with a heave glove, draw forth one of the irons from the fire. It reminated in a tiny letter, not more that a quarter of an inch high. The letter was white hot. "This is a penalty brand," he said. "It marks you as a liar."
"Please, Master!" I wept.
"I no longer have patience with you," he said. "Be marked as what you are."
I screamed uncontrollably as he pressed in the iron, holding it firmly into my leg. Then, after some two to four Ihn, he removed it. I could not stop screaming with pain. I smelled the odor of burned flesh, my own. I began to whimper.
I could not breathe. I gasped for breath. Still the men held me.
"This penalty brand," said Rask of Treve, lifting another iron from the brazier, again with a tiny letter at its glowing termination, "marks you also as what you are, as a thief."
"Please, no, Master!" I wept.
I could not move a muscle of my left leg. It might as well have been locked in a vise. It must wait for the iron.
I screamed again, uncontrollably. I had been branded as a thief.
"This third iron," said Rask of Treve, "is, too, a penalty iron. I mark you with this not for myself, but for Ute."
Through raging tears I saw, white hot, the tiny letter. "It marks you as a traitress," said Rask of Treve. He looked at me, with fury. "Be marked as a traitress," he said. Then he pressed the third iron into my flesh. As it entered my flesh, biting and searing, I saw Ute watching, her face betraying no emotion. I screamed, and wept, and screamed.
Still the men did not release me.
Rask of Treve lifted the last iron from the fire. It was much larger, the letter at its termination some one and a half inches high. It, too, was white hot. I knew the brand. I had seen it on Ena's thigh. It was the mark of Treve. Rask of Treve decided that my flesh should bear that mark.
"No, Master, please!" I begged him.
"Yes, Worthless Slave," he said, "you will wear in your flesh the mark of the city of Treve."
"Please," I begged.
"When men ask you," said he, "who it was that marked you as a liar and a their, and traitress, point to this brand, and say, I was marked by one of Treve, who was displeased with me.
Captive of Gor, page 310

Priest-Kings

Incidentally, there are many brands on Gor. Two that almost never occur on Gor, by the way, are those of the moons and collar, and of the chain and claw. The first of these commonly occurs in certain of the Gorean enclaves on Earth, which serve as headquarters for agents of the Priest-Kings, the second tends to occur in the lairs of Kurii agents on Earth; the first brand consists of a locked collar and, ascending diagonally above it, extending to the right, three quarter moons, this brand indicates the girl is subject to Gorean discipline, the chain-and-claw brand signifies, of course, slavery and subjection with the compass of the Kur yoke.
Explorers of Gor, page 12

Treve (Mark of Treve)
the first letter, in cursive script, of the name of the city of Treve

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kaura brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar."
Explorers of Gor, page 70

"I have never seen a brand of Treve," I said.
     "It is rare," said Ena, proudly.
     "May I see your brand?" I asked. I was curious.
     "Of course," said Ena, and she stood up and, extending her left leg, drew her long, lovely white garment to her hip,
     revealing her limb.
     I gasped.
     Incised deeply, precisely, in that slim, lovely, now-bared thigh was a startling mark, beautiful, insolent, dramatically marking that beautiful thigh as that which it now could only be, that of a female slave.
     "It is beautiful," I whispered.
     Ena pulled away the clasp at the left shoulder of her garment, dropping it to her ankles.
     She was incredibly beautiful.
     "Can you read?" she asked.
     "No," I said.
     She regarded the brand. "It is the first letter, in cursive script," she said, "of the name of the city of Treve."
     Captive of Gor, page 277

Tuchuk
sign of the four bosk horns, resembling the letter H in the earth alphabet

I supposed that on the morrow Kamchak would call for the Tuchuk Iron Master, to brand what he called his little barbarian, the brand of the Tuchuk slave, incidentally, is not the same as that generally used in the cities, which for girls, is the first letter of the expression Kajira in cursive script. but the sign of the four bask horns that of the Tuchuk standard; the brand of the four bosk horns, set in such a manner as to somewhat resemble the letter "H." is only about an inch high, the common Gorean brand, on the other hand, is usually an inch and a half to two inches high, the brand of the four bosk horns, of course, is also used to mark the bosk of the Tuchuks, but there, of course, it is much larger, forming roughly a six-inch square, following the branding, I supposed that Kamchak would have one of the tiny nose rings affixed, all Tuchuk females, slave or free, wear such rings, after these things there would only remain, of course, an engraved Turian collar and the clothing of Elizabeth Cardwell Kajira.
Nomads of Gor, page 62
 

Location of the brand
"I could, of course, examine  your thighs, your lower left  abdomen, your body generally, "I said. The thighs and the lower left abdomen are the brand sites recommended by Merchant Law.  Masters, of course, may brand a girl wherever they please. She is theirs. Sometimes brands are placed on the left side of the
 neck, on the left calf, the interior of the left heel, and on the inside of the left forearm.  The customary brand site, incidentally, is high on the left thigh. That is the site almost invariably utilized in marking
Gorean kajirae.
Fighting slave of Gor  Page 349

"Yes, left thigh," said Samos to one of the guards. I liked the left-thigh branded girl. A right-handed master may
caress it while he holds her in his left arm."
Beasts of Gor, page 25

"Where are we branded?" She said.
"A girl is commonly branded on the left or right thigh," I said, "sometimes on the lower left abdomen."
--Beasts of Gor, page 229

"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."
Explorers of Gor, page 71
 

Branding Rack:

A new slave will be chained into a branding rack, her thigh in a vise like device keeping it still so the brand may be burned deep and clean, the clearer the brand the more value it adds to the slave.

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
 

A Free Person's brand

Caste of Thieves in Port Kar

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

Passage (or acceptance brand)
In the shape of spread bosk horns usually found on the forearms of Goreans, this brand guarantees Their safe passage during certain times of the year across the plains of the Wagon People. Ones carrying this brand approach the wagons as slaves do and may be infact slain when attempting to get this brand if say in the case of a Singer the song is rejected.

The street was lined by throngs of Tuchuks and slaves. Among them, too, were soothsayers and haruspexes, and singers and musicians, and, here and there, small peddlers and merchants, of various cities, for such are occasionally permitted by the Tuchuks, who crave their wares, to approach the wagons. Each of these, I was later to learn, wore on his forearm a tiny brand, in the form of spreading bosk horns, which guaranteed his passage, at certain seasons, across the plains of the Wagon Peoples. The difficulty, of course is in first obtaining the brand. If, in the case of a singer, the song is rejected, or in the case of a merchant, his merchandise is rejected, he is slain out of hand. This acceptance brand, of course, carries with it a certain stain of ignominy, suggesting that those who approach the wagons do as slaves.
Nomads of Gor, page 34