"Talena stood up. "Tonight," she said, "let us drink wine," It was a Gorean expression, a fatalistic maxim in which the events of the morrow were cast into the laps of the Priest Kings. "Let us drink wine," I agreed." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 162, by John Norman.

General Info

Applause
I removed my helmet, feeling proud as I heard the approval of the Council, both in voice and by Gorean applause, the quick, repeated striking of the left shoulder with the palm of the right hand." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 63, by John Norman.

Basic Political Division on Gor
"The city-state," said my father, speaking to me late one afternoon, "is the basic political division on Gor-- hostile cities controlling what territory they can in their environs, surrounded by a no-man's land of open ground on every side." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 42, by John Norman.

Leadership of a City
How's leadership decided in these cities?" I asked. "Rulers," he said, "are chosen from any High Caste." 'Yes, of course,' was the answer. 'In fact, in the First Knowledge, there is a story told to the young in their public nurseries, that if a man from Lower Caste should come to rule in a city, the city would come to ruin.' 'The High Castes in a given city, elect an administrator and council for stated terms. In times of crisis, a war chief, or Ubar, is named, who rules without check and by decree until, in his judgement, the crisis is passed.' 'Normally the office is surrendered after the passing of the crisis,' said my father. 'It is part of the Warrior's Code.' Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 41, by John Norman.

Double knowledge
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. the High Castes, specifically the Warriors, Builders, Scribes, Initiates and Physicians, were told the truth in such matters." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 41, by John Norman.

First knowledge
Earth origin, incidentally, was not a part of the First Knowledge, tho it was of the Second." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 45, by John Norman.

Second knowledge
Earth origin, incidentally, was not a part of the First Knowledge, tho it was of the Second." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 45, by John Norman.

Names
Groeans are extremely sensitive about names, and who may speak them. Indeed, some, particularly those of the low caste, even have use names, concealing their true names...Simularly, slaves, on the who, do not address free men by thier names." Assassins of Gor, pg. 12, by John Norman.

Journey to the Sadar
it had been decided that she should now make the journey to the Sadar, which, according to the teachings of the Caste of Initiates, is enjoined by every Gorean by the Priest Kings, an obligigation which is to be fulfilled prior to their attaining their 25th year." Captive of Gor, pg. 233, by John Norman.

Morality
The Gorean morality, on the other hand, is more one of inequalities, based upon the assumption that individuals are not the same, but quite different, in many ways It might be said to be, though this is oversimplified, a morality of Masters. Guilt is almost unknown in Gorean morality, though shame and anger are not. Gorean Morality is bent more towards conquest and defiance, Gorean morality encourages honor and courage hardness and strength." Marauders of Gor, pg. 8, by John Norman.

Face Stripped
"No!" cried the free woman. One of the girls had lifted aside the first of the free woman's veils, and the other had brushed back the first of her hoods. "No!" cried the free woman. Then, despite her protest, the first girl drew aside the last veil which concealed her features, and the second girl brushed back the final hood, revealing her hair, which was blond. The free woman's blue eyes locked onto mine, frightened. She had been face-stripped. I saw that she was beautiful. "Stand," I said to her." Beasts of Gor, pg. 117, by John Norman.

"I will show you how I treat the most treacherous wench on all Gor, I exclaimed, releasing her wrists. With both hands, I wrenched the veil back from her face, thrusting my hand under it to fasten my fist in her hair, and then, as if she were a common tavern girl, I dragged the daughter of the Ubar of all Gor to the shelter of the Ka-la-na trees. Among the trees, on the clover, I threw her to my feet. She tried frantically to readjust the folds of her veil, but with both hands I tore it fully away, and she lay at my feet, as it is said on Gor, facestripped." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 98, by John Norman.

Ownership
Gorean law, of course, is complex and latitudinous on these matters. For example, many women are free, whether wisely or desirably or not, and slavery is not always permanent for a slave girl. Sometimes a girl, winning love, is freed, perhaps to bear the children of a former master. But the freedom of a former slave girl is always a somewhat tenuous thing. Her thigh still bears teh brand. And, should her ear be pierced, it is almost certain she will, sooner or later, be re-enslaved. It is hard for men to leave a woman who can be a good slave girl free. She will always dread that in the night men will come again for her, hooding her, carrying her to a distant city, to be again put on the block of a steaming market, that once again her throat will be encircled by a steel collar and that she will kneel at the feet of a new master." Beasts of Gor, pg. 235, by John Norman.

Institution of Capture
Institution of Capture: is universal, to the best of my knowledge on Gor; there is no city which does not honor it, provided the female is captured are those from an enemy city, either their free women or thier slaves>." ?? of Gor, by John Norman.

Free Companionship
It was further true that, had it not been so, the Companionship would have been terminated abruptly when one or the other of the pledged companions fell slave." Hunters of Gor, pg. 9, by John Norman.

"The companionship is gone," said Telima. "More than a year has passed," she pointed out, "and you have not, together, repledged it." "That is true," I admitted. By Gorean lay the companionship, to be binding, must together, be annually renewed, pledged afreash wih the wines of love." Captive of Gor, pg. 367, by John Norman.

Talender is a flower which, in the Gorean mind, is associated with beauty and pasion. Free Companions on the Feast of their Free Companionship, commonly wear a garland of talenders." Raiders of Gor, pg. 216, by John Norman.

Constata Ar
Chronology in Ar is figured, happily enough, not from its Administrator Lists, but from its mythical foundings by the first man on Gor, a hero whom the Priest-Kings are said to have formed from the mud of the earth and the blood of tarns. Times is reckoned 'Constata Ar', or 'from the founding of Ar.' The year, according to the calendar of Ar, if it is of interest, is 10,117." Outlaw of Gor, pg. 179, by John Norman. Constata Ar and the year 2001 calculation

Disowned
"His hand on the hilt of his sword," said Mira, "and his other hand on the medallion of Ar, his daughter was disowned." According to the codes of the warriors and of the city of Ar, no longer is Talena kin of the daughter of Marlenus of Ar. She had been put from his house. She was cut off. In law, and in the eys of Goreans, Talena was now without family." Hunters of Gor, pg. 131, by John Norman.

Voyages of Acquisition
'What of the ship that brought me here?' I asked. 'Surely that is a mervellous example of your technology?' 'Not of our technology, but of that of the Priest Kings,' he said. 'I do not believe the ship was manned by any of the Men Below the Mountains.' 'By Priest-Kings?' I asked. 'Frankly,' said my father, 'I believe the ship was remotely controlled from the Sardar Mountains, as are said to be all the Voyages of Acquisition.' Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 32, by John Norman.

On the whole, I liked the people I met, and I was confident that they were largely of Earth stock, that their ancestors had been brought to the planet in Voyages of Acquisition. Apparently after having been brought to the planet, they had simply been released, much as animals might be released in a forest preserve, or fish stocked free in a river." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 45, by John Norman.

Holidays
Kajuralia or the Holiday of Slaves or Festival of Slaves, occurs in most of the nothern, civilized citis of known Gor once a year." Assassin of Gor, pg. 229, by John Norman.

Kur
We know little about that species of animal called the Kur. We do know it is blood-thirsty, that it feeds on human flesh and that it is concerned with glory." Beasts of Gor, pg. 7 by John Norman.

Kurii
The word is a Gorean corruption of thier name for themselves, and their kind. "In Torvaldsland," said Tab, "that word means beast." (9:1:21) I did not tell Ivar that those he knew as Kurii, or the beasts, were actually specimens of an alien race, that they, or those in their ships, were locked in war with Priest-Kings for the domination of two worlds, Gor and the Earth. The Kurii I knew were beasts of fierce, terrible instincts, who regarded humans, and other beasts, as food. Blood, as to the shark, was an agitant to their systems. They were extremely powerful, and highly intelligent, though their intellectual capacities, like those of humans, were far below those of Priest-Kings. Fond of killing, and technologically advanced, they were, in their way, worthy adversaries of Priest-Kings Men and the Kurii, where they met, which was usually only in the north, regarded one another as mortal enemies. The Kurii often fed on men, and men, of course, in consequence, attempted to hunt and slay, when they could, the beasts." Marauders of Gor, pg. 92, by John Norman.

Diseases of Gor

Dar-Kosis pits
"As an act of charity, Initiates have arranged at various places Dar-Kosis Pits where the Afflicted may voluntarily imprison themselves, to be fed with food hurled downwards from the backs of passing tarns. Once in a Dar-Kosis Pit, the Afflicted are not allowed to depart." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 151, by John Norman.

Pox
"It was my hope that none on board the Clouds of Telnus had carried the pox. It is transmitted by the bites of lice. The pox had appeared in Bazi some four years ago. The port had been closed for two years by the merchants. It had burned itself out moving south and eastward in some eighteen months." Slave Girl of Gor, pg. 325, by John Norman.

Games

Girl Catch
"Make way! Make way!" laughed the brawny young fellow. He had a naked girl over his shoulder, bound hand and foot. He had won her in Girl Catch, in a contest to decide a trade dispute between two small cities, Ven and Rarn, the former a river port on the Vosk, the second noted for its copper mining, lying southeast of Tharna. In the contest a hundred young men of each city, and a hundred young women, the most beautiful in each city, participate. The object of the game is to secure the women of the enemy. Weapons are not permitted. The contest takes place in an area outside the perimeters of the great fair, for in it slaves are made. The area is enclosed by a low wooden wall, and spectators observe. When a male is forced beyond the wail he is removed from the competition and may not, upon pain of death, reenter the arena for the duration of the contest. When a girl is taken she is bound hand and foot and thrown to a girl pit, of which there are two, one in each city's end of the "field." These pits are circular, marked off with a small wooden fence, sand-bottomed, and sunk some two feet below the surface of the "field." If she cannot free herself she counts as a catch. The object of the male is to remove his opponents from the field and capture the girls of the other city. The object of the girl, of course, is to elude capture. Both the young men and women wear tunics in this sport. The tunics of the young women are cut briefly, to better reveal their charms. The young man wears binding fiber about his left wrist, with which to secure prizes. The young women, who are free, if the rules permit, as they sometimes do not, commonly wear masks, that their their modesty be less grievously compromised by the brevity of their costume. Should the girl be caught, however, her mask is removed. The tunics of the girls are not removed, however, except those of the girls of the losing city, when the match has ended and the winner decided. The win is determined when the young men of one city, or those left on the field, have secured the full hundred of the secured the full hundred "enemy." A woman once bound and thrown to the girl pit, incidentally, may not be fetched forth by the young men of her city, except at the end of the match, and on the condition that they have proved victorious. The captured women of the victorious city at the conclusion of the contest are of course released; they are robed and honored; the girls of the losing city, of course, are simply stripped and made slaves."'Beasts of Gor, pg. 41, by John Norman.

Kaissa
"Kaissa, Gorean for Game a general term, but when used without qualification, it stands for only one game; gameboard consists of 10 ranks and 10 files, giving a hundred red and yellow squares... twenty pieces to a side, red and yellow representing Spearmen, Tarnsmen, Riders of High Thalarians and so on... object of the game is to capture the opponents homestone... similar to chess." Assassin of Gor, pg. 26, by John Norman.

"It is not permitted that slaves be Players. that a slave should play is regarded as an insult to the free and to the game. Further, no free would care to be beaten by a slave." Assassin of Gor, pg. 31, by John Norman.

Home Stone

"In peasant villages on this world," he continued, "each hut was originally built around a flat stone which was placed in the centre of the circular dwelling. It was carved with the family sign and was called the Home Stone. It was, so to speak, a symbol of sovereignty, or territory, and each peasant, in his own hut, was a sovereign." "Later," said my father, 'Home Stones were used for villages and still for cities. The Home Stone of a village was always placed in the market; in a city, on the top of the highest tower. The Home Stone came naturally, in time, to acquire a mystique, and something of the hot, sweet emotions as out native peoples of Earth feel towards their flags became invested in it." My father had risen to his feet and had begun to pace the room, and his eyes seemed strangely alive. In time I would come to understand more of what he felt. Indeed, there is a saying on Gor, a saying whose origin is lost in the past of this strange planet, that one who speaks of Home Stones should stand, for matters of honour are here involved, and honour is respected in the barbaric codes of Gor." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 26, by John Norman.

Placement of a Home Stone
'Home Stones were used for villages, and later still for cities. The Home Stone of a village was always placed in the market; in a city, on the top of the highest tower." Tarnsman of Gor, pg. 26, by John Norman.

Measurements

Talu
"There are few water bags. Those that exist are of one talu. They are guarded." Water at Klima is generally carried in narrow buckets, on wooden yokes, with dippers attached, for the slaves. A talu is approximately two gallons. A talu bag is a small bag. It is the sort carried by a nomad herding verr afoot in the vicinity of his camp." Tribesmen of Gor, pg. 242, by John Norman.

Money

Musical Instruments

Czehar
"One of the instruments was an eight-stringed czehar, rather like a large flat oblong box; it is held across the lap when sitting cross-legged and is played with a horn pick." Nomads of Gor, pg. 155, by John Norman.

Kalika
"The other was the kalika, a six-stringed instrument; it, like the czehar, is flat-bridged and its strings are adjusted by means of small wooden cranks; on the other hand, it less resembles a low, flat box and suggests affinities to the banjo or guitar, though the sound box is hemispheric and the neck' rather long; it, too, of course, like the czehar, is plucked." Nomads of Gor, pg. 155, by John Norman.

Kaska
"They were not as yet playing, though one of them was absently tapping a rhythm on a small hand drum, the kaska." Nomads of Gor, pg. 153, by John Norman.

Zills
"We passed a guards' room, in which there were several slaver's men, off duty. I glanced within, for I heard from within the clash of slave bells and the bright sound of zills, or finger cymbals. In a bit of yellow slave silk, backed into a corner, belied and barefoot, a collared girl danced, swaying slowly before the five men who loomed about her, scarcely a yard." Explorer of Gor, pg. 21, by John Norman.

Slavery

Kan-lara
"The brand was on Gor legal, institutional status; that which it marks it makes an object; its victim has no rights, or appeal, within the law. Yet the most profound consequences of the brand seem to be less social than intensely individual, personal and psychological; the brand, almost instantaneously, transforms the deepest consciousness of a girl." Slave Girl of Gor, pg. 60, by John Norman.

"The brand is to be distinguished from the collar, though both are a designa- tion of slavery. The primary signi- ficance 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, pg. 187, by John Norman.

"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, pg. 80, by John Norman.

Branding Rack
"The guard carried Virginai to the branding rack and placed her in the rack, spinning the lever that locked her thigh in place, she said nothing but stood there, wrists braceleted behind her back, locked in place, watching the approach of the iron." Assassin of Gor, pg. 149, by John Norman.

Branding
"At a sign from the Forkbeard, the iron was pressed deeply into her flesh, and held there, smoking for five Ihn. It was only when it was pulled away that she screamed. Her eyes had been shut, her teeth gritted. She had tried not to scream. She had dared to pit her will against the iron. But, when the iron had been pulled back, from deep within her flesh, smoking, she, her pride gone, her will shattered, had screamed with pain, long and miserably, revealing herself as only another branded girl. 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 width, and the diagonal line about an inch and a quarter in height." Marauders of Gor, pg. 86, by John Norman.

long and miserably, revealing herself as only another branded girl. 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 width, and the diagonal line about an inch and a quarter in height." Maruaders of Gor, pg. 86, by John Norman.

I screamed, and screamed. I was alone with the pain, the agony, the degradation, the relentless, hissing object, so hurting me, the men. Mercifully they let me scream. It is common to let a girl scream, a Gorean kindness, while she is being marked with a white-hot iron." Slave Girl of Gor, pg. 57, by John Norman.

Brands
Symbolism of the kef
ts symbolism, I think, is much richer than this. 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 very feminine. It is at this point that the symbolism of the brand becomes more 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." Explorer of Gor, pg. 12, by John Norman.

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the DIna, the Palm, The mark of Treve, and the mark of Port Kar." Explorers of Gor, pg. 70, by John Norman.

dina brand
my own brand was the "dina"; the dina is a small, lovely, multiply petaled flower, short-stemmed, and blooming in a turf of green leaves, usually on the slopes of hills, in the northern temperate zones of Gor; in its budding, though in few other ways, it resembles a rose; it is an exotic, alien flower; it is also spoken of, in the north, where it grows most frequently, as the slave flower; it was burned into my flesh; in n the south, below the Gorean equator, where the flower is much more rare, it is prized more highly; some years ago, it was not even uncommon for lower-caste families in the south to give the name 'Dina' to their daughters." Slave Girl of Gor, pg. 61, by John Norman.

Penalty brand
"Penalty brands," she said. They are very tiny but clearly visible. There are various such brands. There is one for lying, and antoher for stealing." Captive of Gor, pg. 277, by John Norman.

Collar/ko-lar
"What is the common purpose of a collar? "The collar has four common purposes, Master," she said. "First it designates me as slave, as a brand might not, if it should be covered by clothing. Second, it impresses my slavery upon me.Thir- dly, it identifies me Master. Fourthly-- Fouurthly--" "Fourthey," he asked. "Four thly, it makes it easier to leash me." He kicked her in the side. SHe winced. Her response had been slow." Explorer of Gor, pg. 79, by John Norman.

"Ko-lar," she said, indicating her col- lar. "It is the same word in English," I cried. She did not understand my out- burst. Gorean, as I would learn, is rich in words borrowed from Earth languages; "Collar!" I said. Eta frowned. "Ko-lar," she repeated, again indicating the neck band of steel fashioned on her throat. "Ko-lar," I said, carefully following her pronunciation. Eta accepted this." Slave Girl of Gor, pg. 80, by John Norman.

Time

It was late afternoon and, judging by the pasang stones, I was still some hours from the city. Though it was still bright, many of the colourfully plumed birds had already sought their nests. Here and there swarms of night insects began to stir, lifting themselves under the leaves of bushes by the road. The shadows of the pasang stones had grown long, and, judging by the angle of these shadows (for the stones are set in such a way as to serve also as sundials) it was past the fourteenth Gorean Ahn, or hour. The Gorean day is divided into twenty Ahn, which are numbered consecutively. The tenth Ahn is noon, the twentieth, midnight. Each Ahn consists of forty Ehn, or minutes, and each Ehn of eighty Ihn, or seconds." Outlaw of Gor, pg. 26, by John Norman.

Gorean month
Each month, containing 5 5 day weeks, is separated with a 5 day period, called the Passang Hand from every other month; there being one exception to this, which is the last month of the year which begins with the Vernal Equinox, not only by a Passang Hand, but by another 5 day period called the Waiting Hand." Assassins of Gor, pg. 78, by John Norman.

Gorean month's names differ from city to city, but in most civilized citites, there are four months, associated with the equinoxes and solstices and the great fairs of the Sadars, which do have common names: En'Kara or En'Kara-Lar-Torvis; En'Var or En'Var-Lar-Torvis; Se'Kara or Se'Kara-Lar-Torvis; Se'Var or Se'Var-Lar-Torvis> Assassin of Gor, pg. 78, by John Norman.

Passang Hand
Passang Hand is the five day period separating every other month with the exception of the last month of the year." Assassin of Gor, pg. 78, by John Norman.

Waiting hand
Waiting Hand: another 5 day period only occuring in the last month of the year; doors are painted white, little food is eaten, little is drunk, there is no singing or public rejoicing; perhaps, in it's way, a period of mournig for the old year." Assassin of Gor, pg. 78, by John Norman.

Vernal Equinox
Vernal Equinox marks the first day of the new year; doors are painted green, much rejoicing and feasting lasts first 10 days of the first month of the year." Assassin of Gor, pg. 78, by John Norman.

Weights

Stone
Gorean unit of measurement based upon the Stone, which is about 4 earth pounds; a weight is about 10 stone." Raiders of Gor, pg. 127, by John Norman.