The People of the Wagons are a proud nomadic society who regard city dwellers as vermin, cowards who hide behind walls and who fear to live beneath the sky.
The Wagon People eat nothing that has touched the dirt and grow no food, they are herders and it is also said killers, they primarily live off the meat and milk of the bosk.
They don�t have manufacturing, claiming their goods by raiding, buying or trading.
Though enemies of Turia they often journey there for trade in such items as metals and cloths, which are highly prized, slave chains and collars in return for the horn and the hide of the bosk. They also trade in goods looted from caravans along their travels such as jewels, spices, salts, furs and women, typically the plainer ones as prettier women are kept among the wagons for the work and pleasures of their Masters. Some women are sold for as little as a brass cup while others can be worth as much as 40 gold although these are seldom sold. The Tuchuk enjoy the service of a more civilized slave of high station and beauty while the Turians enjoy the wild slaves of the wagons.
Few merchants make their way out to the Wagon Peoples, for it is said they slay strangers. Merchants who do travel to the Wagons and whose goods are worthy are branded on the forearm with the mark of the bosk horns which guarantees safe passage at certain times of the year although also carries with it some shame with its suggestion of slavery, on Gor only animals and slaves are branded.
If a Merchants goods are not found pleasing they are slain. This also applies to Entertainers.
Names among the People are precious and not to be wasted on one who is likely to die, one who cannot handle the weapons of the hunt and of war. The youth of the Wagon People must learn and be competent with the bow, the quiva and the lance before their parents will name them, before this time they are known simply by their birth order, for example; "first, or the second, and so on, son of such and such a father."
It might be added that there are two items which the Wagon Peoples will not sell or trade to Turia, one is a living bosk and the other is a girl from the city itself, though the latter are sometimes, for the sport of the young men, allowed, as it is said, to run for the city. They are then hunted from the back of the kaiila with bola and thongs."
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 4-10 57-58
Wagons
The wagons of the Wagon Peoples of which there are many, somewhere in the hundreds and thousands, are brightly coloured and, it is said, a glorious sight. Although nomadic, the Wagon People do sometimes settle in a large camp that is said to be like a city of wagons. A large congregation of wagons like this is called a Harriga.
The wagons are drawn by two teams of four bosk each, which are harnessed to the wagon tongue, the tongue then being linked by crossbars, once again made of tem-wood. The wagons are guided by straps attached to each of the lead bosk although commonly the wagons are lashed together in long columns leaving only the guidance of the front wagon necessary.
The axles of the wagons are also made of tem-wood, a flexible black wood that permits the wagon its width.
The wagons are said to be almost square with each being around the size of a large room, standing approximately six foot off the ground the wagon box is made from the laquered planks of tem-wood.
Within the wagon box is a rounded tent like frame upon which is stretched taut the highly decorated hides of Bosks, painted, laquered, each wagon competing with the next for the boldest and most exciting design. During the march of the wagons these hides are lashed shut to protect from the dust and wind of the plains. The wagons are said to be richly decorated with chests and silks, wall hangings, carpets and cushions and are lit by hanging Tharlarion oil lamps. If you are reading this and it doesnt reside on the seven quivas site it has been stolen without permission and those who copy and paste dont often read what they steal in full because they are lazy and incompetent.
This inner frame is situated within the wagon in such a way that a narrow walkway is left around its outside leaving access to the small perforated slits or arrow ports in the wagons sides. These arrow ports can be used to advantage with the small Horn Bow of the Wagon Peoples, it being able to be used in such cramped surroundings.
What is said to be one of the most striking things about the wagons are its huge wheels, with the back ones said to be around ten feet in diameter.
It is noted further into Nomads that the wagons of commanders were painted red, these wagons also had a pole that was fixed into the earth beside them which showed the Tuchuk standard of four bosk horns, this pole was also painted red, which is said to be the colour of commanders.
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 30-31 273 276
Scars
The men of the Wagon People are proud and skillful, valuing courage above all else,
they wear their scars with pride and arrogance, a silent but visual testament to their personal glories and status.
The scars, which are cultural are said to be vivid, prominent and intense.
The brightly coloured scars of the different tribes of Wagon People vary it is said although no full description is given on this. The scars are said to be ugly, startling and terrifying effecting people differently when they are seen, Tarl ponders at one point if it is calculated to strike terror into their enemies. Each scar has meaning, a signifigance and can be read easily by any of the Wagon People.
The scars are worked into the skin of the face with knives, needles, pigments and the dung of bosk. This process is done over a period of days and it is said men have died during this. The scars are mostly set in pairs and run diagonally down the side of the face towards the nose and chin.
The highest scar on the face is always the courage scar, it is coloured red and must be earned before any other. Without the courage scar among the Tuchuk a man may not court a Free Woman, own a wagon or possess more than five bosk and three kaiila.
Kamchak was said to bear seven scars in this order starting with the courage scar
-red- and followed by -yellow-, -blue-, -black-, -yellow-, -yellow- and again -black-.
The meanings of these other scars are not mentioned within the books.
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 15 113
Garb of the Wagon People
Tuchuk
The Tuchuk, wily, fierce and proud were the main band of the Wagon Peoples spoken of in John Normans, Nomads of Gor.
On Tarls first encounter with members of the Wagon Peoples he explains the appearance of each of the four tribesman as they approach. The Tuchuk carried a small round glossy black shield, and a small but powerful horn bow, its lacquered quiver attached to his saddle and he had a light tem wood lance, strapped to his back. Tarl also saw the Tuchuks saddle held a coiled rope, said to be of bosk hide, the feared three weighted bola and the seven sheaths to hold the saddle knives of the People, the legendary Quivas.
The Tuchuks garb was explained as such;
"He wore a conical, fur rimmed iron helmet, a net of coloured chains depending from the helmet protecting his face, leaving only holes for the eyes."
"He wore a quilted jacket and under this a leather jerkin; the jacket was trimmed with fur and had a fur collar; his boots were made of hide and also trimmed with fur; he had a wide, five buckled belt. I could not see his face because of the net of chain that hung before it. I also noted, about his throat, now lowered, there was a soft leather wind scarf which might, when the helmet and veil was lifted, be drawn over the mouth and nose, against the wind and dust of his ride. He was very erect in the saddle."
Kataii
On seeing the second rider approach Tarl notes that he is dressed much the same as the first although he had no chain on his helmet and his scarf was wrapped about his face. He also noted that this mans sheild was yellow as was his bow. The second rider also carried his lance across his shoulder and he was black skinned leading to Tarls recognition of one of the Kataii.
"The second rider had halted there. He was dressed much as the first man, except that no chain depended from his helmet, but his wind scarf was wrapped about his face. His shield was lacquered yellow, and his bow was yellow. Over his shoulder he, too, carried one of the slender lances.
He was a black. Kataii, I said to myself."
Kassars
The third rider was not described in much detail, differences in shield colour are again noticed as well as his wearing of a scarf. His approach was noted as such;
"The third rider placed himself, reining in suddenly, pulling the mount to its hind legs, and it reared snarling against the bit, and then stood still, its neck straining toward me. I could see the long, triangular tongue in the animal's head, behind the four rows of fangs. The rider, too, wore a wind scarf. His shield was red. The Blood People, the Kassars."
Paravaci
The fourth riders appearance is noticably different than the others and his lance is also different, having a "rider hook" under its point with which he may dismount other riders and opponents. The fourth riders appearance is explained as such;
"The fourth rider was dressed in a hood and cape of white fur. He wore a flopping cap of white fur, which did not conceal the conical outlines of the steel beneath it. The leather of his jerkin was black. The buckles on his belt of gold."
"About the neck of the fourth rider there was a broad belt of jewels, as wide as my hand. I gathered that this was ostentation. Actually I was later to learn that the jeweled belt is worn to incite envy and accrue enemies; its purpose is to encourage attack, that the owner may try the skill of his weapons, that he need not tire himself seeking for foes. I knew, though, from the belt, though I first misread its purpose, that the owner was of the Paravaci, the Rich People, richest of the wagon dwellers."
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 10-14
Winter Garb
During the chilly wintering the Wagon People, Free and slave, male and female all wore Boskhide and thick furs, furred boots, trousers and coats. They also wore caps that covered the ears warming them and were tied beneath the chin. The only way to differentiate between a Free Woman and slave at this time is that the slaves hair remains unbound and at times the turian collar was worn outside of the coat beneath the line of the fur rimmed collar. Men were also dressed alike, the Kajiri or he-slave was reconized by shackles which typically had about a foot of chain run.
REF: Nomads of Gor page 59
Free Women
Tuchuk women dont wear veils and are not scarred as the men are. They are commonly dressed in long leather dresses, their hair bound in long braids. Each of the women wear nose ring, gold like those of the bosk although finer. The nose rings are described as being not unlike the wedding rings of Earth and are fitted through the septum.
Free women of the wagons are not permitted to wear silk.
It is said that any woman who delights in the feel of silk on her flesh is, in the hidden recesses of her heart, a slave, whether or not she has yet to have been forced by a man to wear the collar.
Interestingly, if a free woman was raised to be a prize in the games of love war, she was garbed far differently than those who were not, remembering only the finest girls are used as prizes.
A girl Tarl notices while in the Tuchuk wagon camp was described as wearing a brief leather skirt not unlike that of a slave although it was slit along the right side instead of the left, allowing her onto the saddle of a kaiila. She also wore a leather blouse although it was sleeveless, across her shoulders was draped a crimson cape and her hair was not braided but bound by a band of scarlet cloth. She wore no veil but of course wore the tiny gold nose ring to proclaim her people.
"In the crowd, on the back of a kaiila, I noted the girl Hereena, of the First Wagon, whom I had seen my first day in the camp of the Tuchuks, she who had almost ridden down Kamchak and myself between the wagons. She was a very exciting, vital, proud girl and the tiny golden nose ring, against her brownish skin, with her flashing black eyes, did not detract from her considerable but rather insolent beauty.
She, and others like her, had been encouraged and spoiled from childhood in all their whims, unlike most other Tuchuk women, that they might be fit prizes, Kamchak had told me, in the games of Love War. Turian warriors, he told me, enjoy such women, the wild girls of the Wagons."
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 27, 32, 33, 58, 67
Clad Kajir
Slaves of the Wagon People arent adorned with silks but are "clad kajir", meaning they wear the four articles of the Tuchuk slave, that being the Curla, a red cord tied about the waist, the Chatka, a long , narrow strip of black leather, passing over the Curla and drawn between the girls legs and pulled tight to pass over the Curla at back, the Kalmak, a short sleeveless vest of black leather, and lastly the Koora, a strip of red cloth, matching the Curla, wound about the head, to hold the hair back.
They may also be seen wearing a short leather skirt, slit along the left side to their waist in place of the Chatka, this skirt enables the kaiila saddle to be permitted to her. Slaves of the Wagon People are not permitted to braid or otherwise dress their hair and save for the Koora it is to be worn loose.
Clad Kajir were hated and envied by the free women of the wagons, the slaves were said to be magnificent with the true brazen insolence of the slave girl who knows she is owned, one who men have found exciting and beautiful enough to collar. The Tuchuks preferred using the Turian style collar on their slaves, a rounded ring that fits loose enough to allow a girl to turn within it while grasped in a mans fist.
The slaves also wear the gold nose ring, not unlike those fitted to the bosk but finer. The nose rings are fitted through the septum.
If a slave isnt to be trusted she is often stripped of all clothing and is belled at the wrists and ankles so her movements can be kept track of.
The male slave or Kajirus of the Wagon People wear a short sleeveless work tunic made of black leather. It is called the Kes. There are few male slaves among the wagons save for those on the work chains.
REF: Nomads of Gor page 19 30
REF: Assassins of Gor page 301
Zedojehn 2002
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