To be of the First Wagon among the Wagon People is to be of the household of the Ubar although this does not mean you must be related. The First Wagon actually consists of hundreds of wagons. The Wagon of the Ubar is the largest in camp, drawn by a hundred bosk rather than the standard eight, the nose rings of these bosk were set with jewels, necklaces of precious stones hung from their horns. The Ubars wagon is always placed on the highest ground in camp.
He who "sits upon the gray robe" within the Tuchuks, sits on the throne of the Ubar.
The Ubar typically held court outside his wagon in the open air on a large dais covered in thick rugs sometimes said to be four or five deep. Before stepping to the dais one has their sandals removed and their feet washed by slaves. Despite the resplendent dais and rugs, the Ubar always sat on his simple throne, the worn robe of gray Boskhide.
Ubar of the Tuchuks is Kamchak.
Now the man facing me lifted his small, lacquered shield and his slender, black lance.
"Hear my name," cried he, "I am Kamchak of the Tuchuks!"
Ubar of the Paravaci is Tolnus.
The man behind me called out, speaking Gorean with a harsh accent.
"I am Tolnus of the Paravaci."
Then he shook away his hood, letting his long hair stream behind him over the white fur of the collar. I stood stock still, seeing the face.
Ubar of the Kassar is Conrad.
From my left came a cry.
"I am Conrad, he of the Kassars."
He threw the chain mask from his face, back over the helmet and laughed. Were they of Earth stock, I asked myself. Were they men?
Ubar of the Kataii is Hakimba.
From my right there came a great laugh.
"I am Hakimba of the Kataii," he roared.
He pulled aside the wind scarf with one hand, and his face, though black, bore the same marks as the others.
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 15-16
Ubar San and the Omen Year
"The Omen Year" comes but once in every ten years, it is a time of truce between tribes of the Wagon Peoples who often war amongst themselves.
The Omen Year flows through several months starting with the Passing of Turia in the fall, continuing through the Wintering which takes place north of Turia and typically south of the Cartius, and culminates with the Return to Turia in the season of the little grass or spring.
It is in the spring that the omens are taken over many days by hundreds of haruspexes through their readings of bosk blood and the liver of Verr, they determine if the year is favourable for electing a Ubar San or "One Ubar", who would be Ubar of all the wagons, and all the Peoples.
The omens had not been favourable in over a hundred years before Nomads.
The omens are taken in the Omen Valley, its large grassy area holding hundreds of small stone altars and surrounded in a circle by tents. In the centre of the field is one large platform, circular and made also of stone, atop this was said to be a huge four sided altar which could be approached by steps on all four sides. Each side of this altar bore the standard of each tribe of the Wagon Peoples.
There were many animals tethered outside the circle, bosk, verr, tarsks said to have their tusks sheathed, also vulo, sleen and kaiila. The Paravaci also had male slaves ready for sacrifice, a practice the other tribes rule out as it is their belief the hearts and livers of the Turian slaves were untrustworthy for such important matters as the election of a Ubar San.
Any animals sacrificed are later used for food, none is wasted and it is commonly a time of great feasting. The Omen taking was regarded as a festival, a time for gaiety, provided that no Ubar San is to be chosen.
A tally is kept from day to day on the sacrifices, clerks are kept busy during this time, is is assumed they kept note of the haruspexes, the people and of their findings. It is also mentioned that their are four chief haruspexes who remained at the large central altar, one of each tribe, under which come minor haruspexes and so on.
There are different phases of the Omen taking, the first being called "the first Omen" which tells the haruspexes if it is favourable to begin taking the Omens at all. It is rather amusing, the first Omen consisted of the haruspexes casting a handful of grain, presumably, into the cages of white Vulos, the resulting feeding frenzy being taken as a favourable sign. Kamchak remarks on how this part of the Omen taking always goes well and ponders if it is perhaps because the Vulo arent fed for three days prior to the taking of the omen.
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 11, 55, 172-173
Military
The swift and ferocious warring and raiding of the Wagon People often leaves those who are unfamiliar with them believing they are lacking in organization but that is far from the case. Every Warrior among the Wagons belongs to a unit, there are three different sized units, all of which belong to each other.
The first is the Or, meaning "a Ten" ,
with every Or belonging to an Orlu, meaning "a Hundred",
and with every Orlu belonging to an Oralu, meaning "a Thousand".
Each Warrior knows the position of his Ten in the Hundred and the Hundred in the Thousand. The units movements are dictated by the bosk horn, the drum and the movements of the standards by day, by night by the bosk horn, drums and the war lanterns which are carried by riders and slung on high poles.
Green, Blue and Yellow war lanterns were shown to signal marshalling points of the Orlu and the Oralus, Red and Yellow lanterns were seen to direct the Warriors during battle.
The women of the wagons on hearing the signal horns often prepare the mens weapons, bows, arrows, lances and bring them forth ready for battle. The slaves of the wagons are typically chained although sometimes they may be caged, they also prepare for battle, sometimes kicking out fires and hitching up bosk before being bound.
During battle the women of the wagons are often seen to climb atop the wagons where they may watch and read the war lanterns, seeing the direction of the battle and moving the wagons if necessary.
The Wagon People often war among themselves. When the wagons come under attack by another tribe, the formation of the wagons is typically different, they can be lashed together in a tight circle as a last line of defence where the men can take up their places between, beneath and inside the wagons where they may fight viciously with their bows, firing arrows relentlessly into the approaching attackers.
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.
Women again are heavily involved if the barricades are broken, often cutting down the enemy with their throwing knives if they should break through.
Bosk are sometimes used within this type of battle also, with warriors turning the herds towards the enemy with jabs of their lances at the sounds of the bosk horns, the herds slowly picking up speed to eventually stampede through the enemies lines, goring and trampling both warrior and kaiila alike.
�It was the vengeance of the bosk and the frightened, maddened animals thundered into the Paravaci lines goring and trampling both kaiila and rider��
At times the captured women of the wagons, both free and slave, are driven before the front lines of the warriors, stripped and bound in groups they provide a human shield from the enemies arrows and lances.
It is to be mentioned that the drums and bosk horns were also used for other things, such as signalling when a prisoner had been brought to camp and so on.
REF: Nomads of Gor pages 33 175 176 260-262
Weapons
The Wagon People dont use the common Gorean short sword, they not being efficient for use from the back of a kaiila during battle. The Wagon People when in battle typically fight at a range where their enemy may be brought down by the lance or bow, not quite the close quarters battle seen most often elsewhere.
The main weapons we see the Wagon People use in Nomads are the kaiila lance, bola, horn bow and the quiva.
The kaiila lance is a sleek, light weight and flexible weapon, they are black and cut from young tem trees. It is more of a thrusting, stabbing weapon, used from the back of the kaiila and has bosk hide straps that are wound about the fist to keep hold during battle. The kaiila lance can be bent almost double before breaking and is seldom thrown in battle. Some kaiila lances have a rider hook beneath the tip, its purpose to dismount the enemy.
The Bola is a throwing weapon consisting of three straps of leather approximately five feet in length, each strap holds at its end a leather sack which contains a round metal weight. The Bola is used in varying ways, of them lethal. When thrown high it can loop about the neck and strangle a man or at worst crush a mans skull. This type of throw is considered the most difficult. It is also thrown towards an enemies mid section, trapping their arms about their body and effectively disabling them. When cast low the Bola is said to be almost impossible to evade, entangling about a persons legs, sometimes breaking them. After snaring the target the job is often finished off with the Quiva. There is also a bladed variety more often used to kill rather than entrap. The Bola is also used for hunting.
The Horn Bow while not as powerful in force or range as the long bow is said to be a deadly weapon at close range and is effectively used from the saddle and through the small notched arrow slits within the wagons. It consists of layered bosk horn which is reinforced with leather and metal, is curved and approximately four feet in length. The horn bow is an intimidating weapon when fired rapidly at close range.
The Quiva is predominantly more of a missile weapon than a hand knife, the balanced saddle knife being double edged, razor sharp tapering to a dagger point and approximately a foot in length. Most Quivas are made by the smithies in Ar and each tribes Quivas are slightly different. They are often sold in sets of seven and almost always carried in the seven sheaths that adorn the kaiila saddle. The Quiva has an almost legendary status and was not a common weapon outside of the Wagon Peoples.
REF: Nomads of Gor 11 14 66 67 123 124 170
Zedojehn 2002
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