Measurements, Time, Money, Celebrations
|
|
Measurements, Time, Money, Celebrations |
|
|
|
||
|
Time Time is not measured by electricity like it is on earth. Goreans use carved sundials, moondials and indoors intricately made waterclocks much like those found and used long ago on earth. However much like "earth" time, gorean time is broken down into hours called ahn, minutes called ehn and seconds called ihn. Basically the first 3 of the vowels we all learn in school (a,e,i,o,u), but only the first 3 (a,e,i) then just add hn. Just an easy way to remember Hours, Minutes, Seconds, largest to smallest ahn, ehn, ihn. Ihn ~ Gorean Second is roughly 1.35 earth seconds Ehn ~ Gorean Minute or 80 Ihn is about 108 earth seconds Ahn ~ Gorean Hour or 40 Ehn comes out to be about 72 earth minutes Each Day is also broken down like our noon and Midnight but are referred to as : Tenth ahn ~ tenth 'hour', the Gorean noon Twentieth ahn ~ twentieth 'hour', the Gorean midnight Because of the slight differences the Day of 24 hours as we know it on earth is almost equal to the Gorean Day of 20 Ahn. What we call a work week, is basically every week on Gor. It's called a "Hand" and it consists of 5 days. Well what's after weeks, on earth there are 4 weeks in a month, each month consisting of between 28-31 days. This is not far off of how the Gor month works out. A month on Gor is called a "Passage Hand" and which consists of 5 Hands. (five of the five day weeks).
Like earth there are some changes now and then like Christmas, New Years, Halloween, and other Holidays. Vernal Equinox (New Year) and The Waiting Hand During the Waiting Hand (the week before
the New Year begins), many Goreans observe the passing of the old year
by eating little, no singing or rejoicing, and painting their door white
and attaching the branches of the Brak Bush to discourage the entry of
bad luck into the house in the coming year. Then, on the vernal equinox,
there is much rejoicing and celebrating. "...but on the Vernal Equinox, which
marks the first day of the new year in most Gorean cities, there is great
rejoicing; the doorways are painted green, and there is song...and much
feasting..." Waiting Hand This is the five day period between the 12th Passage Hand and the beginning of the New Year, which begins on the Vernal Equinox Love Feast This is a common name for the 5th Passage Hand, occuring in late summer, which time is the greatest period for the sale of slaves, esp. slavegirls It is a time of feasts and races and games. It is also a very big time in the sale of slaves from the Curulean in Ar. "On the other hand, the single greatest
period for the sale of slaves is the five days of the Fifth Passage Hand,
coming late in the summer, called jointly, the Love Feast." "The Love Feast...is also a time
of great feasting, of races and games....The evening of the fourth day
of the Love Feast is usually taken as its climax from the point of view
of slave sales. The fifth day, special races and games are celebrated,
regarded by many Goreans as a fitting consummation of the holidays."
Much like the Earth calender, the Gorean calender is broken up into some sections something like seasons. En'Kara ( 'first turning') The first month of the Gorean calendar, that of the vernal equinox, which is the Gorean new year; roughly equivalent to the Earth calendar month of March. The month of Vernal Equinox is En'Kara or the First Kara; also called En`Kara Lar-Torvis. - Ref: Book 2: Outlaw of Gor, page 178 - Fair of En'Kara - One of four great fairs held in the shadow
of the Sardar range in the first month of the Gorean year. Camerius The third month of the Gorean calendar (in Ar and some other cities) En'Var ('first resting') The fourth month of the Gorean calendar,
that of the summer solstice, roughly equivalent with the Earth calendar
month of June . Se'Kara ('second turning') The seventh month of the Gorean calendar, that of the autumnal equinox, roughly equivalent to the Earth calendar month of September . The month of Autumnal Equinox is Se`Kara or The Second Kara; also called Se`Kara Lar-Torvis Ref : Book 2: Outlaw of Gor page 178
Se'Var ('second resting') The tenth month of the Gorean calendar, that of the winter solstice, roughly equivalent with the Earth calendar month of December
Other Celebrations, Festivals, etc. Battles of Oxen A gladiator type competition popular
in Tharna; men are yoked with horns fitted to them; they battle each other
in an arena, one trying to gore or maim the other. Contests of Arms A gladiatorial contests where men fought
to the death were banned in Ar when Kazrak of Port Kar became administrator
of that city. Fisherman Name given to an arena
combatant who fights with net and trident.
Kajuralia Kajuralia (the Holiday of Slaves, the Festival of Slaves) occurs once a year in most northern Gorean cities. It is a day when the slaves play pranks on the Masters and Mistresses or when the slaves have a FreeMan or FreeWoman serve them. Some cities observe it on the last day of the twelfth Passage Hand, others on the last day of the fifth month. "The Kajuralia, or Holiday of Slaves,
or Festival of Slaves, occurs in most of the northern, civilized cities
of known Gor once a year. The only exception to this that I know of is
Port Kar, in the delta of the Vosk. The date of the Kajuralia, however,
differs. Many cities celebrate it on the last day of the Twelfth Passage
Hand, the day before the beginning of the Waiting Hand; in Ar, however,
and certain other cities, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth
month, which is the day preceding the Love Feast."
The Love War Takes place annually between the Wagon
Peoples and Turians. Up to 1000 Free Women each from the Wagon Peoples
and Turia stand bound to a stake. A warrior from each side stands as her
champion. The winning warrior takes the woman from the opposite side as
slave. (Ex. If the Wagon Peoples warrior wins, the Turian woman then becomes
a slave of that warrior). The Love War started in ancient times and give
the warriors of both sides a chance to show their prowess to the other....the
fights are generally to the death. "The theoretical justification of
the games of the 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." "As I knew, not just any girl, any
more than just any warrior, could participate in the games of the Love
War. Only the most beautiful were eligible, and only the most beautiful
of these could be chosen."
The Omen Year Occurs once every ten years among the Wagon Peoples. All four tribes of the Peoples; Tuchuks, Paravaci, Kataii, and Kassars gather for the Omen takings; to see if there will be an Ubar-San (the One Ubar), who would lead all of the Wagon Peoples. "The games of the Love War are celebrated
every spring...whereas the Omen Year occurs only every tenth year."
" 'It is the Omen Year,' had said
Kamchak of the Tuchuks....It is in the spring that the omens are taken,
regarding the possible election of the Ubar San, the One Ubar, he who
would be Ubar of all the Wagons, of all the Peoples." "The animals sacrificed, incidentally,
are later used for food, so the Omen taking, far from being a waste of
animals, is actually a time of feasting and plenty for the Wagon Peoples,
who regard the Omen taking, provided it results that no Ubar San is to
be chosen, as an occasion for gaiety and festival. As I may have mentioned,
no Ubar San had been chosen for more than a hundred years." "In the thinking of the Wagon Peoples
it is called the Omen Year, though the Omen Year is actually a season,
rather than a year, which occupies a part of two of their regular years,
for the Wagon Peoples calculate the year from the Season of Snows to the
Season of Snows...the Omen Year, or season, lasts several months, and
consists of three phases, called the Passing of Turia, which takes place
in the fall; the Wintering, which takes place north of Turia and commonly
south of Cartius, the equator of course lying to the north in this hemisphere;
and the Return to Turia, in the spring, or as the Wagon Peoples say, in
the Season of Little Grass. It is near Turia, in the spring, that the
Omen Year is completed, when the Omens are taken, usually over several
days by hundreds of haruspexes, mostly readers of bosk blood and verr
livers, to determine if they are favorable for a choosing of a Ubar San,
a One Ubar, a Ubar who would be High Ubar, a Ubar of all the Wagon Peoples,
a Ubar of all the Peoples, one who could lead them as one people...The
omens, I understood, had not been favorable in more than a hundred years."
" ' This is the first Omen, said
Kamchak, '--the Omen to see if the Omens are propitious to take the Omens.'
" " Conrad spoke. 'The Omens have
been taken, ' he said.
The Planting Feast "The Home Stone of a city is the
center of various rituals. The next would be the Planting Feast of Sa-Tarna,
The Life-Daughter, celebrated early in the season to insure a good harvest.
This is a complex feast, celebrated by most Gorean cities, and the observances
are numerous and intricate. The details of the rituals are arranged and
mostly executed by the Initiates of a given city." Priest King Festivals Feast of Tola The Priest-King festival celebrating
the anniversary of the Nuptial Flight of the Mother. Feast of Tolam The Priest-King festival celebrating
the anniversary of the Deposition of the First Egg. Feast of Tolama The Priest-King festival celebrating
the anniversary of the Hatching of the First Egg.
The Procession to the Sea Happens annually in Port Kar. "...in the annual Procession to
the Sea, which takes place on the first of En'Kara, the Gorean New Year."
Ritual Libation "I am offering a libation..Ta-Sardar-Gor...It
means..To the Priest-Kings of Gor." The Sardar Fairs The fairs happen four times per year, one at each of the vernal and autumnal equinox and one each at the summer and winter solstice. Each fair is named for the month in which it is held. For example, the Fair of En'Kara, the Fair of Se'Var, etc. "One is the fairs at the Sardar Mountains which occur four times a year and are number chronologically."Outlaw of Gor, page 179 "...each Gorean, whether male or
female, is expected to see the Sardar Mountains, in honor of the Priest-Kings,
at least once in his life, prior to his twenty-fifth year." "They had thought to come to the
Sardar as free women, discharging their obligation to the Priest-Kings.
They would leave as slave girls." Sardar Mountain Fairs Huge fairs held four times each year
at the foot of the Sardar Mountains; they coincide with the equinoxes
and solstices and are numbered chronologically. During of the Fair the
area is neutral territory: no one may be enslaved at the Fair (though
slaves captured elsewhere may be sold) & no blood may be spilled;
serves as a trading point for information and merchandise; every Gorean
is required to visit the Fair at least once before the age of 25. Sardar Mountain Fairs, En'Kara Occurs during the spring, one of the
four great fairs held in the shadow of the Sardar during the Gorean year.
Sardar Mountain Fairs, En'Var Occurs during the summer solstice, one
of the four great fairs held in the shadow of the Sardar during the Gorean
year. Sardar Mountain Fairs, Se'Kara Occurs in the fall, one of the four great
fairs held in the shadow of the Sardar during the Gorean year. Sardar Mountain Fairs, Se'Var Occurs during the winter solstice, one
of the four great fairs held in the shadow of the Sardar during the Gorean
year.
Currency
Copper Tarn disk Would be similar in my opinion to a penny, or quarter. Gold Tarn disk Is of the highest value on Gor; also made in double weight; many cities on Gor mint their own money, but the gold tarn disk of Ar is the standard for much of Gor Tarsk Made of silver and a single coin is worth 100 copper tarsks Tarsk bit This is a copper coin worth from 1/10 to 1/4 of a copper tarsk, depending on the city which mints the coin More on Money: "For example, a 'double tarn' is
twice the weight of a 'tarn'. It seems there are usually eight tarsk bits
in a copper tarsk, and that these are the result of cutting a circular
coin in half, and then the halves in half, and then each of these halves
in half. An analogy would be cutting the round, flat Gorean loaves of
Sa-Tarna bread into eight pieces. There are approximately something like
one hundred copper tarsks in a silver tarsk in many cities. Similarly,
something like ten silver tarsks would apparently be equivalent, depending
on weights, etc., to one gold piece, say, a single 'tarn'. Accordingly
on this approach, the equivalencies, very approximately and probably only
for certain cities, would be eight tarsk bits to the copper tarsk, one
hundred copper tarsks to a silver tarsk, and ten silver tarsks to a gold
piece, a single tarn. On this approach, there would be, literally, 8,000
tarsk bits in a single gold piece." 8 copper tarks bits
= 1 copper tarsk "Without speaking, the man took
twenty pieces of gold, tarn disks of Ar, of double weight, and gave them
to Kuurus..." "Hup wildly thrust a small, stubby,
knobby hand into his pouch and hurled a coin, a copper tarn disk, to Kuurus
who caught it..." "Dumbfounded I reached in my pouch
and handed her a coin, a silver Tarsk."
"...In many paga taverns, one may
have paga and food, and a girl for the alcove, if one wants for a single
copper tarsk. Dancers, to be sure, sometimes cost two."
"The tarsk is a silver coin, worth
forty copper tarn disks." More on the relative prices on Gor: "Actually, fifty silver tarn disks
was an extremely high price, and indicated the girl was probably of high
caste as well as extremely beautiful. An ordinary girl, of low caste,
comely but untrained, might, depending on the market, sell for as little
as five or as many as thirty tarn disks." "A golden tarn disk was a small
fortune. It would buy one of the great birds themselves, or as many as
five slave girls." Tarnsman of Gor, page 191
Measurements
Lengths ah-il, ah-ral "Cloth is measured
in the ah-il, which is the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle
finger, and the ah-ral, which is ten ah-ils." "The hort is approximately
and inch and a quarter in length." "The Gorean foot, is
in my estimation, just slightly longer than the Earth foot; based on the
supposition that each of its ten horts is roughly one and one-quarter
inches long, I would give the Gorean foot a length of roughly twelve and
one-half inches, Earth measure." "The pasang is a measure
of distance on Gor, equivalent approximately to 0.7 of a mile."
Weights
and Volumes:
"In a matter of perhaps
two or three seconds, it had drawn perhaps a gill of liquid."
"I have calculated
this from the Weight, a Gorean unit of measurement based on the Stone,
which is about four Earth pounds." tef
= handful, fingers closed "A handful with the
five fingers closed, not open, is a tef. Six such handfuls constitute
a tefa, which is a tiny basket. Five such baskets constitute a huda."
"A given tree, annually,
yields between one and five Gorean weights of fruit. A weight is some
ten stone, or some forty Earth pounds." "I have calculated
this from the Weight, a Gorean unit of measurement based on the Stone,
which is about four Earth pounds. A Weight is ten Stone."
Other Stuff Pentilicus Tallux A renowned poet of the Ar of one hundred
years ago, the Great Theater in Ar is named for him. It has a huge stage
which can accommodate a thousand actors.
Staff contest A game played, namely at fair-type events,
where men compete with staffs in good-natured sport for various prizes.
Tharlarion racing These high tharlarions are bred and registered
for racing. Unlike the animals used as cavalry, these are chosen from
'medium class' tharlarion, being smaller and ligher. Famous bloodlines
include Venetzia, Toraii, and Thalonian.
|
|
|