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The Barrens

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 12:23 PM

"I considered the Barrens. They are not, truly, as barren as the name would suggest. They are barren only in contrast, say, with the northern forests or the lush land in river valleys, or the peasant fields or meadows of the southern rain belts. They are, in fact, substantially, vast tracts of rolling grasslands, lying east of the Thentis Mountains. I have suspected that they are spoken of as the Barrens not so much in an attempt to appraise them with geographical accuracy as to discourage their penetration, exploration and settlement. The name, then, is perhaps not best regarded as an item of purely scientific nomenclature but rather as something else, perhaps a warning. Also, calling the area the Barrens gives men a good excuse, if they should desire such, for not entering upon them. To be sure, the expression 'Barrens' is not altogether a misnomer. They would be, on the whole, much less arable than much of the other land of known Gor. Their climate is significantly influenced by the Thentis Mountains and the absence of large bodies of water. Prevailing winds in the northern hemisphere of Gor are from the north and West. Accordingly a significant percentage of moisture-laden air borne by westerly winds is forced by the Thentis Mountains to cooler, less-heated air strata, where it precipitates, substantially on the eastern slopes of the mountains and the fringes of the Barrens. Similarly the absence of large bodies of water in the Barrens reduces rainfall which might be connected with large-scale evaporation and subsequent precipitation of this moisture over land areas, the moisture being carried inland on what are, in effect, sea breezes, flowing into low pressure areas caused by the warmer land surfaces, a given amount of radiant energy raising the temperature of soil or rock significantly more than it would raise the temperature of an equivalent extent of water. The absence of large bodies of water adjacent to or within the Barrens also has another significant effect on their climate. It precludes the Barrens from experiencing the moderating effects of such bodies of water on atmospheric temperatures. Areas in the vicinity of large bodies of water, because of the differential heating ratios of land and water usually have warmer winters and cooler summers than areas, which are not so situated. The Barrens, accordingly, tend to be afflicted with great extremes of temperature, often experiencing bitterly cold winters and long, hot, dry summers."
Savages of Gor, Chapter 2

Moons for the Red Savages

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 12:21 PM

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the moons as they mark the seasons of Red Savage life. Among them are the winter moons of Waniyetuwi and Wanicokanwi, as well as the Istawicayanzanwi or Sore-Eye Moon. The moon of the Returning Gants or Magaksicaagliwi heralds early spring followed by Wozupiwi, the Planting Moon. Kantwasi is the moon when the plums are red. The moon in which the tabuk rut (Takiyuhawi) is also called the Canpasapawi, the moon when the chokecherries are ripe. The Canwapegiwiw is the moon when the leaves become brown followed by the Corn-Harvest Moon which is called either the Wayuksapiwi or Canwapekasnawi, the moon when the wind shakes off the leaves. The autumnal equinox occurs in Canwapegiwi.
Book 17: Savages of Gor, pages 143-144, and 253

"Two moons will be sufficient to return to Kailiauk," said Grunt, "If one does not stop for trading." The two moons he had in mind, as I later learned, were Canwapegiwi, the moon in which the leaves become brown, and the moon known variously as Wayuksapiwi, the Corn-Harvest Moon, or Canwapekasnawi, the moon when the wind shakes off the leaves. The autumnal equinox occurs in Canwapegiwi.
"What is important about Kantasawi?" I asked.

"It is the moon during which the Bento herd enters the country of the Kaiila. It is a time of the gathering of the Kaiila, of great hunts and dances."

The wand before us was some seven or eight feet high. It is of this height, apparently, that it may be seen above the snow, during the winter moons, such as Waniyetuwi and Wanicokanwi. It was of peeled Ka-la-na wood and, from its top, there dangled two long, narrow, yellow, black-tipped feathers, from the tail of the taloned Herlit, a large, broad winged, carnivorous bird, sometimes in Gorean called the Sun Striker, or, more literally, though in clumsier English, Out-of-the-sun-it-strikes, presumably from its habit of making its descent and. strike on prey, like the tarn, with the sun above and behind it. Similar wands I could see some two hundred yards away, on either side, to the left and right. According to Grunt such wands line the perimeter, though usually not in such proximity to one another. They are spaced more closely together, naturally, nearer areas of white habitation.

Grunt now turned back on his kaiila to look out, eastward over the broad grasses and low, rolling hills. The terrain beyond the wands did not appear much different from the terrain leading up to them. The hills, the grass, the arching blue sky, the white clouds, seemed much the same on both sides of the wands. The wands seemed an oddity, a geographical irrelevance. Surely, thrust in the earth, supple in the wind, with the rustling feathers, they could betoken nothing of significance. The wind was fresh. I shivered on the kaiila.

For those who might be interested in such things, we came to the wands in the early spring, early in Magaksicaagliwi, which is the Moon of the Returning Gants. The preceding moon was the Sore-Eye Moon, or Istawicayazanwi. Because of its uncertain weather, the possible freezes and storms, and its harsh winds, this month had been avoided by Grunt. The next moon was Wozupiwi, the Planting Moon, which term, in the context, I find extremely interesting. It seems to make clear that the folk of the area, at one time, were settled, agricultural peoples.

Men & Women at Work

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 12:18 PM

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Do you want any help?" I asked. "No," said Cuwignaka. "This is woman's work." I laughed. This response, a joke on Cuwignaka's part, is a commonplace among the red savages. The offer of a man to help with a woman's task is almost always refused. The man has his work, the woman hers. The gender of a task commonly has a plausible rationale. It seems to be the men, for example, who are best suited to be the warriors and the women who are best suited to be the lovely, desireable prizes of such warriors. Similarly it seems men, with their strength, agressiveness and size, would be better suited for the hunt, pursuing the swift, trident-horned, belligerent kailiauk at full speed than the slighter, softer women, and that the women, with their patience, their sense of color, with their small, nimble fingers, would be better suited to exacting fine tasks such as beadwork and sewing. Similarly, it is natural to expect that the general, sex-linked orientations and predispositions, statistically obvious, both male and female, or human beings, presumably functions of genetic and hormonal differences, would tend to be reflected, broadly, in the sorts of tasks which each sex tends to perform most efficiently and finds most congenial. Some tasks, of course, from the biological point of view, may be sex-neutral, so to speak. Whether sex-neutral tasks exist or not is an interesting question. Such a task would seem to be one in which the sexual nature of a human being, with all its attendant physiological and psychological consequences, was irrelevant. It seems likely that sex-neutral tasks, at least of an interesting nature, do not exist. We shall suppose, however, for the purposes of argument, that there do exist such tasks. Let us suppose, for example, that the cutting of leather for moccasins is such a task. Now among the red savages this task, supposedly sex-neutral, for the purposes of argument, is always, or almost always, performed by females. This call attention to an interesting anthropological datum. The performance of even tasks which may be 'sex-neutral," tasks that do not seem to have an obvious biological rationale with respect to gender, tends to be divided, in culture after culture, on a sexual basis. Similarly, interestingly, whether for historical reasons or not, these cultures tend to be in substancial agreement on the divisions. For example, in most all cultures, though not all, loom weaving is a female task. This tends to suggest that it is important in these cultures that sexual differences, in one way or another, be clearly marked."
Blood Brothers, pages 81-82

The Red Savages

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 12:07 PM

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Kailla a tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; their language is related to that of the Dust Legs.
Book 17: Savages of Gor, pages 148, 229, and 307

"The normal distributions, given food supply and such, of the bands of Kaiila are usually rather as follows. First understand that that there exists the Kaiila River, flowing generally in a southwestward direction. At a given point, high in the territory of the Kaiila tribe, it branches into two rivers, which are normally spoken of as the Northern Kaiila and the Southern Kaiila. The Snake flowing, in almost a southern direction, is a tributary of the Northern Kaiila. The land of the Napoktan, or Bracelets band of the Kaiila, is east of the Snake, and north of the Northern Kaiila and the Kaiila proper. The Wismahi, or Arrowhead Band of the Kaiila holds the more northern lands in and below, to some extent, the fork of the Kaiila. The Isbu's lands are the more southern lands between the northern and southern branches of the Kaiila. The lands of the the Casmu, or Sand Band of the Kailla lie to the west of the Isanna, and to the north and west of the Isbu, above above the descending northern branch of the Northern Kaiila." --- Blood Brothers of Gor page 24

The Isbu, or Little-Stones band, the Casmu, or Sand, band; the Isanna, the Little-Knife band; the Napoktan, or Bracelets, band; and the Wismahi, or Arrowhead band, are the five bands which constitute the Kaiila tribe. --- Blood Brothers of Gor pg 10

The Issana literally Little Knife Band of the Kaiila Tribe, they come from the countries around Council Rock north of the Northern Fork of the Kaiila River and west of the Snake which is a tributary to the Northern Kaiila River. -- Blood Brothers of Gor page 24-25

Games of Favors

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 12:04 PM

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The Game of Favors

A free woman, in swirling robes of concealment, veiled, appeared before me. "Accept my favor, please!" she laughed.
She held forth the scarf, teasingly, coquettishly. "Please, handsome fellow!" she wheedled. "Please, please" she said.
"Please!"
"Very well," I smiled.
She came quite close to me.
"Herewith," she said, "I, though a free woman, gladly and willingly, and of my own free will, dare to grant you my favor!"

She then thrust the light scarf through an eyelet on the collar of my robes and drew it halfway through. In this fashion it would not be likely to be dislodged.

"Thank you, kind sir, handsome sir!" she laughed. She then sped away, laughing.

She had had only two favors left at her belt, I had noted.
Normally in this game the woman begins with ten. the first to dispense her ten favors and return to the starting point wins. I looked after her, grinning. It would have been churlish, I thought, to have refused the favor. Too, she had begged so prettily. This type of boldness, of course, in one that a woman would be likely to resort to only in the time of carnival. the granting of such favors probably has a complex history. Its origin may even trace back to Earth. this is suggested by the fact that, traditionally, the favor, or the symbolic token of the favor, is a handkerchief or scarf. sometimes a lady's champion, as I understand it, might have borne such a favor, fastened perhaps to a helmet or thrust in a gauntlet.

It is not difficult, however, aside from such possible historical antecedents, and the popular, superficial interpretations of such a custom, in one time or another, to speculate on the depth meaning of such favors. One must understand, first, that they are given by free women and of their own free will. Secondly, one must think of favors in the sense that one might speak of a free woman granting, or selling, her favors to a male. To be sure, this understanding, as obvious and straightforward as it is, if brought to the clear light of consciousness, is likely to come as a revelatory and somewhat scandalous shock to the female. It is one of those cases in which a thing she has long striven to hide from herself is suddenly, perhaps to her consternations and dismay, made incontrovertibly clear to her. In support of the interpretation are such considerations as the fact that theses favors, in these games, are bestowed by females on males, that, generally, at lest, strong, handsome males seem to be the preferred recipients of such favors, that there is competition among the females in the distribution of these favors, and that she who first has her "favors" accepted therein accounts herself as somewhat superior to her less successful sisters, at least in this respect, and that the whole game, for these free women, is charged with an exciting, permissive aura of delicious naughtiness, this being indexed undoubtedly to the sexual stimulations involved, stimulations which, generally, are thought to be beneath the dignity of lofty free woman.

In short, the game of favors permits free women, in a socially acceptable context, by symbolic transformation, to assuage their sexual needs to at least some small extent, and, in some cases, if they wish to make advances to interesting males. there is not full satisfaction of female sexuality, of course, outside of the context of male dominance........

pages 44-45, Players of Gor

Free Companionship

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 11:42 AM

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FreeCompaionship according to John Norman

Free Companionship An agreement between the two individuals must be arranged. The male would contact the female's family, house or protector and offer a Companionship Price. Often this is in the form of golden tarn disks but can be of anything that both Male parties agree to. The payment of the Companionship Price is to be made prior to taking any further steps. A contract is the next step. This would include the Companionship price, length of Companionship which is usually one year, distribution of property and anything needed to guide the relationship. Copies of the Companionship contract is handed to the Female's Representative as well as her family. All parties involved should have such a copy. A ceremony may be performed after the contract has been approved and signed. Normally all that is required is the offering of a cup of kalana, sharing of any written vows, and the removal of the females veils for the first time. This can be done in private or in public. Understand, that as a Free Companion and being female you are technically "owned". You will have rules and orders to follow, and obey.. being a Free Companion does not protect you from being ko`lared. It only states you are property of your Male Companion. Males can chain, unveil or ko`lar their Free Companions on a whim. Normally this is done only in extreme cases and if ko`lared it can be forever, meaning, you would lose all freedom as well as be required to learn the kajirae ways. It solely depends upon the Male, as females are trained from birth to please men. Gor is a Mans World, females are only free because of a males whim, freedom is a gift that can be taken back at any moment.

Garments of Free Women according to the Geographical Location

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 11:05 AM

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Garments of a Freewoman, according to Geographical Location

Ar- "In Ar's Station," he said, "as in Ar, robes of concealment, precisely, are not legally obligatory for free women, no more than the veil. Such things are a matter of custom."
Renegades of Gor, page 367

Cos- "To one side, in a silken veil, richly robed and jeweled, sat Vivina, the ward of Chenbar. It was not a coincidence that she was now in Cos."
Raiders of Gor, page 174

Kassau- "Her hair was hung in a snood of scarlet yarn, bound with filaments of golden wire. She wore, over her shoulder, a cape of white fur of the northern sea sleen. She had a scarlet vest, embroidered in gold, worn over a long-sleeved blouse of white wool, from distant Ar. She wore, too, a log woollen skirt, dyed red, which was belted with black, with a buckle of gold, wrought in Cos. She wore shoes of black polished leather, which folded about her ankles, laced twice, once across the instep, once about the ankle."
Marauders of Gor, page 17

Red Hunters- "She was very lovely and attractive in her hunting costume, brief tunic and long hose, brown, a scarlet cape and cap, the cap with a feather. She carried a short, yellow bow, of ka-la-na wood, which could clear the saddle of the tharlarion, its missile being easily released to either side. Her black boots, click and shining were spurred. A quiver of arrows, yellow, was at the left of her saddle.She had had dark hair, dark eyes."
Beasts of Gor, page 111

Rence Growers- "Her gaze was clear; she had a dark blondish hair and blue eyes; her legs were a bit short, and her ankles somewhat thick; her shoulders were a bit wide perhaps, but lovely. She wore a brief, sleeveless garment of yellowish-brown rence cloth; it was worn well away from both shoulders to permit her freedom of movement; the brief skirt had been hitched up about her thighs that it might in no way bind her in her hunting. Her hair was tied behind her head with a strip of purple cloth, dyed rep-cloth. I knew then she came of a community that had contact to some degree, direct or indirect, with civilized Goreans. Rep is a whitish fibrous matter found in the seed pods of a small, reddish, woody bush, commercially grown in several areas, but particularly below Ar and above the equator; the cheap rep-cloth is woven in mills, commonly, in various cities; it takes dyes well and, being cheap and strong, is popular, particularly among the lower castes. The girl was doubtless the daughter of a rence grower, hunting for gants."
Raiders of Gor, page 10-11

Tharna- "Each of these women wore resplendent Robes of Concealment, rich in color and workmanship, standing out among the drab garments of the men, but instead of the veil common with such robes the features of each were hidden behind a mask of silver. The masks were of identical design, each formed in the semblance of a beautiful, but cold face."
Outlaw of Gor, page 28

Torvaldsland- "She was dressed in the full regalia of a free woman of the north. The clothes were not rich, but they were clean, and her best. She wore two brooches; and black shoes.
Marauders of Gor, page 147

Women Warriors

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 11:02 AM

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Men are the warriors and women, she knew in her heart, were among the fitting spoils of their victories." (Blood Brothers of Gor, p.213)

There is an ongoing debate over whether Gorean free women may be warriors or not. Obviously if you do not choose to role-play closely to the Gorean novels, you may add anything to your role-play that you choose. You may have dozens of female warriors or even lands of Amazons. But, if you are concerned about remaining faithful to the books, then the question has much more relevance. Norman did not explicitly lay out guidelines for the place of female warriors on Gor but he did provide ample evidence to show his opinions on the matter. Thus, as for all other Gorean matters, you must consult the novels for an informed answer.

The first step in the analysis must involve defining our terms. There are three basic terms to understand: Warrior, Rarius and Warrior Caste. Our greatest concern is with the last term as that is the crux of the controversy.

A warrior is simply one who battles, armed or unarmed, in combat. That is a very broad term and can encompass males and females. Any one can pick up a weapon and fight in a war. Thus, any woman could fit this definition. But, the answer is far from that simple. When we refer to female warriors on Gor, we are not just considering this definition. We are referring to the deeper issue of the proper place of female Warriors on Gor.

Rarius is a Gorean term that refers to warriors in general. Rarii is the plural form. It applies to any warrior from any culture and not just a member of the Warrior Caste. For example, a male Tuchuk or Red Savage may be referred to as a Rarius. By examining the word, we can also see that it ends in a common masculine suffix, like the word "kajirus." This gives us our first evidence that warriors on Gor are meant to be male. Though, the books never specifically state that "rarius" only applies to men, there is no example where it is ever used for a woman. And if it also applied to women, there would be a term with a feminine suffix such as "raria" that existed. No such term exists in the novels.

In the civilized cities, there also exists a Caste of Warriors, the Red Caste. This Caste is one of the five High Castes on Gor. Men and women may belong to this Caste. The greatest confusion and questions deal with the role of women who belong to the Red Caste. What is their proper role in the Red Caste? May women of the Red Caste train, use weapons and act as a Warrior? May such women defend their cities in time of war? What are the duties and responsibilities of such women in their Caste?

To discern the answers to these questions we must consider a two-pronged inquiry. First, we must decide if women are capable of using a warrior's weapons. Are they physically able to wield a sword or spear? Second, if we answer positively to the first question, then we must decide if the Warrior Caste and Gorean society would permit women to wield weapons. In such a male dominated society, would women be permitted to act as a Warrior? It is legal for them to possess and use weapons?

In answering this first prong, we must understand that we are discussing Gorean women and not Earth women. Do not judge Gor by the examples of female athletes on Earth. Such women do not exist on Gor. Gorean culture is vastly different and has led to a different development for women. Even those Earth

The Memory of the Red Savages

Posted by wintermoonrs on March 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM

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The Memory: although the Red Savages, described as ruthless and ferocious, seem to thrive on internecine warfare, there is one common tradition that will unite them over customary conflicts and rivalries. Their hatred of the white man, called simply, 'The Memory' always takes priority.
Book 17: Savages of Gor, pages 35, 148 and 248

The Red Savages, as they are commonly called on Gor, are racially and culturally distinct from the Red Hunters of the north. They tend to be a more slender, longer-limbed people; their daughters menstruate earlier; and their babies are not born with a blue spot at the base of the spine, as in the case with most of the red hunters. Their culture tends to be nomadic, and is based on the herbivorous, lofty kaiila, substantially the same animal as is found in the Tahari, save for the wider footpads of the Tahari beast, suitable for negotiating deep sand, and the lumbering, gregarious, short-tempered, trident-homed kailiauk. To be sure, some tribes do not have the kaiila, never having mastered it, and certain tribes have mastered the tam, which tribes are the most dangerous of all. Although there are numerous physical and cultural differences among these people they are usually collectively referred to as the red savages. This is presumably a function of so little being known about them, as a whole, and the cunning, ruthlessness and ferocity of so many of the tribes. They seem to live for hunting and internecine warfare, which seems to serve almost as a sport and a religion for them. Interestingly enough most of these tribes seem to be united only by a hatred of whites, which hatred, invariably, in a time of emergency or crisis, takes precedence over all customary con- and rivalries. To attack whites, intruding into their lands, once the war lance has been lifted, even long-term blood enemies will ride side by side. The gathering of tribes, friends and foes alike, for such a battle is said to be a splendid sight. These things are in virtue of what, among these peoples, is called the Memory.

Hand sign, I suspected was the key to the capacity of the tribes to unite and protect their territories against outside encroachment, that and what they called the Memory.

Are we not yet in the country of the Dust Legs?" I inquired. This was a perimeter tribe, which, on the whole, was favorably disposed towards whites. Most trading was done with Dust Legs. Indeed, it was through the Dust Legs that most of the goods of the interior might reach civilization, the Dust Legs, in effect, acting as agents, and intermediaries. Many tribes, apparently, would not deal on a face-to-face basis with whites. This had to do with the hatred and suspicion fostered by that tradition called the Memory. The Memory, as it is called, and their hatred for the white man, had taken priority, as it commonly did, over their bloody and almost continuous intertribal differences. The red savages, I speculated, if they wished, with their numbers, and their unity, conjoined with an approximate technological parity in weapons, should be able to hold the Barrens indefinitely against white intrusion