 |
|||||
|
Caste System
A collection of quotes taken from the Gorean novels of John Norman exemplifying Gorean culture in general...
|
|||||
|
The Gorean
caste system consists of a structure that by birth except for slaves...
outlaws and Initiates were conferred. The Governments of each city were elected only by those of the High Castes. The Caste is a source of life long pride and brotherhood. The welfare of the caste takes predicent over each gorean individual. It is possible to change one's caste.. but rarely done, cause to lose one's caste is the ultimate dishonor. Book 1:
Tarnsman of Gor, pages 41-42 'The High Castes in a given city,' said my father, '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.' 'In his judgement?' I asked sceptically. 'Normally the office is surrendered
after the passing of the crisis,' said my father. 'But what if he does not give up the office?' I asked. I had learned enough of Gor by now to know that one could not always count on the Caste Codes being observed. 'Those who do not desire to surrender
their power,' said my father, 'are usually deserted by their men.
The offending war chief is simply abandoned, left alone in his palace
to be impaled by the citizens of the city he has tried to usurp.'...
'What happens then?' I asked. 'He
becomes a tyrant,' said my father, 'and rules until eventually, in
one way or another, he is ruthlessly deposed.' My father's eyes were
hard and seemed fixed in thought. It was not mere political theory
he spoke to me. I gathered that he knew of such a man.
The caste system was socially efficient,
given its openness with respect to merit, but I regarded it as somehow
ethically objectionable. It was still too rigid, in my opinion, particularly
with respect to the selection of rulers from the High Castes and with
respect to the Double Knowledge. But far more deplorable than the
caste system was the institution of slavery. There were only three
statuses conceivable to the Gorean mind outside the caste system:
slave, outlaw, and Priest-King. A man who refused to practise his
livelihood or strove to alter status without the consent of the Council
of High Castes was, by definition, an outlaw and subject to impalement.
Those of the Lower Castes are all the other types of castes, such as: the Assassins, Woodsmen, Wood-Carriers, Bakers, Butchers, Goat keepers, Rence- Growers, Slavers, Guardsmen, Musicians, Peasants, Potters, Saddle Makers, Singers, Smiths, Tarn keepers, Lamp Lighters, and Weavers. This is only a few of the lower castes, there are many more not listed (see below), plus those of the subcastes of these castes. They are also ranked by order of presidence, the Peasants being the lowest of the castes.
'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.' '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.' (Book#1 *Tarsman of Gor*)
'The caste structure,' said my father
patiently, with perhaps the trace of a smile on his face, 'is relatively
immobile, but not frozen, and depends on more than birth. For example,
if a child in his schooling shows that he can raise caste, as the
expression is, he is permitted to do so. But similarly, if a child
does not show the aptitude expected of his caste, whether it be, say,
that of a physician or warrior, he is lowered in caste.' Caste
codes are the etical teachings or gor whos origins are lost in antiquity.
A caste member can ask for sanctuary under another caste member's
roof, in times of need. "The ethical teachings of Gor,
…,amount to little more than the Caste Codes---collections of
sayings whose origins are lost in antiquity."  I had seen few women, but knew that they, when free, were promoted or demoted within the caste system according to the same standards and criteria as the men, although this varied, I was told, considerably from city to city. (Book#1 *Tarnsman of Gor*) |
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
