Gorean Etiquette
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RULES OF ETIQUETTE FOR FREE PERSONS
Our First law here is: Respect, honor and trust for all. A collection
of quotes taken from the Gorean novels of John Norman exemplifying
Gorean culture in general... 9:9 Do not ask the stones or the
trees how to live , they can not tell you ; they do not have tongues;
do not ask the wise man how to live for, if he knows , he will know
he cannot tell you; if you would learn how to live , do not ask the
question; its answer is not in the question but in the answer, which
is not in words; do not ask how to live, but, instead, proceed to
do so. Proper decorum; When in Gor, it is appropriate
for everyone, Free and slave alike, to be courteous when dealing with
one’s peers and those below you. This cannot be understated.
Gorean men do not surrender their
birthright as males, their rightful dominance, their appropriate mastery.
They do not choose to be dictated to by females. Men, accordingly,
do not on the whole, care to follow the orders/leadership of women.
In doing so they generally feel uncomfortable. It makes them uneasy.
They sense the absurdity, the unnaturalness, of the relationship.
It is thus that normal men commonly follow women only unwillingly,
and only with reservations, usually also within an artificial context
or within the confines of a misguided, choiceless or naive institution,
where their discipline may be relied upon. Their compliance with orders
in such a situation cannot help but be more critical, more skeptical.
Their activities tend then to be preformed with less confidence, and
more hesitantly. This often produces serious consequences to the efficiency
of their actions. It is interesting to note that even women seldom
care to follow women, particularly in critical situations. One may usually hire a lad from
the district to direct one to particular points. Similarly, of course,
one may make inquiries of fellows in the area. In such inquiries,
the male will normally speak to a male, and the female to a female.
This has to do not only with matters of propriety, enshrined in Gorean
custom, but also with common-sense security measures. For example,
a woman would not wish to seem forward, nor, in effect, to be calling
herself to the attention of a strange male, which can be dangerous
on Gor, and a woman, a free woman, might well be advised not to respond
to the accostings of a strange male. On the other
hand, I knew Goreans, too, who would surely count as gentlemen and
their slaves were treated in much the same way, if not more so. Their
gentlemanliness tended to be manifested in the exquisite and exacting
refinements expected of their females, for example, in costume, appearance,
behavior, deportment and service, not in any weakness exhibited towards
them. Indeed, many Gorean slave girls fear terribly that they might
be purchased by a "gentleman." Such can be very difficult
to please. Goreans do not generally favor begging,
and some regard it as an insult that there should be such, an insult
to them and their city. When charity is in order, as when a man cannot
work or a woman is alone, usually such is arranged through the caste
organization, but sometimes through the clan, which is not specifically
caste oriented but depends on ties of blood through the fifth degree. 11:241 In a man's hut, he must
be Master, even though he has selected out for himself a companion.
It is the part of the companion to befriend and aid him, not to insult
and drive him. 25:13 It is seldom wise to interfere
in the relationship 8:13 "It is said," said
Samos, "that only weaklings, and fools, and men who deserve to
be slave girls, fall slave to women.
"Tal," I said, lifting
my right arm, palm inward, in a common Gorean greeting. 'Tal,"
said I. Lifting my right hand to them, palm facing to the left.They
did not respond.The captain stepped forth. They didn't seem then to
me to be pleasant fellows."Who are you?" asked the captain."One
who has greeted you." I said." Proper decorum; A number of Gorean standards of
behavior between Free and slave are to be covered at this time. First,
when addressing a Free Person, always capitalize their nick, even
as you use lower-case for the nicks of slaves. A Master tends to get
a bit irritated if he sees a kajir addressing him with a lower-case
nick, as though he were a slave. When greeting a Free Person, if you
are also a Free Person, always use the greeting, ‘Tal’.
This is a Gorean address of greeting, similar to the Italian ‘ciao’,
it is appropriate for both greeting or wishing one farewell. If you
are a slave, always use ‘greeting’ instead of ‘Tal’.
And finally, if you are a Free Person, it is appropriate to refer
to another Free Person as Sir’ or ‘Lady’. If you are
a slave, then you should be referring to the Free Person as ‘Master,
or ‘Mistress. (Although..quotes have been found where slaves have been allowed to speak the word "Tal" when greeting the free) 'Tal,' said Ute, greeting me as
a free person. `Tal, Master,'
they said to me. `Tal, Slave Girls,' I said to them. The girls
stood straight, proud under the gaze of a warrior. `Tal, Master,'
said many of them, as I rode slowly by. "Hail, Teibar!" called another. From the latter manner of greeting,
I gathered this Teibar might be excellent with the staff, or sword.
Such greetings are usually reserved for recognized experts, or champions,
at one thing or another. For example, a skilled Kaissa player is sometimes
greeted in such a manner. I studied Teibar. I would have suspected
his expertise to be with the sword. Let Us Drink Wine: 'Let
Us Drink Wine' : a fatalistic maxim used in which the events of the
morrow are cast into the laps of the Priest Kings. 'Ta-Sardor-Gor'
: a libration meaning 'to the Priest Kings of Gor' - preceded
by the pouring of a small amount of your drink onto the table and
then saying 'looking into the blood'
: a ritual which requires that from a fresh kill a mouthful of
blood is drunk from cupped hands, you then get another cupped handful
of blood and look into the blood, if you see your visage black and
wasted then you will die of disease, if you see yourself torn and
scarlet you will die in battle, if you see yourself old and white
haired you will die in peace and leave children. The ritual is concluded
by you drinking the blood you have been looking into. Sharing salt
: this action forms a close bond between 2 men - is done
by each man placing some salt on the back of his right wrist, then
each uses his tongue to touch the salt on the wrist of the other man
- thus sharing each others salt. - Gorean applause
- common gorean applause is the striking of the left shoulder with
the right hand, except for warriors who clash weapons
He suddenly snapped His fingers
and, in the swift double gesture of a Gorean Master, pointed to a
place on the dirt floor before Him, almost simultaneously turning
His hand, spreading His first and index finger, pointing downwards.
I fled to Him and knelt before Him, my knees in the dirt, in the position
of the pleasure slave, my head down, trembling. Offering the Use of One's Slaves: Free People can say, 'please' and
'thank you' to kajir When dealing with a kajir, it
is not uncommon for Free People who are of civilized, urban regions
to use the words "please", or "thank you", or
similar courtesies, Favor: 'May the Priest Kings favor
you.'
"This is Tarl Red Hair,"
said the Forkbeard. Ubar -(noun): war chief '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.' The power of Marlenus, or much
of it, lay in the mystique of victory that had never ceased to attend
him, acting like a magic spell on his soldiers and the people of his
city. Never defeated in combat, Ubar of Ubars, he had boldly refused
to relinquish his title after a Valley War some twelve years ago,
and his men had refused to withdraw from him, refused to abandon him
to the traditional fate of the
He threw
down the ax, which rang on the stones of the road to Ko-ro-ba. Zosk
sank down and sat cross-legged in the road, his gigantic frame shaken
with sobs, his massive head buried in his hands, his thick, guttural
voice moaning with distress. At such a time a man may not be spoken
to, for according to the Gorean way of thinking pity humiliates both
he who pities and he who is pitied. According to the Gorean way, one
may love but one may not pity.
Goreans are extremely sensitive about
names, and who may speak them. Indeed, particularly those of low caste,
even have use names, concealing their true names, lest they be discovered
by enemies and used to conjure spells against them. “Please untie me, Cuwignaka!”
begged Bloketu. Blood Brothers of Gor - Page 409
When
speaking to one's own Master, or to say it another way, when speaking
to the Master who Owns the kajira, the kajira will address the Owner
differently, and more 25:425 The kajir is not permitted to use the Owning Master's name when speaking to the Master. This is a fundimental matter of courtesy and respect, proper protocol when being of Gor and communicating with the Master. It is considered a highly punishable offense if the kajir lapses in this particular. 19:361 When speaking to
the Owner, the kajir may use the phrase, "my Master" to
him, and him alone. The phrase is specifically reserved for use with
the Owning (Karian
Notes) Master-public-(noun): an individual
free man or institution owning multiple slaves who are chosen for
pleasing others, bringing indirect pleasure to their owner. Examples
are feast slaves, flute girls, or state slaves. Slave girls on Gor address all
free men as Master, though, of course only one such would be her true
Master.
Slavery: La
Kajira-(phrase; declarative): I am a slave. "She
is a slave,' I said. 'Anything could be done with her.' "The discipline of
a slave may be attended to by any free person, otherwise she might
do much what she wished, provided only her Master did not learn of
it. The legal principle is clear, and has been upheld in several courts,
in several cities, including Ar." "'Did you know that Hendow
is thinking about putting restrictions on your use?' he asked. 'Neither a plow, nor a bosk, nor
a girl may one man take from another, saving with the owner's saying
of it,' quoted Thurnus." "Had you asked of me my permission,
Bran Loort,' said Thurnus, indicating me with a gesture of his head,
'willingly and without thought, gladly, would I have given you temporary
master rights over her.'" 11:265 Gorean
saying by slave girls: "It is not yet time to serve the wine"
It means that the time for the slave to serve the Master's sexual
pleasure has not yet arrived, Telling slaves of plans : One does not inform slaves of
the plans of masters. Slaves are deliberately kept uninformed, and
ignorant. It increases their dependence, their helplessness. They
do not know what is to be done with them. They do not know what is
to be done with them. They do not know whence they may be herded,
or what they may be forced to do. Leave them alone, it is said, with
their ignorance and their fears. It is enough for the master to know
what is to be done with them. Ubarate-(noun): the territory governed
by an ubar. Ubara -(noun): the Free Companion
(consort) of a ubar. The Gorean is suspicious of the stranger: The Gorean
is suspicious of the stranger, particularly in the vicinity of his
native walls. Indeed, in Gorean the same word is used for both stranger
and enemy. 'He is a
stranger,' she said. 'He should be slain!' a phrase
given by passing strangers to those through whose terrotories they
would travel I only require the span of the rings of my tarn the girth
of my tharlarion the width of my body the width of my craft and no
more and that but for the time it takes to pass Bidding Welcome a Gorean Invitation: I have bidden
them welcome," said Pumpkin. His voice was not pleasant. Radish,
suddenly, frightened, backed away. I think she suddenly realized,
perhaps for the first time, explicitly, in her life, what a man such
as Pumpkin, with his power, and his will, might do. Gorean's generally, incidently, like the English, I am pleased to say, keep to the left of a road.
"Race,
incidentally, is not a serious matter generally for Goreans, perhaps
because of the intermixtures of people. Language and city, and caste,
however, are matters of great moment tothem, and provide sufficient
basis for thediscriminations in which human beings take such great
delight." A free person on
Gor is almost never in any danger from a slave unless it be a guard
slave, and he is attacking its master. In some cities a slave can
be slain for so much as A
girl dares not raise a weapon against a free man. Some girls Slave Girl of Gor pg. 200 I did not even want to go near
the sword. It was almost as though it radiated out warnings,and alarms
and terrors, and invisible flames that might burn me. It was a weapon!
I dared not even approach it. |
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