Peoples of Gor

Peoples of Gor

There are many peoples on Gor, much like on earth, in fact most of the people resemble one of earth, for example, the Red Hunters are much like the Inuit's and the Red Savages resemble the Indians if North America, The people of Schendi mirror those of Central Africa, and the inner jungle tribes those of the inner jungles of Africa or Australia, whilst the Tribes of the Tahari are much like the Desert Tribes of Egypt and/or the people of the Northern Africa.

Then we have the Northern people of Torvaldsland that mimic the traditions and ways of the Vikings, with the Alars more like the gypsies of Europe and the white people close to the barrens like the cowboys of western United States. Also we cannot forget the Wagon people of the Plains of Turia, these as per my studies resemble most the Mongols of Asia with their customs, scarring ceremonies and eating habits. When the people of Gor are broken down as such, it makes it easier to understand the customs and festivals. Much like the caste system of Gor is based on the Caste system of India, the clan system of Gor resembles the caste system of early civilization.

Red Hunters

Let's start with the Red Hunters, much like the Inuits of the great North, they live with the seasons, living off Tabuk(resembling deer, caribou and the like) water sleen and such. They are a people with their own customs and do not intermix with the other peoples of Gor.

I saw a short fellow in the street crows. He was passing by. he was squat and broad, powerful, apparently very strong. Though the weather was cool in the early spring he was stripped to the waist. He wore trousers of fur, and fur boots, which came to the knee. His skin was dark, reddish like copper; his hair was bluish black, roughly cropped; his eyes bore the epicanthic fold. About his shoulder, he had slung some coils of braided rope, fashioned from twisted sleen hide, and in his hand, he carried a sack and a bundle of tied furs; at his back was a quiver containing arrows, and a short bow of sinew-bound, layered horn.
Such men are seldom seen on Gor. They are the natives of the polar basin. Beasts of Gor, page 48

Two weeks ago, some ten to fifteen sleeps ago, by rare fortune, we had managed to harpoon a baleen whale, a bluish, white-spotted blunt fin. That two whales had been taken in one season was rare hunting, indeed. Sometimes two or three years pass without a whale being taken.
"It is good," said Imnak, looking at the meat racks. "It may be that this winter the families will not have to go out on the ice." Beasts of Gor, page 265

Besides the whales many sleen and fish had been taken. Too, the families, coming north, had dragged and carried what dried tabuk meat they could with them. Even the children carried meat. With them, too, they had brought eggs and berries, and many other things, spoils from the summer, though not all for the larder, such as horn and sinew, and bones and hides. They did not carry with them much grass for the boots or mosses for the wicks of lamps as these materials could be obtained readily somewhat inland of the permanent camps. Beasts of Gor, page 266

They are peculiar about their names and never speak of their own names.

Though they are reticent to speak there own names, have little reservation about speaking the names of others. This makes sense, as it is not their name, and it is not as if , in their speaking it, the name might somehow escape them. This is also fortunate, It is sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to get one of these fellows to tell you his own name. Often one man will tell you the name of his friend, and his friend will tell you his name. This way you learn the name of both, but from neither himself. The names of the Red Hunters, incidentally have meaning. Beasts of Gor, page 194

The women of the Red Hunters are saucy and straightforward, they seem to fear little yet uphold strong beliefs besides the men.

She looked at me angrily. She wore the high fur boots and panties of the woman of the north. As it was, from their point of view, a hot day, one which was above the freezing point, she, like most of the women of the Red Hunters, was stripped to the waist. About her neck she wore some necklaces. She seemed pretty, but her temper might have shamed that of a she-sleen. The fur she wore, interestingly, was rather shabby. Her carriage and sharpness of tongue, however, suggested she must be someone of importance. I would later learn that the unmated daughters of even important men, namely, good hunters, were often kept in the poorest of furs. It is up to the mate, or husband, if you wish, to bring them good furs. This is intended as an encouragement to the girls to be a bit fetching, that they may attract a man , and subsequently, have something nice to wear. If this were the plan, however, clearly it had not worked in the case of my pretty critic. I was not surprised. It would be a bold fellow indeed who would dare make her a present of fine feasting clothes. She tossed her head and turned away. Her hair was worn knotted in a bun on the top of her head, like that generally of the women of the Red Hunters. Their hair is worn loose, interestingly, out of doors, only during their menstrual period. In a culture where the gracious exchange of mates is commonly practiced this devise, a civilized courtesy, provides the husbands friends with information that may be pertinent to the timing of their visits. This culture signal, incidentally, is not applicable to a mans slaves in the north. Animals do not dress their hair and slaves, generally, do not either. Beasts of Gor, page 193

They have a special way of finding a companion as Tarl experiences in Beasts of Gor.

There must be a dowry and exchange of gifts before the said bride is to be companioned to the man. Also, once the woman is with her man, nothing keeps him from making her a slave.

Her temper and sharp tongue, I think, had made many enemies among the red hunters and their women. There were few there I think who did not relish seeing her in bondage strings. She might now be beaten with impunity, and must obey free men and women.
"Now," said Kadluk, her father, "you will not come running home to the tent."
He rubbed his nose affectionately on the side of her face, patted her on the head and turned away.
"Father!" she cried.
"Do I hear the wind?" he asked, his back to her.
"Father!" she cried.
"Yes," he said, "I hear the wind." Then he left.
Indeed, she could not now go running home to the tent of her father. Imnak, if he wished, could slay her for such an act. She wore bondage strings.
The crowd began to dissipate, leaving Imnak and Poalu much alone.
"Why have you done this to me, Imnak?" asked Poalu.
"I wanted to own you," he said.
"I did not know a man could want a woman so much that he would want to own her," said Poalu.
"Yes," said Imnak.
"I did not know you would be strong enough to own me," she said.
"I am strong enough to own you," he said.
"Yes," she said, "it is true. I see in your eyes that it is true."
He said nothing.
"And you will own me?" she asked.
"Yes," he said.
"It is a strange feeling, being owned," she said. Imnak shrugged.
"I have loved you since we were children, Imnak," she whispered. "I have thought for years that I would someday be your woman. But I did not think, ever, that I would be your beast." She looked at him. "Will you truly make me obey you, Imnak?" she asked.
"Yes," he said.
She smiled. "Your beast is not discontent," she said.
He touched her softly with his nose about the cheek and throat. It is a thing red hunters do. It is a very gentle thing, like smelling and nuzzling.
Then his hands were hard on her waist. Beasts of Gor, page 219-220

Having their own set of laws, that makes it possible for them to survive; the community itself makes sure these laws are upheld.

In the permanent camp, there is a feasting house which is used for gatherings and sharing meals together. Also the Red Hunters like to play adult games on top of singing which seems to be very important as the songs are stories in themselves.

The Wagon People

This people are a strong and ferocious people, they have their own laws also and no white man has been able to curtail their activities, be it reading, pillaging or enslaving. They have a strong sense of honor like the rest of the Gorean peoples, but they seem to take it to a different height.

The leaders of a wagon people tribe are unknown to all except those of the first wagon. They have their own unique greeting and only pray to the skies and plains.

He grinned a Tuchuck grin."How are the Bosk?" He asked.
"As well as may be expected," said Kamchak.
"Are the Quivas sharp?"
"One tries to keep them so," said Kamchak.
"It is important to keep the axles of the wagons greased," observed Kutaituchik.
"Yes,' said Kamchak, "I believe so."
Kutaituchik suddenly reached out and he and Kamchak, laughing, clasped hands." Nomads of Gor page 44

They also have haruspexes for omens and potions.

They migrate in hundreds in their huge wagons, different from what we think of as western wagons, their wagons are much much bigger and made differently, when reading the quotes, we realize that they are not at all what we think of as traveling wagons.

The wagon box, which stands almost six feet from the ground, is formed of black, lacquered planks of tem-wood. Inside the wagon box, which is square, there is fixed a rounded, tentlike frame, covered with the taut, painted, varnished hides of bosks. These hides are richly colored, and often worked with fantastic designs, each wagon competing with its neighbor to be the boldest and most exciting. The rounded frame is fixed somewhat within the square of the wagon box, so that a walkway, almost like a ship's bridge, surrounds the frame. The sides of the wagon box, incidentally, are, here and there, perforated for arrow ports, for the small horn bow of the Wagon Peoples can be used to advantage not only from the back of a kaiila but, like the crossbow, from such cramped quarters. One of the most striking features of these wagons is the wheels, which are huge, the back wheels having a diameter of about ten feet; the front wheels are, like those of the Conestoga wagon, slightly smaller, in this case, about eight feet in diameter; the larger rear wheels are more difficult to mire; the smaller front wheels, nearer the pulling power of the bosk, permit a somewhat easier turning of the wagon. These wheels are carved wood and, like the wagon hides, are richly painted. Thick strips of boskhide form the wheel rims, which are replaced three to four times a year. The wagon is guided by a series of eight straps, two each for the four lead animals. Normally, however, the wagons are tied in tandem fashion, in numerous long columns, and only the lead wagons are guided, the others simply following, thongs running from the rear of one wagon to the nose rings of the bosk following, sometimes as much as thirty yards behind, with the next wagon; also, too, a wagon is often guided by a woman or boy who walks beside the lead animals with a sharp stick. Nomads of Gor, pages 30-31

The wagon people have the festivals of the Turian Love wars and every tenth year, the taking of the Omens for the Ubar San, they are separate and both important in their customs. The Love wars are fought on the Turian plains, warriors of both the wagon people and Turia fighting for free women of their sacred enemies.

The institution of Love War is an ancient one among the Turians and the Wagon Peoples, according to the Year Keepers antedating even the Omen Year. The games of Love War, of course, are celebrated every spring between, so to speak, the city and the plains, whereas the Omen Year occurs only every tenth year. The games of Love War, in themselves, do not constitute a gathering of the Wagon Peoples, for normally the herds and the free women of the peoples do not approach one another at these times; only certain delegations of warriors, usually about two hundred from a people, are sent in the spring to the Plains of a Thousand Stakes. Nomads of Gor, page 115

The Wagon People will kill a stranger and ask questions later, only merchants wearing the merchant brand may come to them for merchanting.

The Wagon Peoples, it is said, slay strangers. The words for stranger and enemy in Gorean are the same. Nomads of Gor, page 9

This People with only eat meat and mostly drink Paga and fermented milk. They look down on city dwellers as being below them and are a fierce proud people.

The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders a, and it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk. They are among the proudest peoples on Gor, regarding the dwellers of the cities of Gor as vermin in holes, cowards who must fly behind walls, wretches who fear to live beneath the broad sky, who dare not dispute them the open, windswept plains of their world. Nomads of Gor, page 4

Also they are the only tribe on Gor with Torturers, though through the series we see some of these men hired outside the Turian Plains.

I knew that they spoke a dialect of Gorean, and I hoped I would be able to understand them. If I could not I must die as befitted a swordsman of Ko-ro-ba. I hoped that I would be granted death in battle, if death it must be. The Wagon Peoples, of all those on Gor that I know, are the only ones that have a clan of torturers, trained as carefully as scribes or physicians, in the arts of detaining life. Nomads of Gor, page 9

A man of the wagon people with earn scars as he accomplishes feats in his lifetime, he cannot take a companion as long he has not earned the scar of courage and so forth, and could not own more then five bosk and three kaiila, bosk being their revered animal, the courage scar seems to be the first one young men of the wagon people will try for.

The man facing me had seven such scars ceremonially worked into the tissue of his countenance, the highest being red, the next yellow, the next blue, the fourth black, then two yellow, then black again. I recalled what I had heard whispered of once before, in a tavern in Ar, the terrible Scar Codes of the Wagon Peoples, for each of the hideous marks on the face of these men had a meaning, a significance that could be ready by the Paravaci, the Kassars, the Kataii, the Tuchucks as clearly as you or I might read a sign in a window or a sentence in a book. Nomads of Gor, page 15-16

Without the Courage Scar one may not, among the Tuchuks, pay court to a free woman, own a wagon, or own more than five bosk and three kaiila. The Courage Scar thus has its social and economic, as well as its martial, import. Nomads of Gor, page 113

"To a Tuchuk," said Harold, "success is courage, that is the important thing, courage itself even if all else fails, that is success." Nomads of Gor, page 273

Another ceremony of the wagon people is the Sharing of grass and earth, binding a man to another as brothers.

Suddenly the Tuchuk bent to the soil and picked up a handful of dirt and grass, the land on which the bosk graze, the land which is the land of the Tuchuks, and this dirt and this grass he thrust in my hands and I held it.
The warrior grinned and put his hands over mine so that our hands together held the dirt and the grass, and were together clasped on it.
"Yes," said the warrior, " come in peace to the Land of the Wagon Peoples." Nomads of Gor, page 26

Red Savages

The Red Savages as I have mentioned remind be muchly of the Indians of North America. They have similar customs and traditions.

They keep to themselves much like other tribes and people of Gor. Their mounts are the kaiila though one tribe has use of tarns.

They are a nomadic people consisting of several tribes the make war among themselves.

Their culture tends to be nomadic, and is based on the herbivorous, lofty kaiila,
=Parts Edited=
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 as a sport and a religion for them. Savages of Gor, page 35

"The red savages depend for their very lives on the kailiauk" said Kog. "He is the major source of their food and life. His meat and hide, his bones and sinew, sustain them. From him they derive not only food but clothing and shelter, tools and weapons." Savages of Gor, page 50

They have many many traditions and customs to live by and are self governing.

In the beliefs of the red savages the welfare of the whole that of the tribe, takes precedence over the welfare of the individual. In the thinking of the red savages the right to diminish the community does not lie within the prerogatives of the individual. Blood Brothers of Gor, page 11

Among the red savages there are various sorts of chief. The primary types of chief are the war chief, the medicine chief and the civil chief. One may be, interestingly, only one sort of chief at a time. This, like the rotation of police powers among warrior societies, is a portion of the checks and balances, so to speak, which tend to characterize tribal governance. Other checks and balanced are such things as tradition and custom, the closeness of the governed and the governors, multiple-family inter-relatedness, the election of chiefs, the submission of significant matters to a council, and ultimately, the feasibility of simply leaving the group in greater or lesser numbers. Savages of Gor, page 18

The Red Savages also have groups within their tribes that have different functions, such as the Warrior Society.

Most tribes had several warrior societies These societies had much influence within the tribes and on an alternating basis to preclude any one society from becoming predominant a good deal of power. Their members were expected to set an example in war and the hunt. Savages of Gor, page 260

Warrior Societies in the tribes have many functions The are a significant component of tribal existence. Such societies on an alternating basis do such things as keep order in the camps and on the treks. They function too as guards and police. It is part of their function too to keep the tribes apprised as to the movements of kailiauk and to organize and police tribal hunts. Such societies too it might be noted are useful in various social ways They provide institutions through which merit can be recognized and rewarded and tribal traditions freshened maintained and renewed. The preserve medicine bundles keep ceremonies and teach histories. It is common for them to give feasts and hold dances. Their rivalries provide an outlet for intertribal aggression and the attendant competitions supply an encouragement for effort and a stimulus to excellence. Within the society itself of course the members profit from the values of alliance and camaraderie and friendship. Needless to say each society will have too its own medicines and mysteries. Savages of Gor, page 261

The Red Savages uses a multitude of weapons, including the lance, the bow and arrow, clubs and shields, canhepi and tarn lances which are longer then the standard lance. Their shields are magical to the Red Savages and will protect them as long they remain honourable.

They have developed an intricate way of communicating, using hand signals. Though they also use spoken language to communicate.

"I can teach you hundreds of signs in a short time," said Grunt. "It is a very limited language, but in most situations it is quite adequate, and, because many of the signs seem so appropriate and natural, it can be easily learned. In four or five days you can learn most of what you would need of sign." Savages of Gor page 241

Grunt rubbed the back of his left hand from the wrist to the knuckle with his right index finger. "The general sign for a man is this," he said. He held his right hand in front of his chest, the index finger pointing up, and raised it in front of his face. He then repeated the sign for the red savage. "I am not clear on the specific rationale for the sign for the savage," he said. "You will note, however, that the same finger, the index finger, is used in the sign, as in the sign for man. The origins of some of these signs are obscure. Some think the sign for the red savage has a relation to the spreading of war paint. Others think that it means a man who goes straight or a man who is close to the earth, to nature. Doubtless there are other explanations, as well. This is the sign for friend." He then put his first two fingers together and raised them upward, beside his face. "t probably means two men growing up together." Savages of Gor page 241

Most slaves on Gor wear the metal color, except for slaves of the Red Savages, their collars are beaded and the beading on a color displays to whom the slave belongs.

The female slave of the Dust Legs, kneeling by the kaiila, wore a beaded collar, about an inch and a half in height. It was an attractive collar. It was laced closed, and tied snugly shut, in front of her throat. The patterns in the beading were interesting. They indicated her owner. Similar patterns are used by given individuals to identify their arrows or other personal belongings. It is particularly important to identify the arrows, for this can make a difference in the division of meat. It is death to a slave, incidentally, to remove such a collar without permission. Furthermore the collar is fastened by what is, in effect, a signature knot, a complex knot, within a given tribal style, whose tying is known only to the individual who has invented it. It is thus, for most practical purposes, impossible to remove and replace such a collar without the master, in his checking of the knot, by untying and retying it, being able to tell. Suffice it to say, the slaves of the red savages do not remove their collars. Savages of Gor, page 214

One of the customs or traditions of the Red Savages is turning a man into a serving female should he be unable to make war.

In most tribes, incidentally, a man who refuses to go on the warpath is put in women's clothes and given a woman's name. He must then live as a woman. Henceforth he is always referred to in the female gender. Needless to say, she is never permitted to mate. Sometimes she must even serve the members of a warrior society, as a captive female. Savages of Gor, page 46

Their lives revolve around the migrating Pte or kailiauk, at the time of the Great hunt where many tribes get together for the hunt; there is much feasting and revelry.

The movement of this group of animals had been reported in the camp of the Isbu Kaiila, or the Little-Stones band of the Kaiila, for more than ten days now, in a rough map drawn to the east of the camp, with notched sticks, the notching indicating the first and second day, and so on, of the animals' progress, and the placement of the sticks indicating the position of the animals on the day in question. Scouts of the Sleen Soldiers, a warrior society of the Isbu, had been keeping track of the animals since they had entered the country of the Kaiila more than two weeks ago. This was a moon in which the Sleen Soldiers held police powers in the camp, and so it was to their lot that numerous details, such as scouting and guarding, supervising the camp and settling minor disputes, now fell. Among their other duties, of course, would come the planning, organization and policing of the great Wanasapi, the hunt or chase. Blood brothers of Gor, page 8

"Splendid! Splendid!" said Cuwignaka.
Three or four abreast, in long lines, led by their civil chief, Watonka, One-Who-Is-Rich, and subchiefs and high warriors, the Isanna entered the camp of the Isbu. They carried feathered lances, and war shields and medicine shields, in decorated cases. They carried bow cases and quivers. They were resplendent in finery and paint. Feathers, each one significant and meaningful, in the codes of the Kaiila, recounting their deeds and honors, adorned their hair. Necklaces and rude bracelets glinted in the sun. High-pommeled saddles were polished. Coins and beads hung from the reins. Exploit markings and lucksigns were painted on the flanks and forequarters of their animals, and ribbons and feathers were fixed in the braided, silken manes. Women, too, in their shirtdresses and knee-length leggings, and beads, bracelets and armbands, and colorful blankets and capes, astride their kaiila, riding as red savages ride, participated in this barbaric parade. Blood Brothers of Gor, page 25

The Red Savages control all the Barrens, the place where they inhabit.

"No more then two kaiila are to be brought by any single white man into the Barrens. Too, no party of white men in the Barrens is permitted to bring in more than ten kaiila."
?"These are the rules of the red savages," he said.
"Then," said I, "only small groups of white men could enter the Barrens, or else they would be on foot, at the mercy of the inhabitants of the area."Savages of Gor, page 137

The wand before us was some seven or eight feet high. It is of this height, apparently, that I 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. 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. Savages of Gor, Page 143

Torvaldslanders

Torvaldslanders are a tall people, blond or red haired and resemble the Vikings in general.

Many of them were giants, huge men, inured to the cold, accustomed to war and the labor of the oar, raised from boyhood on steep, isolated farms near the sea, grown strong and hard on work, and meat and cereals. Such men, from boyhood, in harsh games had learned to run, to leap, to throw the spear, to wield the sword, to wield the axe, to stand against steel, even bloodied, unflinching. Such men, these, would be the hardest of the hard, for only the largest, the swiftest and finest might win for themselves a bench on the ship of a captain, and the man great enough to command such as they must be first and mightiest among them. Marauders of Gor, page 38

Their customs and traditions also mimic this. They sail in Serpant ships and fight with the Axe much like them also.

A man of Torvaldsland never leaves His house unless He is armed; and, within His house, His weapons are always near at hand, usually hung on the wall behind His couch, at least a foot beyond the reach of a bond-maid whose ankle is chained. Should she, lying on her back, look back and up, she sees, on the wall, the shield, the helmet, the spear and the ax, the sword, in its sheath, of her Master. They are visible symbol of the force by which she is kept in bondage, by which she is kept only a girl, whose belly is beneath His sword. Marauders of Gor, page 141-142

Free women of the North hold much weight in their communities, moreso then their free sisters of the South.

The free woman was a tall woman, large. She wore a great cape of fur, of white sea-sleen, thrown back to reveal the whiteness of her arms. Her kirtle was of the finest wool of Ar, dyed scarlet, with black trimmings. She wore two brooches, both carved of the horn of kailiauk, mounted in gold. At her waist she wore a jewelled scabbard, protruding from which I saw the ornamented, twisted blade of a Turian dagger; free women in Torvaldsland commonly carry a knife; at her belt, too, hung her scissors, and a ring of many keys, indicating that her hall contained many chests or doors; her hair was worn high, wrapped about a comb, matching the brooches, of the horn of kailiauk; the fact that her hair was worn dressed indicated that she stood in companionship; the number of keys, together with the scissors, indicated that she was mistress of a great house. She had gray eyes; her hair was dark; her face was cold, and harsh. Marauders of Gor, page 156

The men of Torvaldsland will at times share salt with another, saluting their friendships.

"Friend", he had said. "Friend," I had said. We had then tasted salt, each from the back of the wrist of the other. Marauders of Gor, page 70

Torvaldslanders seem to also share the same beliefs and worship as the Vikings.

Standing on the fragments of the circle, Ivar Forkbeard cried out, his ax lifted, and his left hand too, 'Praise to Odin!' And then, throwing his ax to his left shoulder, holding it there by his left hand he turned and faced the Sardar, and lifted his fist, clenched. It was not only a sign of defiance to the Priest-Kings, but the fist, the sign of the hammer. It was the sign of Thor. Marauders of Gor, page 48

The Forkbeard himself now, from a wooden keg, poured a great tankard of ale, which must have been of the measure of five gallons. Over this he then closed his fist. It was the sign of the hammer, the sign of Thor. Marauders of Gor, page 82

The Fury of the men of Torvaldsland is one to reckon with, it is ugly and powerful, bringing the men into a trance-like state and making them fierce warriors.

It seemed strange to me that men, only men, would dare to pit themselves against Kurii. I did not know then, of course, about the fury.
Svein Blue Tooth had his head down.
I sensed it first in the giant, Rollo. It was not a human noise. It was a snarl, a growl, like the sound of a larl, a-wakening from its sleep. The hair on my neck stood on end. I turned. The giant head was slowly lifting itself, and turning. Its eyes were closed. I could see blood beginning to move through the veins of its forehead. Then the eyes opened, and no longer were they vacant, but deep within them, as though beginning from far away, there seemed the glint of some terrible light. I saw his fists close and open. His shoulders were hunched down. He half crouched, as though waiting, tense, while the thing, the frenzy, the madness, began to burn within him.
'It is beginning,' said Ivar Forkbeard to me.
'I do not understand,' I said.
'Be quiet,' said he. 'It is beginning.'
I saw then Svein Blue Tooth, the mighty jarl of Torvaldsland, lift his own head, but it did not seem, then, to be him. It seemed rather a face I had not seen before. The eyes did not seem those of the noble Blue Tooth, but of something else, unaccountable, not understood. I saw him suddenly thrust his left forearm against the broad blade of his spear. To my horror I saw him sucking at his own blood.
I saw a man, fighting the frenzy, tear handfuls of his own hair from his head. But it was coming upon him, and he could not subdue it.
Other men were restless. Some dug at the earth with their boots. Others looked about themselves, frightened. The eyes of one man began to roll in his head; his body seemed shaken, trembling; he muttered incoherently.
Another man threw aside his shield and jerked open the shirt at his chest, looking into the valley. I heard others moan, and then the moans give way to the sounds of beasts, utterances of incontinent rage. Those who had not yet been touched stood terrified among their comrades in arms. They stood among monsters.
'Kurii,' I heard someone say. '
Kill Kurii,' I heard. 'Kill Kurii. '
'What is it?' I asked Ivar Forkbeard.
I saw a man, with his fingernails, blind himself, and feel no pain. With his one remaining eye he stared into the valley. I could see foam at the side of his mouth. His breathing was deep and terrible.
'Look upon Rollo,' said the Forkbeard.
The veins in the neck, and on the forehead, of the giant bulged, swollen with pounding blood. His head was bent to one side. I could not look upon his eyes. He bit at the rim of his shield, tearing the wood, splintering it with his teeth.
'It is the frenzy of Odin,' said the Forkbeard. 'It is the frenzy of Odin.'
Man by man, heart by heart, the fury gripped the host of Svein Blue Tooth.
It coursed through the thronged warriors; it seemed a tangible thing, communicating itself from one to another; it was almost as though one could see it, but one could not see it, only its effects. I could trace its passage. It seemed first a ghastly infection, a plague; then it seemed like a fire, in-visible and consuming; then it seemed like the touching of these men by the hands of gods, but no gods I knew, none to whom a woman or child might dare pray, but the gods of men, and of the men of Torvaldsland, the dread, harsh divinities of the cruel north, the gods of Torvaldsland. And the touch of these gods, like their will, was terrible.
Ivar Forkbeard suddenly threw back his head and, silently, screamed at the sky.
The thing had touched him.
The breathing of the men, their energy, their rage, the fury, was all about me.
A bowstring was being drawn taut. I heard the grinding of teeth on steel, the sound of men biting at their own flesh.
I could no longer look on Ivar Forkbeard. He was not the man I had known. In his stead there stood a beast.
I looked down into the valley. There were the lodges of the Kurri. I recalled them. Well did I remember their treach-ery, well did I remember the massacre, hideous, merciless, in the hall of Svein Blue Tooth.
'Kill Kurii,' I heard.
Within me then, irrational, like lava, I felt the beginning of a strange sensation. Marauders of Gor, page 245-257

It is only the men of the Torvaldsland that use the bondmaid's circle to enslave their women.

"Go to the bond-maid circle," said Ivar Forkbeard, indicating the circle he had drawn in the dirt. The women cried out in misery. To enter the circle, if one is a female, is, by the laws of Torvaldsland, to declare oneself a bond-maid. A woman, of course, need not enter the circle of her own free will. She may, for example be thrown within it naked and bound. Howsoever, she enters the circle, voluntarily or by force, free or secured, she emerges from it, by the laws of Torvaldsland, as a bond-maid. Marauders of Gor, page 44-45

The main festival of the Torvaldslanders happens at The Thing, held by the highest Jarls among Jarls, there, games and celebrations abound where competitions in battle, agility and singing are held.

Most of the men at the thing were free farmers, blond-haired, blue-eyed and proud, men with strong limbs and work-roughened hands; many wore braided hair; many wore talmits of their district; for the thing their holiday best had been donned; many wore heavy woollen jackets, scrubbed with water and bosk urine, which contains ammonia as it's cleaning agent; all were armed, usually with ax or sword; some wore their helmets; others had them, with their shields, slung at their back. At the thing, to which each free man must come, unless he work his farm alone and cannot leave it, each man must be present, for the inspection of his Jarl�s officer, a helmet, shield and either sword or ax or spear, in good condition. Each man, generally, save he in the direct hire of the Jarl, is responsible for the existence and condition of his own equipment and weapons. A man in direct fee with the Jarl is, in effect, a mercenary; the Jarl himself, from his gold, and stores, where necessary or desirable, arms the man; this expense, of course, is seldom necessary in Torvaldsland; sometimes, however, a man may break a sword or lose an ax in battle, perhaps in the body of a foe, falling from a ship; in such a case the Jarl would make good the loss; he is not responsible for similar losses, however, among free farmers. Those farmers who do not attend the thing, being the sole workers on their farms, must, nonetheless, maintain the regulation armament; once annually it is to be presented before a Jarl�s officer, who, for this purpose, visits various districts. When the war arrow is carried, of course, all free men are to respond; in such a case the farm may suffer, and his companion and children know great hardship; in leaving his family, the farmer, weapons upon his shoulder, speaks simply to them. "The war arrow has been carried to my house," he tells them. Marauders of Gor, page 142

People of Schendi

There are black people on Gor, they reside mostly in the southern hemisphere, also one of the tribe of the wagon people is black. But of the Jungles and city of Schendi is where there is the biggest concentration.

Schendi is a very big and colourful city on the banks of Nyoko, a major river draining into Thassa from the Schendi jungles. The city is multi-ethnic and home of the league of the Black Slavers.

It is a free port, meaning it is open for trade.

The population of Schendi is probably about a million people. The great majority of these are black. Individuals of all races, however, Schendi being a cosmopolitan port, frequent the city. Many merchant houses, from distant cities, have outlets or agents in Schendi. Explorers of Gor, page 116

Tribes of the Inner Jungles of Schendi

The tribes of the Inner Schendi jungles remind me a bit of the native people of Australia or the jungle tribes of Africa, even up to the point that some are cannibals. Some are farmers and some hunters and fishermen; they live in smallish tribes, making their dwellings out of what is available in the jungles. Some tribes live high up in the canopies and others on the ground.

They were scampering about on the scaffolding, it extending far out into the river. We could understand little of what they said. From the scaffolding, a double row of peeled logs, about ten feet apart, with numerous connecting bars and crossbars, fastened together with vines, more than a hundred yards in length, extending out into the flowing waters, hung numerous vine ropes, attached to which were long, conical, woven baskets, fish traps. Explorers of Gor, page 284

Most tribes are hostile except for a few that will trade.

Some tribes make their clothing out of bark cloth woven from the pod tree, They use fishing knives, pangas and some will use the bow and arrow.

There is warring among the tribes. The people of the Jungles communicate long distance through drums. Most can read them except strangers to which the drum language is unknown.

"There are the rebels of the northern shore of Ngao," said the man.
"How can they be rebels?" I asked
"Bila Huruma, in virtue of the discoveries of Shaba,"said Ayari, "has claimed all lands in the Lake Ngao region. Those who oppose him are thus rebels."
"I see now,"I said. "To be sure, the distinctions of statecraft sometimes elude me."
"It is basically simple," said Ayari. " One determines what one wishes to prove and then arranges one's principles in such a way that the desired conclusion follows as a demonstrable consequence."
"I see," I said.
"Logic is as neutral as a knife,"he said.
"But what of truth?"I asked.
"Truth is more troublesome,"he admitted.
"I think you would make an excellent diplomat,"I said.
I have been a fraud and a charlatan all my life,"said Ayari. "There would thus be no translation to make."Explorers of Gor, page 222-223

"He is a black Ubar," said Samos, "bloody and brilliant, a man of vision and power, who has united the six ubarates of the southern shores of Ushindi, united them by the knife and the stabbing spear, and has extended his hegemony to the northern shores, where he exacts tribute, kailiauk tusks and women, from the confederacy of the hundred villages. Sheba's nine boats had fixed at their masts the tufted shields of the officialdom of Bila Huruma."
"That guaranteed their safety," I said.
"They were attacked, several times," said Samos, "but they survived. I think it true, however, had it not been for the authority of Bila Huruma, Ubar of Ushindi, they could not have completed their work."
"The hegemony of Bila Huruma over the northern shores, then, is substantial hut incomplete," I said. Explorers of Gor, page 17

The tribes speak their own languages, not Gorean. However, they don't all speak the same dialect.

"Away! Away!" screamed one of the men, first in Ushindi and then in Ukungu. Explorers of Gor, page 282

Tribes of the Tahari

The people of the Tahari seem to imitate the people of the Sahara with the same customs and beliefs. They also have the same mode of dress and even down to drinking tea is similar.

He came to me, bent over, tattered, swarthy, grinning up at me, the verrskin bag over his shoulder, the brass cups, a dozen of them, attached to shoulder straps and his belt, rattling and clinking. His shoulder on the left was damp from the bag. There were sweat marks on his torn shirt, under the straps. One of the brass cups he unhooked from his belt. Without removing the bag from his shoulder, he filled the cup. He wore a head scarf, the wrapped turban, wound about his head. It was of rep-cloth. It protects the head from the sun; its folds allow beat and perspiration to escape, evaporating, and, of course, air to enter and circulate. Among lower-class males, too, it provides a soft cushion, on which boxes, and other burdens, may be conveniently carried on the head, steadied by the right hand. Tribesmen of Gor, page 36

Because the many tribes keep to themselves and don't mix very much with the more civilised people of Gor, they are also a fierce and proud people.

They tribes of the desert herd verrs, using their milk and meat for food, and fruits which are grown on the oases interspersed all over the desert. They still have a wide variety of foods available to them because of trading villages and outside Goreans wishing their trade.

The tribes are ruled by chiefs and Pashas.

It was now as Suleiman, Ubar and Pasha of Nine Wells, that he set his price. Tribesmen of Gor, page, 109

At the oases, it is common for the local pashas to exact a protection tax from caravans, if they are of a certain length, normally of more than fifty kaiila. The protection tax helps to defray the cost of maintaining soldiers, who, nominally, at any rate, police the desert. It is not unusual for the genealogy of most of the pashas sovereign in the various eases to contain a heritage of raiders. Most of those in the Tahari who sit upon the rugs of office are those who are the descendants of men who ruled, in ruder days, scimitar in hand, from the high, red leather of the kaiila saddle. The forms change but, in the Tahari, as elsewhere, order, justice and law rest ultimately upon the determination of men, and steel. Tribesmen of Gor, page 151

There is tribal warfare among the tribes of the Tahari as to be expected, however they, like the other peoples of Gor, will come together to fight a common enemy. There are a few laws of the desert that is not to be breached, namely that of never destroying wells.

Surely, in but a few days, word that Aretai tribesmen had destroyed, or attempted to destroy, a well at Two Scimitars would spread like fire across the desert, inflaming and outraging men from Tor to the Turian outpost merchant fort, and trading station, of Turmas. This act, perpetrated against the Bakahs at Two Scimitars, a vassal tribe of the Kavars, would doubtless bring full-scale war to the Tahari. Tribesmen of Gor, page 153

There is a brothership ceremony done in the Tahari which is sharing salt.

"Let there be salt between us," he said.
"Let there be salt between us," I said.
He placed salt from the small dish on the back of his right wrist. He looked at me. His eyes were narrow. "I trust," said he, "you have not made jest of me."
"No," I said.
"In your hand," he said, "steel is alive, like a bird."
The judge nodded assent. The boy's eyes shone. He stood back.
"I have never seen this, to this extent, in another man." He looked at me. "Who are you?" he asked.
I placed salt on the back of my right wrist. "One who shares salt with you," I said.
"It is enough," he said.
I touched my tongue to the salt in the sweat of his right wrist, and he touched his tongue to the salt on my right wrist. "We have shared salt," he said.
He then placed in my hand the golden tarn disk, of Ar, with which I had purchased my instruction.
"It is yours," I said.
"How can that be?" he asked.
"I do not understand," I said.
He smiled. "We have shared salt," he said. Tribesmen of Gor, page 60

He looked at me, for a long time. Then he thrust back the sleeve of his right hand. I pressed my lips to the back of his right wrist, tasting there, in the sweat, the salt. I extended to him the back of my right wrist, and he put his lips and tongue to it.
"Do you understand this?" he asked.
"I think so," I said.
"Follow me," said he. "We have work to do, my brother." Tribesmen of Gor, page 184-185

The weaponry of the Taharian people is that of the scimitar and their riding beasts, the sand kaiila.

I discarded the exercise sheath, and, with the bared blade, parted the leather that had bound the jaws of the kaiila. The leather sprang from the blade. Silk, dropped upon the scimitar of the Tahari, divided, falls free, floating, to the floor. The beast reared, its claws raking the air, and threw back its head, biting at the sun.
I lifted the curved blade of the scimitar. It flashed. I sheathed it, and slipped from the saddle, giving the rein of the mount to the boy. Tribesmen of Gor, page 60

"Herd the slaves before their master," said the rider, he the leader of our captors.
I felt the point of a scimitar in my back. Tribesmen of Gor, page 209

Alars

The Alars are a nomadic people that travel between the cities of Gor, in their wagons,  they remind me a bit of the gypsies of Europe though they seem fair complexioned and light of hair, their woman seem to be seen as large and rather plain.

We were now within the laager of Genserix, a chieftain of the Alars, a nomadic, wandering herding people, and one well-known, like the folks of Torvaldsland, for their skills with the ax. The laager of the Alars, like that of similar folks, is a fortress of wagons. They are ranged in a closed circle, or concentric, closed circles, draft animals and women and children within. Also, not unoften, depending on the numbers involved, and particularly when traversing, or sojourning in dangerous countries, verr, tarsk and bosk may also be found within the wagon enclosure. Mercenaries of Gor, page 43

They are ruled by chieftains, and that would be the best warrior of their group. They are great cavalrymen and fight with the great axe, a long handled weapon made of iron, Alar sword and lance, with the oval shield.

They will raid any village and city they think they can get away with and seem to have a wry sense of humor. Their mounts are the saddle tharlarion.

Alars, incidentally, are renowned for their capacity to wreak havoc, conduct massacres, chop off heads, and such, and then get a good night's sleep afterwards. Mercenaries of Gor, page 125

Besides the ax Alars are fond of the Alar sword, a long heavy double-edged weapon. Their shields tend to be oval, like those of the Turians. Their most common mount is the medium-weight saddle tharlarion, a beast smaller and less powerful, but swifter and more agile, than the common high tharlarion. Their saddles, however, have stirrups, and this make possible the use of the couched, shock lance. Mercenaries of Gor, page 45

The Alars seem to profit of areas where war is imminent, they will often supply the troupes and be used as wagoners.

When there is weakness or chaos in an area, and when the ordinary structures if social order are disrupted, with the concurrent disorganisation, failures of responsibility and discipline, it is natural for folks like the Alars to appear. They have a tendency to pour into such areas. Mercenaries of Gor, page 44

The Alars seem rather fond or their children, though right at birth a child will be inspected by the father or chief and needs to be pronounced healthy before the child is returned to its mother. Male newborns will receive two shallow cuts above the cheekbones, this being one of their rituals.

"It must learn to endure wounds before it receives the nourishment of milk." Mercenaries of Gor, page 47

The women of the Alars are also very proud and will kill slaves brought in by their men, they do not wear veils but wear dresses.

"Why are there so few slaves among the wagons?" I asked.

"The free women kill them," said Hurtha. Mercenaries of Gor, page50

Boabissia was not in furs and leather. She now wore one of the simple, corded, belted, woollen, plain, widely slaved, ankle-length dresses of the Alar women. It was brown. She had belted it snugly, and had, too, drawn its adjustment cording snugly from its loop about the back of her neck down to her breasts where she had crossed it and then taken it back, both cords, between and under her breasts against to her belt, tying it closely at the sides of her body. This is not uncommon among the Alar women. Even though they are free they are apparently not above reminding their men that they are females. Mercenaries of Gor, page 72

The Alars like the lower castes of Gor are illiterate.

"Anything so simple as letters of safety could have been issued in the main hall," I said.
Mincon spoke to the officer at the table, who, it seemed, recognized him.
"I would think so," said Hurtha, righteously, adding "whatever a letter of safety might be." He looked about, with his Alar distrust of bureaucracy and enclosed spaces. "I trust there will be no necessity for me to read such a letter," he said, "as this would be difficult, as I cannot read."
"You could learn," I said, somewhat snappishly.
"Between now and when we receive the letters?" asked Hurtha, incredulously.
"Alars do not read," said Boabissia, proudly. "And we are Alars."
"I am an Alar," said Hurtha. Mercernaries of Gor, page 143

Researched and comments are my own,
Woman of Gor