The First Pillar

The Difference:

Effectively understanding the Gorean mindset requires an understanding of the differences between Gorean society and Earth society. Civilized Gorean society has three primary societal institutions that differ from most of Earth. By civilized Gor, I mean the cities, towns and villages of Gor. It does not include the barbaric lands of such people as the Torvaldslanders, the Wagon Peoples, the Red Savages, or the Red Hunters. These three differences permeate Gorean society and make it a vastly different world from Earth. They are not the only differences but they are very important matters and may be difficult for Earth people to understand.

The three pillars of civilized Gor are the Homestone, Caste System and Slavery. Each one of these items is essential to Gorean society. Earth has nothing like the concept of the Homestone. The patriotism of the United States as evidenced by the American flag is a pale comparison to the Home Stone. India is one of the last bastions on Earth with a caste system though it is still very different from the system used on Gor. Slavery exists in some corners of Earth but no where even close to the extent it exists on Gor. Understanding these three areas will enhance comprehension of the Gorean mindset. You will be able to think and act more Gorean for either your role-play or real-time.

Home Stone:

"Do not ask a Gorean what the Home Stone means because he will not understand your question. It will puzzle him. It is the Home Stone." (Magicians of Gor, p.485-6)

To define the concept of a Home Stone is a difficult task. It is a cultural concept that resists definition by outsiders and needs no definition within its own society. "It is not a word, or a sentence. It does not really translate. It is too important, too precious, to mean. It just is." (Magicians of Gor, p.485) A Home Stone has very deep meaning to a Gorean. The very word "Gor" means Home Stone in all of the languages of Gor. I shall try to give one an idea of the basics of a Home Stone though this will be insufficient in actually truly defining the idea.

Goreans view their cities as almost living things. They see a city as an entity with a history, tradition, heritage, customs, practices, character, intentions, and hopes. To be "of" a city gives a person a sense of immortality though Goreans know that even a city can be destroyed. This love of their city is invested in the Home Stone, that in many respects is the very soul of a city. The Home Stone is a valuable symbol of sovereignty and territory.

Home Stones can be of various shapes, sizes, and colors. There is no standard for them. Some are intricately carved while others simply have a single letter etched into them, the initial letter of the city. Some large cities have small stones of great antiquity. The Home Stone of Ar is accepted by tradition as being the oldest Home Stone on Gor. It is allegedly over ten thousand years old. Other cities have only recently acquired a Home Stone. Port Kar acquired a Home Stone in 10120 C.A. A rock was picked up from one of the streets, Tarl Cabot etched the initials of the city into it and the people accepted it as their own.

Long ago, in peasant villages, each hut was built around a flat stone placed in the center of a circular dwelling. The stone was carved with the family sign and called the Home Stone. Each peasant within his hut thus became a sovereign. Later, Home Stones were used for villages, then towns and cities. In the villages, the Home Stone was commonly placed in the market area. In most cities, it is usually placed freely in the top of the highest tower, though it is well guarded. All it takes to have a Home Stone is for someone or a group to choose to have one.

There is no clear origin for Home Stones though there are several mythical accounts. One of the most popular legends involves Hesius, the mythical first man of Gor. Hesius once performed great labors for the Priest-Kings and was promised a reward greater than gold and silver. When he finished his toils, he was presented with a flat piece of rock with a single character inscribed upon it, the first letter of the name of his home village. Hesius confronted the Priest-Kings, feeling that he had been cheated. They told him that this item was truly more valuable than gold and silver and was called a "Home Stone."

Hesius brought the Home Stone to his war torn village, placed it in the market and told them what the Priest-Kings had said. A wise man stated that it must be very valuable if the Priest-Kings had so spoke. The warring factions wanted to know who's stone it was. Hesius told them that it belonged to all of them. All of the factions then put their weapons away and peace came to the village. This village was named Ar.

Where a man sets his Home Stone, he claims, by law, that land for himself. "The Home Stone says this place is mine, this is my home." (Magicians of Gor, p.485) There is also a hierarchy of Home Stones. Men who would fight each other over an acre of land will join together to protect their village or city. "The sharing of a Home Stone is no light thing in a Gorean city." (Slave Girl of Gor, p.394) The common bond of a Home Stone unites such people and they will support and protect all those who share their Home Stone. Some hope or dream of a single Supreme Home Stone for all of Gor. Others believe that the Priest Kings already have such a Stone and it is the source of their power. "A palace without a Home Stone is a hovel; a hovel with a Home Stone is a palace." (Slave Girl of Gor, p.142)

The Home Stone is the center of various rituals in each city such as the Planting Feast of Sa-Tarna in Ar. Each city has a citizenship ceremony where children, who reach intellectual majority, swear an oath of allegiance to their city while touching or kissing the Home Stone. This ceremony may also require vouching by existing citizens. Another requirement may also be a questioning by a committee of citizens to determine your worthiness to the city. Nonperformance of this ceremony can be cause for expulsion from the city. You can renounce your Home Stone and change your citizenship to another city but this is rarely done. You cannot be a citizen of a city without pledging yourself to its Home Stone. You cannot belong to two Home Stones of different cities either.

You may have multiple Home Stones due to the hierarchical nature of such items. But those Home Stones must fit within the hierarchy to be acceptable. That is why you cannot belong to the Home Stones of two different cities as that would be outside the hierarchy. You could have your own personal Home Stone and also belong to the Home Stone of your city. If you once lived in a town or small city that was subsumed into a larger entity, such as Tetrapoli, then you muts also have a Home Stone for the town or small city as well as the larger entity. Thus, you might belong to three Home Stones.

Stealing a Home Stone is a heinous sacrilege and punishable by the most painful of deaths. It is also the greatest of glories to steal one from another city. In Tarnsman of Gor, Tarl Cabot steasl the Home Stone of Ar. This earned him glory in the eyes of many though the city of Ar wished him to die horribly. Even when Tarl and Marlenus become almost friends, Marlenus cannot forgive him for the prior offense of stealing the Home Stone. As Ubar, Marlenus could never do so. The theft of a Home Stone does not automatically signal the death knell for a city.

While a Home Stone survives, then so does the city. When Koroba was destroyed by the Priest-Kings, Matthew Cabot retained the Home Stone, thus still keeping the city alive. Even though all of its people were scattered all over Gor and no building stood on the spot where the city once was, the survival of the Home Stone ensured that the city was still living. Ko-ro-ba was later rebuilt around its Home Stone at its same location.

Stealing a Home Stone is not an easy task as it engenders great reservoirs of strength in those who belong to it. "One does not lightly dispute the passage of one who carries his Home Stone." (Nomads of Gor, p.1) Even a trained warrior would be very wary of a mere peasant who was carrying his Home Stone. The loyalty and pride in your Home Stone seems to release the floodgates of hidden strengths. When it is directly threatened, a Gorean is able to overcome many obstacles to ensure its safety.