Tatrix Lady Aasiyah
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Registration date : 2009-01-02
 | Subject: Re: Intro to Caste and Quotes Cont.....  Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:24 am | |
| ---Slave Girl of Gor Goreans as a rule are proud men and even the lowest caste carries its trade with pride and honor. If there are considerations to high or low castes, Goreans understand that each in its own right has equal importance in the survival of the Gorean way of life. ...Even men of a caste as low as that of the Tarn-Keepers were intolerably proud of their calling, for who else could raise and train those monstrous birds of prey? I supposed Zosk the Woodsman was proud in the knowledge that he with his great broad-headed ax could fell a tree in one blow, and that perhaps not even a Ubar could do as much. Even the Caste of Peasants regarded itself as the "Ox on which the Home Stone Rests" and could seldom be encouraged to leave their narrow strips of land, which they and their fathers before them had owned and made fruitful. ---Outlaw of Gor ...There are, on Gor, it might be mentioned, ways of raising and altering caste, but the Gorean seldom avails himself of these. To most Goreans it would be unthinkable to alter caste. He is generally too proud of his caste and it is too much a part of him for him to think in such terms. It is, too, recognized that all, or most, of the castes perform necessary, commendable or useful functions. ...Each does, however, tend to think of his own caste as something special, and, somehow, I suspect, as being perhaps a bit more preferable than others. Most Goreans are quite content with their castes; this is probably a function of caste pride. I have little doubt but what the caste structure contributes greatly to the stability of Gorean society. Among other things it reduces competitive chaos, social and economic, and prevents the draining of intelligence and ambition into a small number of envied, prestigious occupations.... ---Fighting Slave of Gor Priest-Kings, as they are not human, have no caste. Outlaws are also considered to be without caste or Home Stone. It goes without saying that, as slaves have none of the rights of citizens, they are without caste no matter what they may have been before they were collared. Caste is important to the Gorean in ways that are difficult to make clear to one whose social structures do not include the relationships of caste. In almost every city, for example, one knows there will be caste brothers on whom one may depend. Charity, too, for example, is almost always associated with caste rights on Gor. One of the reasons there are so few outlaws on Gor is doubtless that the outlaw, in adopting his way of life, surrenders caste rights. The slave, too, of course, has no caste rights. He stands outside the structure of society. He is an animal. It is said on Gor that only slaves, outlaws, and Priest-Kings, rumored to be the rulers of Gor, reputed to live in the remote Sardar Mountains, are without caste. This saying, however, it might be pointed out, as Goreans recognize, is not strictly true. For example, some individuals have lost caste, or been deprived of caste; some individuals have been born outside of caste; certain occupations are not traditionally associated with caste, such as gardening, domestic service and herding; and, indeed, there are entire cultures and peoples on Gor to whom caste is unknown.... ---Fighting Slave of Gor And as with all rules, there will be the exception. The Caste of Initiates, for example, could not possibly be entered through the usual rules of birth right, its members not being permitted to even touch women. This would imply that the caste requires some form of petitioning, training and initiation of those wishing to join it. The Caste of Assassins too, and a few others, would appear to be a matter of caste over home, and not be subject to the rules of city caste councils. It remains unclear if this situation existed before the coup attempt of Pa-Kur in Ar but it seems likely that perhaps the 'no Home Stone' rule of this caste might have been something which was born of this particular event. Indeed is Pa-Kur himself not referred to as Master Assassin of Ar, indicating in some way that he was 'of' that city? In later books, we are told the Caste of Assassins had been 'wiped off the face of Gor' and outlawed in most areas and cities. Later still, we find ourselves in the presence of one of this caste and given clear indication that the caste, although bound by codes, training and initiatory rituals, functions independently from the city-state structure. "Assassins, as I recall," I said, "have no Home Stones. I suppose that is a drawback to caste membership, but if you did have Home Stones, it might be difficult to take fees on one whose Home Stone you shared." ---Beasts of Gor Similarly, there is mention of bargemen on the Vosk having formed a caste, though again we do not find the usual notion of city caste council nor belonging to a particular village or city in this case. I crossed the Cartius on a barge, one of several hired by the merchant of the caravan with which I was then serving. These barges, constructed of layered timbers of Ka-la-na wood, are towed by teams of river tharlarion, domesticated, vast, herbivorous, web-footed lizards raised and driven by the Cartius bargemen, fathers and sons, interrelated clans, claiming the status of a caste for themselves. ---Nomads of Gor In both these cases, we have difficulty grasping the way these would fit within the usual strictness of caste councils and hierarchies which are prevalent in the city-states of Gor, there would seem to be space, on Gor, for a number of parallel systems that function 'with' rather than 'within'. | |
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