|
 TribesThe general topic of Castes would not be complete without including Tribes as well. But to fully understand Tribes you would really need to read all of Book 10, Tribesmen of Gor and Book 18, Blood Brothers of Gor. However, here are some relevant references from the series where Tribes are mentioned. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban His forces were now engaged, I had learned, by the city of Tor, to quell incursions by tarn-riding desert tribesmen. Raiders of Gor Book 6 Page 273 The man, rare in Port Kar, wore the kaffiyeh and agal. The kaffiyeh is a squarish scarf, folded over into a triangle, and placed over the head, two points at the side of the shoulders, one in back to protect the back of the neck. It is bound to the head by several loops of cord, the agal. The cording indicates tribe and district. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 20 I had failed to contact them in Kasra, as I had planned, but I had learned that they were in the region of Tor, purchasing kaiila, for a caravan to the kasbah, or fortress, of Suleiman, of the Aretai tribe, master of a thousand lances, Ubar of the Oasis of Nine Wells. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 44 Most importantly I had gathered that there was brewing bad blood between the tribes of the Kavars and the Aretai. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 47 "In the vicinity," said Hamid, "though do not speak this about, there is a party of Kavars, in number between three and four hundred." "Raiders?" I asked. "Kavars," he said. "Tribesmen. And men of their vassal tribe, the Ta'Kara." He looked at me closely. "There may soon be war," he said. "Caravans will be few. Merchants will not care to risk their goods. It is their intention that Suleiman not receive these goods. It is their intention to divert them, or most of them, to the Oasis of the Stones of Silver." This was an oasis of the Char, also a vassal tribe of the Kavars. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Pages 93 - 94 The oasis of Two Scimitars is an out-of-the-way oasis, under the hegemony of the Bakahs, which, for more than two hundred years, following their defeat in the Silk War of 8,110 C.A., has been a vassal tribe of the Kavars. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 151 It is difficult for one who is not of the Tahari to conjecture the gravity of the offense of destroying a source of water. It is regarded as an almost inconceivable crime, surely the most heinous which might be perpetrated upon the desert. Such an act, regarded as a monstrosity, goes beyond a simple act of war. 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. "Even now the war messengers ride," said the merchant. The tribes, at the various oases, and in the desert, in their nomad territories, and at their kasbahs, would be summoned. It would be full war. A well had been broken. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 153 "The agal cording was Aretai," said the merchant. "The saddle markings, too. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 154 "The names of leaders," said Hassan, "do not figure in the war cries of Aretai, nor of most tribes. It is the tribe which is significant, not the man, the whole, not the part. The war cry of the Aretai, as I am familiar with it, is 'Aretai victorious!'" "Interesting," I said. "Do the Kavars have a similar cry?" "Yes," said Hassan. "It is 'Kavars supreme!'" Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 160 Some of the nomads veil their women, and some do not. Some of the girls decorate their faces with designs, drawn in charcoal. Some of the nomad girls are very lovely. The children of nomads, both male and female, until they are five or six years of age, wear no clothing. During the day they do not venture from the shade of the tents. At night, as the sun goes down, they emerge happily from the tents and romp and play. They are taught written Taharic by their mothers, who draw the characters in the sand, during the day, in the shade of the tents. Most of the nomads in this area were Tashid, which is a tribe vassal to the Aretai. It might be of interest to note that children of the nomads are suckled for some eighteen months, which is nearly twice the normal length of time for Earth infants, and half again the normal time for Gorean infants. These children, if it is significant, are almost, uniformly secure in their families, sturdy, outspoken and serf-reliant. Among the nomads, interestingly, an adult will always listen to a child. He is of the tribe. Another habit of nomads, or of nomad mothers, is to frequently bathe small children, even if it is only with a cloth and a cup of water. There is a very low infant mortality rate among nomads, in spite of their limited diet and harsh environment. Adults, on the other hand, may go months without washing. After a time one grows used to the layers of dirt and sweat which accumulate, and the smell, offensive at first, is no longer noticed. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Pages 170 - 171 Since that time the Tashid have been a vassal tribe of the Aretai. Though there are some token tributes involved, exemptions for Aretai merchants from caravan taxes, and such, the vassal tribe is, in its own areas, almost completely autonomous, with its own leaders, magistrates, judges and soldiers. The significance of the relationship is, crucially, interestingly, military alliance. The vassal tribe is bound, by its Tahari oaths, sworn over water and salt, to support the conquering tribe in its military endeavors, with supplies, kaiila and men. The vassal tribe is, in effect, a military unit subordinate to the conquering tribe which it, then, may count among its forces. Enemies conquered become allies enlisted. One's foe of yesterday becomes one's pledged friend of today. The man of the Tahari, conquered, stands ready, his scimitar returned to him, to defend his conqueror to the death. The conqueror, by his might and cunning, and victory, has won, by the right of the Tahari, a soldier to his cause. I am not clear on the historical roots of this unusual social institution but it does tend, in its practice, to pacify great sections of the Tahari. War, for example, between conquering tribes and rebellious vassal tribes is, although not unknown, quite rare. Another result, perhaps unfortunate, however, is that the various tribes tend to build into larger and larger confederations of militarily related communities. Thus, if war should erupt between the high tribes, the conquering tribes, the entire desert might become engulfed in hostilities. . . . Not all tribes, of course, are vassal or conquering tribes. Some are independent. War, incidentally, between vassal tribes is not unknown. The high tribes need not, though often they do, support vassal tribes in their squabbles; the vassal tribes, however, are expected to support the high, or noble, tribes, in their altercations. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Pages 176 - 177 "It is customary for the men of the Guard of the Dunes to veil themselves," said he. "Their allegiance is to no tribe, but to the protection of the salt. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 216 "Try to reach Four Palms," I said. "Your first business lies with your tribe. There is soon to be war in the Tahari. When the Kavars ride, you must ride with them." "It is a hard choice you impose upon me," said Hassan, "to choose between my brother and my tribe." Then he said, "I am of the Tahari. I must choose my brother." "The water decides it," I said. "Your tribe awaits." Hassan looked at the Kur. Then he looked at me. "I wish you well, my brother," he said. He smiled. "May your water bags be never empty. May you always have water." "May your water bags be never empty," I said. "May you have always water." Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 277 To my right were the lines of the Aretai. The Aretai themselves, of course, with black kaffiyeh and white agal cording, held their center. Their right flank was held by the Luraz and the Tashid. Their left flank was held by the Raviri, and four minor tribes, the Ti, the Zevar, the Arani and the Tajuks. The Tajuks are not actually a vassal tribe of the Aretai, though they ride with them. More than two hundred years ago a wandering Tajuk had been rescued in the desert by Aretai riders, who had treated him well, and had given him water and a kaiila. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 301 Haroun held up his hand. "Suleiman speaks the truth," said he. "No Aretai raided in this season, and had they done so, they would not destroy wells. They are of the Tahari." It was the highest compliment one tribesman could pay to another. "The Kavars, too," said Suleiman, slowly, clearly, "are of the Tahari." Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 306 I saw Haroun, high Pasha of the Kavars, in swirling white, ride past. At his side, in the black kaffiyeh and white agal cording of the Aretai, rode Suleiman, high Pasha of that tribe, holder of the great kasbah at Nine Wells, master of a thousand lances. Behind Haroun rode Baram, sheik of Bezhad, his vizier. Behind Suleiman, on a swift kaiila, rode Shakar, with silver-tipped lance, a high captain of the Aretai. Tribesmen of Gor Book 10 Page 342 The veil, it might be noted, is not legally imperative for a free woman; it is rather a matter of modesty and custom. Some low-class, uncompanioned, free girls do not wear veils. Similarly certain bold free women neglect the veil. Neglect of the veil is not a crime in Gorean cities, though in some it is deemed a brazen and scandalous omission. Slave girls may or may not be veiled, this depending on the will of their master. Most slave girls are not permitted to veil themselves. Indeed, not only are they refused the dignity of the veil, but commonly they are placed in brief, exciting slave livery and may not even bind their hair. Such girls, healthy and vital, their hair unbound, their considerable charms well revealed by the brevity of their costume, are thought by men to constitute one of the more pleasurable aspects of the scenery of a city. Are the slaves of Ar, for example, more beautiful than those of, say, Ko-ro-ba, or Tharna? Men, the beasts, heatedly discuss such questions. In some cities, and among some groups and tribes, it might be mentioned, though this is not common, veils may be for most practical purposes unknown, even among free women. Slave Girl of Gor Book 11 Pages 107 - 108 "Calculations performed by the black geographer, Ramani, of the island of Anango, suggested that given the elevations involved the two rivers could not be the same. His pupil, Shaba, was the first civilized man to circumnavigate Lake Ushindi. He discovered that the Cartius, as was known, enters Lake Ushindi, but that only two rivers flow out of Ushindi, the Kamba and Nyoka. The actual source of the tributary to the Vosk, now called the Thassa Cartius, as you know, was found five years later by the explorer, Ramus of Tabor, who, with a small expedition, over a period of nine months, fought and bartered his way through the river tribes, beyond the six cataracts, to the Ven highlands. The Thassa Cartius, with its own tributaries, drains the highlands and the descending plains." Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 16 "The rain forests closed the Cartius proper for most civilized persons from the south," I said, "and what trading took place tended to be confined to the Ubarates of the southern shore of Lake Ushindi. It was convenient then, for trading purposes, to make use of either the Kamba or the Nyoka to reach Thassa." "That precluded the need to find a northwest passage from Ushindi," said Samos. "Particularly since it was known of the hostility of the river tribes on what is now called the Thassa Cartius." "Yes," said Samos. "But surely, before the expedition of Shaba," I said, "others must have searched for the exit of the Cartius from Ushindi." "It seems likely they were slain by the tribes of the northern shores of Ushindi," said Samos. Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 17 "The size of his boats made portage difficult or impossible," I said. "They had not been built to be sectioned," said Samos. "And the steepness of the portage, the jungle, the hostility, as it turned out, of interior tribes, made retreat advisable." Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 19 "He intends to join Lakes Ushindi and Ngao, I have heard," I said. "It is a mad project," said Uchafu, "but what can one expect of the barbarians of the interior?" "It would open the Ua river to the sea," I said. "If it were successful," said Uchafu. "But it will never be accomplished. Thousands of men have already died. They perish in the heat, they die in the sun, they are killed by hostile tribes, they are destroyed by insects, they are eaten by tharlarion. It is a mad and hopeless venture, costly in money and wasteful in human life." Explorers of Gor Book 13 Pages 125 - 126 I looked at the man who sat, cross-legged, behind the table. He was a large, tall man. He had long, thin hands, with delicate fingers. His face seemed refined, but his eyes were hard, and piercing. I did not think he was of the warriors but I had little doubt he was familiar with the uses of steel. I had seldom seen a face which, at once, suggested such sensitivity, but, at the same time, reflected such intelligence and uncompromising will. Following the lines of his cheekbones there was a stitching of tribal tattooing. He wore a robe of green and brown, with slashes of black. Against the background of jungle growth, blending with plants and shadows, it would be difficult to detect. He also wore a low, round, flat-topped cap of similar material. On the first finger of his left hand he wore a fang ring, which, I had little doubt, would contain a poison, probably that of the deadly kanda plant. Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 151 He, like many in the interior, and on the surrounding plains and savannahs, north and south of the equatorial zone, was long-boned and tall, a physical configuration which tends to dissipate body heat. His face, like that of many in the interior, was tattooed. His tattooing, and that of Kisu, were quite similar. One can recognize tribes, of course, and, often, villages and districts by those tattoo patterns. He wore a long black robe, embroidered with golden thread, and a flat, soft cap, not unlike a common garb of Schendi, hundreds of pasangs distant. Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 253 "No," said Kisu. "My quarrel is not with them. They are my fellow tribesmen. They may remain in peace in the villages of Ukungu." Explorers of Gor Book 13 Page 452 "This is," said Kog, to Samos, "a story skin." "I understand," said Samos. "It is an artifact of the red savages," said Kog, "from one of the tribes in the Barrens." . . . The Red Savages, as they are commonly called on Gor, are racially and culturally distinct from the Red Hunters of the north. They tend to be a more slender, longer-limbed people; their daughters menstruate earlier; and their babies are not born with a blue spot at the base of the spine, as in the case with most of the red hunters. Their culture tends to be nomadic, and is based on the herbivorous, lofty kaiila, substantially the same animal as is found in the Tahari, save for the wider footpads of the Tahari beast, suitable for negotiating deep sand, and the lumbering, gregarious, short-tempered, trident-horned kailiauk. To be sure, some tribes do not have the kaiila, never having mastered it, and certain tribes have mastered the tarn, which tribes are the most dangerous of all. 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 almost as a sport and a religion for them. Interestingly enough most of these tribes seem to be united only by a hatred of whites, which hatred, invariably, in a time of emergency or crisis, takes precedence over all customary conflicts and rivalries. To attack whites, intruding into their lands, once the war lance has been lifted, even long-term blood enemies will ride side by side. The gathering of tribes; friends and foes alike, for such a battle is said to be a splendid sight. These things are in virtue of what, among these peoples, is called the Memory. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 35 Scouts are sometimes called sleen by the red savages. The sleen is Gor's most efficient and tenacious tracker. They are often used to hunt slaves. Too, the scout, often, in most tribes, wears the pelt of a sleen. This pelt, like a garment which is at one time both cowl and cape, covers both the head and back. It is perhaps felt that something of the sleen's acuity and tenacity is thus imparted to the scout. Some scouts believe that they become, when donning this pelt, a sleen. This has to do with their beliefs as to the mysterious relationships which are thought to obtain between the world of reality and the medicine world, that, at times, these two worlds impinge on one another, and become one. To be sure, from a practical point of view, the pelt makes an excellent camouflage. It is easy, for example, to mistake a scout, on all fours, spying over a rise, for a wild sleen. Such animals are not uncommon in the Barrens. Their most common prey is tabuk. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 42 The most highly regarded battle exploit among most tribes, for which the highest honors are accorded, is not to kill an armed enemy but to touch or strike one with the open hand. The more danger and risk that is involved in a deed, on the whole, the greater is the concomitant glory of accomplishing it. Killing the enemy, thus, in the heraldry of the red savages, ranks far beneath the besting of the enemy, and in a way that supposedly demonstrates one's greater prowess and courage. It is thus understandable that touching an armed enemy with the open hand counts among most tribes as a first coup. The second and third man to accomplish such a deed would then receive second coup and third coup. Killing an enemy with a bow and arrow from ambush, on the other hand, might be counted as only a fifth or seventh coup. Needless to say, the counting of coup, which is reflected in the feathers and adornments to which one is entitled, is a matter of great importance to the red savages. Indeed, there are also, in many tribes, practical considerations which also become involved in these matters. For example, it is unlikely that one can advance within a tribe, or become a leader or chieftain, unless one has frequently counted coup. Too, in many tribes, a man who has not counted coup is not permitted to mate. In other tribes, such a man, if he is over twenty-five, is permitted to mate, but he is not allowed to paint his mate's face. Thus will her shame before the other women be made clear. The institution of counting, or tallying, coup has several obvious effects on the structure and nature of the society of the red savages. In particular, it tends, on the whole, to arrange social hierarchies in such a way that the society is oriented toward aggressiveness and warfare, features which tend to protect and preserve, in an almost natural harmony and balance, delicate relationships between food supplies, territories and populations. Viewed in this manner tribal warfare may be seen as an example of intraspecific aggression, with its attendant consequences in decentralizing and refining diverse populations. Too, if one regards these things as of any interest, the counting of coup and intertribal warfare lends color, excitement and zest to the lives of the red savages. They live in a world in which danger is not unknown. Surely they could live otherwise, but they have not chosen to do so. They live with the stars and the winds, and the kaiila and kailiauk. They have not chosen to revere the fat-bellied, beer-drinking gods of more sedentary peoples. Too, of course, it should be noted that the counting of coup tends, statistically, to ensure that it is the stronger and healthier, the more alert, the more intelligent and sharper-sensed who will reproduce themselves. This is in marked contrast to certain socio ties where it is the healthiest and finest who are sent off to war while the inferior and defective remain behind in safety, making money and multiplying themselves. 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. Interestingly enough, whites stand outside the coup structure. This is something that few of them will object to. It seems they are similarly not regarded, on the whole, as being suitable foes, or foes worthy enough to stand within the coup structure. It is not that the red savages object to killing them. It is only that they do not take pride, commonly, in doing so. Similarly a man of the high cities would not expect to be publicly rewarded for having speared a tarsk or slain an urt. Accordingly the red savage will seldom go out of his way to slay a white person; he commonly sees little profit in doing so; in killing such a person, he is not entitled to count coup. Savages of Gor Book 17 Pages 44 - 46 In hunting kailiauk the hunters usually scatter about, each selecting his own animals, Accordingly, one's fellows are seldom close at hand to rescue one. This is quite different from mounted warfare, where one's fellows are usually quite close and ready, in an instant, to sweep one up or help one to regain one's mount. The red savage does not take an industrial or arithmetical approach to warfare. He would rather rescue one comrade than slay ten of the enemy. This has to do with the fact that they are members of the same tribe and, usually, of the same warrior society. They will have known one another almost all of their lives; as children and boys they have played together and watched the kaiila herds in the summer camps together; they may even have shared in their first kailiauk hunt; now, as men, they have taken the warpath together; they are comrades, and friends; each is more precious to the other than even a thousand coups. This explains some of the eccentricities of tribal warfare; first, actual war parties, though common, are formed less often than parties for stealing kaiila; in this sport the object is to obtain as many kaiila as possible without, if possible, engaging the enemy at all; it is a splendid coup, for example, to cut a kaiila tether strap which is tied to the wrist of a sleeping enemy and make off with the animal before he awakens; killing a sleeping enemy is only a minor coup; besides, if he has been killed, how can he understand how cleverly he has been bested; imagine his anger and chagrin when he awakens; is that not more precious to the thief than his scalp; in actual warfare itself large-scale conflicts almost never occur. The typical act of war is the raid, conducted usually by a small group of men, some ten to fifteen in number, which enters enemy country, strikes, usually at dawn, and makes away, almost as soon as it came, with scalps and loot; sometimes, too, a woman or two of the enemy is taken; men of most tribes are fond of owning a woman of the enemy; male prisoners are seldom taken; because of their camaraderie and the sporting aspect of their warfare a group of red savages will usually refuse to follow even a single enemy into rock or brush cover; it is simply too dangerous to do so; similarly the red savages will almost never engage in a standing fight if they are outnumbered; often, too, they will turn their backs on even an obvious victory it the costs of grasping it seem too high; sometimes, too, a large number of red savages will retreat before an unexpected attack of a small number of enemies; they prefer to fight on their own terms and at times of their own choosing; too, they may not have had time to make their war medicine. Savages of Gor Book 17 Pages 47 - 48 "The next town northward is Fort Haskins," I said. This lay at the foot of the Boswell Pass. Originally it had been a trading post, maintained by the Haskins Company, a company of Merchants, primarily at Thentis. A military outpost, flying the banners of Thentis, garrisoned by mercenaries, was later established at the same point. The military and strategic importance of controlling the eastern termination of the Boswell Pass was clear. It was at this time that the place came to be known as Fort Haskins. A fort remains at this point but the name, generally, is now given to the town which grew up in the vicinity of the fort, primarily to the west and south. The fort itself, incidentally, was twice burned, once by soldiers from Port Olni, before that town joined the Salerian Confederation, and once by marauding Dust Legs, a tribe of red savages, from the interior of the Barrens. Savages of Gor Book 17 Pages 76 - 77 "I am searching for something which may be in the Barrens," I said. "Stay out of them," warned the young man. "It can be death to enter them." "Grunt comes and goes, as I understand it," I said. "Some, merchants and traders, are permitted, by some of the tribes," said the young man. "Of all," I said, "I have heard that he is most welcome in the Barrens, and travels furthest within them." "That may be true," said the fellow. "Why is that, I wonder," I said. "He speaks some Dust Leg, and some of the talk of other tribes," said the fellow. "Too, he knows sign." "Sign?" I asked. "Hand talk," said the young man. "It is the way the red savages of different tribes communicate among one another. They cannot speak one another's languages, you know." Savages of Gor Book 17 Pages 79 - 80 "It is unusual, is it not, for the Dust Legs to be on the rampage?" I asked. I had understood them to be one of the more peaceful of the tribes of the Barrens. Indeed, they often acted as intermediaries between the men of the settlements and the wilder tribes of the interior, such as the Yellow Knives, the Sleen and Kaiila. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 85 The red savages do not use steel collars. They usually use high, beaded collars, tied together in the front by a rawhide string. Subtle differences in the styles of collars, and in the knots with which they are fastened on the girls' necks, differentiate the tribes. Within a given tribe the beading, in its arrangements and colors, identifies the particular master. This is a common way, incidentally, for warriors to identify various articles which they own. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 102 The Kailiauk is a tribe federated with the Kaiila. They speak closely related dialects." Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 234 "And what does this mean?" I drew an imaginary line across my throat with my right index finger. I had seen Corn Stalks make this sign in his talk with Grunt. Grunt's eyes clouded. "It is the sign for the Kaiila," he said, "the Cutthroat Tribe." Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 245 I rubbed the back of my left hand from the wrist to the knuckle with my right index finger. "Red savages," smiled Grunt. "Fleer," he then said. "Kaiila, Sleen, Yellow Knives, Kailiauk." I had smote my hands slowly together three times. It was like the beating of wings. It now stood, I saw, for the Fleer tribe. The fleer is a large, yellow, long-billed, gregarious, voracious bird of the Barrens. It is sometimes also called the Corn Bird or the Maize Bird. I had then drawn my finger across my throat. That stood for the Kaiila, the Cutthroat tribes. The sign for the Sleen tribe had been the same as that for the sleen, the resting of the middle fingers of the right hand on the right thumb, extending the index and little finger, this suggesting the animal's pointed snout and ears. The sign for the Yellow Knives had been the sign for knife, followed by the sign for fleer. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 246 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 the war and the hunt. "I do not think he means us harm," said Grunt. "He is merely curious." Warrior Societies in the tribes have many functions. They 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. They 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 intratribal 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, camaraderie and friendship. Needless to say, each society will have, too, its own medicines and mysteries. Savages of Gor Book 17 Pages 260 - 261 The kailiauk bull is 'Tatanka'. The suffix 'sa' designates the color red, as in 'Mazasa', 'Red Metal', 'Copper'. The expression 'Kailiauk' is used by most of the tribes for the kailiauk, which is not an animal native to Earth. The expression 'Pte' designates the kailiauk female, or kailiauk cow. It is also used, colloquially, interestingly, for the kailiauk in general. This is perhaps because the "Pte" is regarded, in a sense, as the mother of the tribes. It is she, in the final analysis, which makes possible their hunting, nomadic life. Like many similar peoples, the red savages have generally a great reverence and affection for the animals in their environment. This is particularly true of the animals on which they depend for their food. The useless or meaningless slaughter of such animals would be unthinkable to them. Savages of Gor Book 17 Page 326 The Isbu, or Little-Stones band; the Casmu, or Sand, band; the Isanna, the Little-Knife band; the Napoktan, or Bracelets, band; and the Wismahi, or Arrowhead band, are the five bands which constitute the Kaiila tribe. The origins of these names are not always clear. It seems probable that the Little-Stones and the Sand bands may have had their names from geographical features, perhaps those adjacent to riverside encampments. The Wismahi, or Arrowhead, band is said by some to have once made their winter camp at the confluence of two rivers, the joining of the rivers resembling the point of an arrowhead. Others claim that they once lived in a flint-rich area and, prior to the general availability of trade points, conducted a lively trade in flint with surrounding tribes. The Bracelets band, or the Napoktan, wear copper bracelets on the left wrist. This band, outside of the Kaiila, is often known as the Mazahuhu band, which is the Dust-Leg word for bracelets. I do not know the origin of the name for the Isanna, or the Little-Knife, band. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Pages 10 - 11 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 and jeopardize the community does not lie within the prerogatives of the individual. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 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. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Page 18 The three scarlet bands of paint were bright on the white pole. Scarlet bands, in number from one to five, are commonly used by Kaiila warriors to mark their weapons, in particular their lances and arrows. To this mark, or marks, then, will be added the personal design, or pattern, of the individual warrior. An arrow then, say, may be identified not only as Kaiila, but, within the tribe, or band, as the arrow of a particular warrior. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Page 37 Various tribes use different numbers of poles in setting up their lodges. The Fleer usually use twenty, the Sleen twenty-two and the Kaiila twenty-four. Similarly different encampment sites tend to be favored by different tribes. The Kaiila will usually camp near water but in the open, a pasang or so from timber. They seem unusually cognizant of the possibilities of ambush. The Fleer will usually camp in the open but near timber, probably for the convenience of firewood. Yellow Knives often camp in open timber. Sleen, interestingly, often make their camps in thick timber, and even in brush and thickets. What seems to one tribe to present a dangerous possibility of ambush may, to another, seem to provide cover and shelter. Different tribes, too, incidentally, tend to use different moccasin designs. Accordingly, if a track is fresh it is often possible to tell if it was made by a foot wearing, say, a Kaiila or Fleer moccasin. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Pages 50 - 51 Hci's animal, incidentally, was a prize kaiila. This was indicated by its notched ears. The Kaiila notch both ears of such a kaiila. Certain other tribes, such as the Fleer, notch only one ear, usually the left. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Page 52 During the summer festivals, and the time of the great dances, warfare and raiding is commonly suspended on the prairie. This is a time of truce and peace. The celebrating tribe, during its own festival period, naturally refrains from belligerent activities. Similarly, interestingly, enemy tribes, during this period, perhaps in virtue of an implicit bargain, that their own festival times be respected, do not attack them, or raid them. For the red savages the festival times in the summer, whenever they are celebrated by the various tribes, are the one time in the year when they are territorially and politically secure. These are very happy times, on the whole, for the tribes. It is nice to know that one is, at such times, safe. More than one war party, it is recorded, penetrating deeply into enemy territory, and seeing the high brush walls of a dance lodge, and discovering that it was the enemy's festival time, has politely withdrawn. This sort of thing is not historically unprecedented. For example, in ancient Greece the times of certain games, such as the Olympic games, constituted a truce period during which it was customary to suspend the internecine wars of competitive cities. Teams and fans from the combatant poteis then could journey to and from the stadiums in safety. Two additional reasons militating against bellicosity and martial aggression during the summer festivals might be mentioned. First, the size of these gatherings, the enemy being massed, so to speak, tends to reduce the practicality of attacks. Bands of men are not well advised to launch themselves upon nations. Secondly, it is supposedly bad medicine to attack during the times of festivals. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Pages 86 - 87 "You are very famous," said Bloketu. "All the Kaiila know of you. The Dust Legs, too, with whom we trade, know of you." Cuwignaka grunted, irritably. It was only too likely that, through trade chains, his story had widely circulated in the Barrens. The Dust Legs, for example, who do a great deal of trading, have dealings with several tribes which, in their turn, have dealings with others. For example, although the Dust Legs and the Fleer are enemies, as are the Kaiila and the Fleer, the Dust Legs have dealings with the Sleen, and the Sleen, in turn, trade with tribes such as the Yellow Knives and the Fleer. Thus, indirectly, even tribes hostile to the Kaiila, or normally so, such as the Fleer and the Yellow Knives might, quite possibly, have heard of Cuwignaka. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Pages 91 - 92 As nearly as I could determine, few tribes in the Barrens had mastered the tarn. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Page 438 The status of being a public slave tends to be an ambiguous one. What is a girl to do, how is she to act, to whom is she to relate? In such a status she is an impersonal property, as of a state, clan or tribe. Blood Brothers of Gor Book 18 Page 450 Caste is extremely important to most Goreans, even when they do not all practice the traditional crafts of their caste. It is one of the "nationalities" of the Gorean, so to speak. Other common "nationalities," so to speak, are membership in a kinship organization, such as a clan, or phratry, a group of clans, or a larger grouping yet, a tribe or analogous to a tribe, a group of phratries, and a pledged allegiance to a Home Stone, usually that of a village, town or city. Dancer of Gor Book 22 Page 293 |       
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