There is no Gorean expression for "country" in the precise sense of a nation as we know of it. Goreans tend to think of cities and the lands they control. The city state is the basic political division on Gor. A city controls what territory it can and is surrounded by a no-man's land of open ground on every side. The notion of the fixed and absolute border is not a typical Gorean idea. The territory controlled by a city is more fluid and flexible. Cities lose and gain territory often. Jealousies, strifes, rivalries and armed conflicts tend to often separate Gorean cities. Free cities, in pride and suspicion, have an almost fanatical commitment to protecting their own independent destinies, and resist alliances.
Alars
A nomadic wandering herdspeople well known for their skill with the axe and the Alar sword, they travel in wagons in the northern plains, but tend to camp near settlements, unlike the southern wagon people. Their Free women do not wear veils, rather simple, corded, belted, woolen, plain, widely sleeved, ankle-length dresses, tied snugly . There are few slaves in the Alar camps because they are killed by Free women. The Alars tend to be fair in complexion, blonde-haired and blue-eyed.
Mercenaries of Gor , pages 43, 45, 47,48, 50 and 72
All Comrades
A warrior society of the Kaiila tribe of Red Savages, also called the Fighting Hearts, represented by a heart over a black horizontal line with a lance below it on the flanks of their kaiila. - Savages of Gor, page 314
Arani
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai - Tribesman of Gor, page 307
Aretai
A major tribe of the Tahari, their vassal tribes are the Arani, Luraz, Ravir,i Tajuks, Tashid, Ti, and Zevar. Their war cry is 'Aretai Victorious!'. - Tribesman of Gor, pages 47 and 160
Bakahs
A minor tribe of the Tahari, they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars - Tribesman of Gor, page 153
Beggars
Goreans do not favor begging. Some even view it as an insult. When charity is in order, it is usually arranged by the caste or clan. Charity is a special privilege of membership in a caste. Clans depend on blood ties through the fifth degree. It is most common to see female beggars than male ones. Strays, also known as she-urts, are girls who beg and rummage through garbage in the city. They are a civic nuisances and are sometimes rounded up by city guardsmen. They have their own gangs and territories. They are technically free women though there are few to protect them. Some kajira that have been punished by ham stringing, also beg in the streets.
"Goreans do not generally favor begging, and some regard it as an insult that there should be such, an insult to them and their city." Assassin of Gor, Pg. 11
"At such a time a man may not be spoken to, for according to the Gorean way of thinking pity humiliates both he who pities and he who is pitied. According to the Gorean way, one may love but one may not pity." Outlaw of Gor Pg. 31
Blue-Sky Riders
A warrior society of the Fleer Tribe of Red Savages represented by a semi circle curved blue line over a black horizontal line on the flanks of their kaiila. Savages of Gor, page 260
Casmu Band
The Sand Band of the Kaiila Tribe of the Red Savages- Savages of Gor, page 315
Blood Brothers of Gor, page 24
Char
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars. - Tribesmen of Gor, page 307
Dust Legs
A tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; so called because they were the last tribe to domesticate kaiila. - Savages of Gor, page 148
Fighting Hearts
see All Comrades
Fleer Tribe
A tribe of Red Savages a member of the Blue Sky Society a warrior society of the Fleer which inhabits the Barrens; they have long hair combed back and flowing down the back like cornstalks; They ride their kaiila bareback and carry a long feathered lance and a small round war shield with medicine signs inscribed on it. - Savages of Gor, page 256
Isanna
The Little Knife Band of the Kaiila Tribe of the Red Savages. - Blood Brothers of Gor, page 24
Isbu
The Little Stone Band of the Kaiila Tribe of the Red Savages. - Savages of Gor, page 315
Kaiila
A tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; their language is related to that of the Dust Legs. - Savages of Gor, pages 148, 229, and 307
Kailiauk Tribe
A tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens; their language is a dialect of Kaiila. - Savages of Gor, page 233
Kashani
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars. - Tribesmen of Gor, page 47
Kassar
One of the 4 Tribes of the Wagon Peoples, they are are known as the Blood People. Their standard is a scarlet three-weighted bola, hanging from a lance. Their brand, which is used on both slaves and bosk, is a stylized representation of a bola, three circles joined at the center by lines. - Nomads of Gor, page 14
Kataii
One of the 4 tribes of the Wagon Peoples. The Kataii are black-skinned. Their standard is a yellow bow, bound across a black lance. Their brand is a yellow bow, facing to the left. - Nomads of Gor, page 14
Kavar
A major tribe of the Tahari, their vassal tribes are the Ta'Kara, Bakahs, Cha,r and Kashani. Their war cry is 'Kavars Supreme!'. - Tribesmen of Gor, pages 160 and 186
Kur
A large (8-9') furred, mammal having 4 legs, which can stand upright or on all fours; each paw has 6 multiple-jointed digits with retractable claws and an opposing thumb. It has 2 rows of teeth. They are incredibly strong and ferocious, and are carnivorous, regarding humans as food. The Kur are members of an alien race, the Kurii. (See Kurii) - Marauders of Gor, pages 92, 109
Kurii
An alien race existing in their space ships, which orbit in the asteroid belts of the outer atmosphere, their 'Steel World'. It is thought that their own world had been destroyed, partially as a result of their advanced technology, ferocity, and greed. They are locked in a war with the Priest-Kings for the domination of Gor and Earth. Their ships have sometimes been shattered and have fallen to the surface. It is the practice of the Priest-Kings to destroy the wrecks, but they do not hunt down and exterminate the survivors. These marooned Kur are allowed to live if they abide by the laws of the Priest-Kings. They are extremely powerful, hightly intelligent, fond of killing and technologically advanced. Marauders of Gor, pages 92-93 and 295
Tribesmen of Gor, page 362
Explorers of Gor, page 94
Luraz
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai.- Tribesmen of Gor, page 47
Mamba People
Also called 'Tharlarion People' a cannibal tribe. - Explorers of Gor, page 393
Men of Torvaldsland
According to Gorean legend, man was formed from the mud of the earth and the blood of tarns by the Priest-Kings. In Torvald legend, man was formed from the hoe, water, and salt by the Gods to serve as their slaves. Those of Torvaldsland share an addendum to this story. One of the Gods, curious, careless, or, perhaps angry, threw his own axe to the ground and poured paga and his own blood upon it. The axe laughed, lept up and fled so fast no Gods could catch him. He became the father of the men of Torvaldsland. - Hunters of Gor, pages 257-258
Napoktan
The Bracelets Band of the Kaiila Tribe of the Red Savages. - Blood Brothers of Gor, page 24
Panther Girls
Runaway women who live in the forest without free men, taking as slave any man who enters their domain and eventually selling him. Those of the northern forests dress in the teeth and skins of forest panthers which they slay with their spears and bows - Captive of Gor, page 82 and 118
Paravaci
One of the 4 tribes of the Wagon Peoples, the Paravaci are known as The Rich People. Their standard is a large banner of jewels strung on golden wires, forming the head and horn of a bosk. The value of such a standard is incalculable. The Paravaci brand is a stylized representation of a bosk head: a semi-circle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle. - Nomads of Gor, page 14
Raviri
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai. - Tribesmen of Gor, page 47
Red Hunters
The men of the polar basin, of Indian heritage and similar physically, but culturally distinct from the Red Savages of the Barrens. Their babies are born with a blue spot at the base of their spine. They live as nomads, dependent on the migrations of tabuk, and the sea sleen. The Red Hunters refer to themselves as the Innuit, which, in their tongue means, 'The People'. They are few in number, and live in scattered, isolated, communities. Culturally, they tend to be gentle, kindly and friendly, even to strangers. - Beasts of Gor, pages 36, 155-156, and 188-189
Red Savages
The peoples to inhabit the plains area (Barrens) of Gor. they are racially and culturally distinct from the Red Hunters of the north, being a more slender, longer-limbed people. They are nomadic, their culture being based on the kaiila and the gigantic herds of trident-horned kailiauk. They are further distinguished by cunning, ruthlessness and ferocity. They live to hunt and for internecine warfare, which seems to serve almost as a sport and religion. Their common hatred is for the white man, which takes precedence over all other conflicts. See: Memory, the - Savages of Gor, page 35
Salerian Confederation
An alliance of 4 cities - Ti, Port Olni, Lara, and Vonda - formed to rid the Olni River of pirates and to protect inland shipping. - Fighting Slave of Gor, page 171;
Savages of Gor, page 88;
Dancer of Gor, page 283
Sleen
One of the wilder tribes of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens. - Savages of Gor, page 85
Small People
A tribe in the jungles of Schendi, not otherwise named. They are no more than 5 feet in height and weigh about 80 pounds at most. They have coppery skin and are probably of the Negroid race. They were slaves of the talunas until Tarl Cabot aided them in capturing and enslaving the last of the taluna women. - Explorers of Gor, pages 390-393 and 397-399
Spider People
Also known as the Swamp Spiders, these creatures are large, intelligent Spiders that live in the swamps north of Ar. They are large enough to be ridden. They construct Spider webs, vast networks of broad, elastic strands that form a structure about a pasang in width. The Spiders have a saliva or some similar secretion that loosens the glue on the webs. They use their leg hairs to smell their surroundings. They use translators and do not like to talk loudly. They will not harm rational creatures, even to defend themselves. But, females during mating are not gentle with male Spiders.
The city of Ar collects their webs to spin the Cur-lon Fiber used in Ar mills. They also hunt and kills many of the Spider People, leaving just enough to continue making some webs. As the men of Ar are rational, the Spiders will not fight them. The Spiders are mentioned primarily in Tarnsman of Gor. Nar is one of the Spider People who helped Tarl Cabot.
Man-sized arachnids which inhabit the swampland near the city of Ar; they can communicate in human speech via the mechanical translators they wear around their abdomens; they spin Curlon Fiber which is used in the textile mills of Ar - Tarnsman of Gor page 81
Sun Lances
A warrior society of the Sleen tribe of Red Savages - Savages of Gor page 314
Tajuks
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai - Tribesmen of Gor page 342
Ta'Kara
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Kavars - Tribesmen of Gor page 93
Taluna
A free woman who lives as a hunter in small tribes of 15-100 members; they roam the northern forests of Gor. - Captive of Gor. page 118
Tashid
A minor tribe of the Tahari; they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai. - Tribesmen of Gor, page 364
Ti
A minor tribe of the Tahari, they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai. - Tribesmen of Gor, page 343
Tuchuk
The fiercest of the four tribes of the Wagon Peoples. Tuchuk philosophies and personality are personified by it's secret Ubar, Kamchak. A proud, cunning, lusty, brawling, exceptionally skilled warrior who disguises his considerable intellect and deadly, aggressive spirit beneath wit and a broadly sketched 'who me?' befuddlement. These nomads have encampments of thousands of gaily painted wagons, their herds of the reverenced bosk, often numbering into the millions, surrounding them. Throughout the day, the camps are teeming with scarred warriors, kaiila, clad Kajir slaves, dour free women, haruspexes and domesticated sleen. All Tuchuk men are expected to defend their encampment, so there are no castes as such, but clans, such as healers, leather workers and salt seekers exist, including the clan of torturers. The Tuchuk warrior prays to the 'Spirit of the Sky' on kaiila-back with his weapons at hand, demanding victory and luck for themselves, defeat and misery for their enemies, primarily Turia. '...chief of the things before which the proud Tuchuk stands ready to remove his helmet is the sky, the simple, vast beautiful sky, from which falls the rain that, in his myths, formed the earth, the bosks, and the Tuchuks. - Nomads of Gor, pages 12, 21,27, and 28.
Vosk League
An alliance of 19 towns (Fina, Forest Port, Hammerfest, Iskander, Jasmine, Jort's Ferry, Point Alfred, Port Cos, Ragnar's Hamlet, Sais, Siba, Sulport, Tafa, Tancred's Landing, Tetrapoli, Turmus, Ven, Victoria, White Water) formed to keep the Vosk River clear of pirates + to promote trade - Guardsman of Gor, page 235
Urt People
The Urt People are possibly a nonhuman race though they might only be a degenerate human branch. They have a narrow, elongated face with rather large, ovoid eyes. Their eyes adjust very quickly to darkness. They are narrow shouldered and narrow chested. They have long, thin arms and short spindly legs. They commonly walk or hurry, bent over, with its knuckles often dragging on the ground. This low gait keeps it inconspicuous among migratory urt packs. Urt People live with urt packs that provide them cover and protection. Urts seldom attack them, likely due to a pack odor that allows them to mix with the urts. Urt People are capable of incredible stillness and then sudden, bursts of movement. They commonly communicate to each other by hissing squeals, resembling the noises of urts. They can speak Gorean but do so as children, usually repeating what they say twice. Their Gorean, in some respects, resembles archaic Gorean. They rarely mix with civilized folk. They do learn quickly and some people even keep them as pets. They enjoy pit fruit.
The urt people are narrow-shouldered and narrow-chested, measuring only three and a half feet tall when upright with a narrow, elongated face and rather large, ovoid eyes. They have long, thin arms and short, spindly legs along with a bent-over gait, often bringing the knuckles to the ground, and commonly kept inconspicuously among the large, migratory urt packs. - Players of Gor, page 267
Urt Soldiers
A warrior society of the Yellow Knife tribe of Red Savages. - Savages of Gor, page 314
Urt Hunters
In the port city of Port Kar, urt hunters are men who keep the urt population in the canals down. They use a pronged urt spear to catch the urts. Slave girls are commonly used as bait. A girl is tied to the boat by a rope. She must splash around in the water to attract the urts. Rarely, live verr are used as bait but they are more difficult to handle. They are harder to push away from the side of the boat. Few urts strike from beneath the surface of the water. They usually approach with their snout and eyes above the water. A girl can commonly get out of the water in time. If not, she must rely on the speed and skill of the hunter. Unfortunately, some girls are lost to the urts. Some kajirae may be turned over to an urt hunter as a means of discipline. After that, most girls will be begging to be pleasing
"She betrayed Priest-Kings," he said, "and served Kurii agents in the Tahari."
"That is true," I admitted.
"Give her to me," said Samos. "I want to bind her hand and foot and hurl her naked to the urts in the canals."
"She is mine," I said. "If she is to be bound hand and foot and hurled naked to the urts in the canals, it is I who will do so."
"As you wish," said Samos.
"It could be anyone," said Samos. "Perhaps she will be bought by an urt hunter or an oar maker. What then?"
"Then she is owned by an oar maker or an urt hunter," I said. "And we shall consider a new plan."
Urt hunters swim slave girls, ropes on their necks, beside their boats in the dark, cool water of the canals, as bait for urts, which, as they rise to attack the girl, are speared. Urt hunters help to keep the urt population in the canals manageable. Explorers of Gor
Wagon Peoples
A fierce, migrating people consisting of four nomadic tribes that wander the Plains of Turia, living in huge, elaborate wagon homes. They grow no food, nor will they eat anything that has touched the dirt, living entirely on the meat and milk of the bosk. There is no known manufacturing. They are called herders and killers and are among the proudest peoples of Gor, regarding city dwellers as vermin in holes. - Nomads of Gor, pages 4, 5 and 9
Waniyanpi
Also known as 'The Sames', a community of slaves who exist in the domains of the Kaiila Tribes. They are owned collectively by the tribes within the lands they inhabit. They grow produce and furnish labor when required. They subscribe to a unisex ethos, bound by 'The Teaching' a cult-like dogma of 'sameness' which says that males, females, animals, vegetables, minerals and abstract concepts are all equal to one. Among the many oddities is their aversion to heterosexual sex. They breed publically, though anonymously, monitored by their owners at specified times. Homosexuality is tolerated.
Savages of Gor, page 272 and page 291
Blood Brothers of Gor, pages 131, 152, 156-157
Wismahi
The Bracelets Band of the Kaiila Tribe of the Red Savages. - Blood Brothers of Gor, page 24
Year Keepers
Those that keep in memory the year names for the Wagon Peoples sometimes on thousand consecutive names.
Nomads of Gor, page 12 (footnote)
Yellow Knives
A tribe of Red Savages which inhabits the Barrens. - Savages of Gor, page 148
Yellow-Kaiila Riders
A warrior society of the Kaiila tribe of Red Savages, represented by a yellow kaiila print, outlined in red, over red horizontal bars on the flanks of their kaiilas. - Savages of Gor, page 314
Zever
A minor tribe of the Tahari, they are a vassal tribe of the Aretai - Tribesmen of Gor, page 343