without the bosk, the Wagon People could not live
it supplies food, milk, clothing, shelter, weaponry, and other daily implements.. even the dung is used
held in such high esteem, to needlessly/foolishly kill one would be disastrous
the bosk wear golden nose rings, and are often are bedecked with jeweled harnesses
"Not only does the flesh of the bosk and the milk of its cows furnish the Wagon People with food and drink, but its hides cover the dome like wagons in which they dwell; its tanned and sewn skins cover their bodies; the leather of its hump is used for their shields; its sinew forms their thread; its bones and horns are split and tooled into implements of a hundred sorts, from awls, punches, and spoons to drinking flagons and weapon tips; its hooves are used for glue; its oils are used to grease their bodies against the cold. Even the dung of the bosk finds its uses on the treeless prairies being dried and used for fuel. The bosk is said to be the Mother of the Wagon People, and they reverence it as such. The man who kills one foolishly is strangled in thongs or suffocated in the hide of the animal he slew; if for any reason the man should kill a bosk cow with unborn young he is staked out, alive, in the path of the herd, and the march of the Wagon People takes its way over him." Nomads of Gor; pg 4 & 5
an official position of authority who can command or control others
only the wagon of a Commander is painted red
"The lance strikes the shield once for the commander of a Ten; twice for the commander of a Hundred; three times for the commander of a Thousand…." Nomads, page 250
"'At that time, of course,' said Harold, 'our wagons were not painted red, nor filled with booty and rich things, for we were not than Commanders'" Nomads, page 273
in Gorean, the word for 'stranger' and 'enemy' are the same..
it is known that the Wagon People slay strangers..
there is, however, a ritual by which a stranger can be given the status of belonging to the Wagons
it is believed that once formed, this bond cannot be broken
"The Wagon Peoples, it is said, slay strangers." Nomads, page 9
"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 grass, and were together clasped upon it. 'Yes,' said the warrior, 'come in peace to the Land of the Wagon Peoples.' Nomads, page 26
"'He is a stranger,' she said. 'He should be slain!' Kamchak grinned up at her. 'He has held with me dirt and earth,' he said." Nomads, page 32
"'You would risk,' I asked, 'the herds- the wagons- the peoples?'
' Yes,' said Kamchak.
'Why?' I asked.
He looked at me and smiled.'Because,' said he, 'we have together held grass and earth.' Nomads, page 52
the selection of a name for male offspring is NOT given at birth...
the male-child is known simply as First Son or Second Son until such time as he masters the use of all the weapons of war and the hunt
Tuchuks regard names as being precious and therefore they are not to be wasted on those who are not likely to survive
"It was said a youth of the Wagon Peoples was taught the bow, the quiva, and the lance before their parents would consent to give them a name, for names are precious among the Wagon Peoples, as among Goreans in general, and they are not to be wasted on one who is likely to die, one who cannot handle the weapons of the hunt and war. Until the youth has mastered the bow, the quiva, and the lance he is simply known as first, or the second, and so on , son of such and such a father."Nomads, page 11
martial contests which are held annually between the Tribes of the Wagon Peoples and those the Warriors of Turia
an unofficial truce declared at this time
a festive atmosphere, even though the next day, men will die, and Free Women become enslaved
held upon the Plain of a Thousand Stakes
gives the Warriors a chance to match skills in hand to hand combat with the Men of the Wagons
allows a transfer of slaves from Turia to the Wagons and vice versa
"Be patient, Tarl Cabot," said Kamchak, beside me on his kaiila. "In the spring there will be the games of Love War and I will go to Turia, and you may then, if you wish, accompany me." Nomads, pages 55-56
"The stakes, flat-topped, each about six and half feet high and about seven or eight inches in diameter, stand in two long lines facing one another in pairs. The two lines are separated by about fifty feet and each in a line is separated from the stake on its left and right by about ten yards. The two lines of stakes extended for more than four pasangs across the prairie." "In the space between the two lines of stakes, for each pair of facing stakes, there was a circle of roughly eight yards in diameter. This circle, the grass having been removed, was sanded and raked." Nomads, pages 112-113
"The theoretical justification of the games of the Love War, from the Turian point of view, is that they provide an excellent arena in which to demonstrate the fierceness and prowess of Turian warriors, thus perhaps intimidating or, at the very least, encouraging the often overbold warriors of the Wagon Peoples to be wary of Turian steel." Nomads, page 116
"I once asked Kamchak if the Wagon Peoples had a justification for the games of Love War. "Yes," he had said. And he had then pointed to Dina and Tenchika, clad kajir, who were at that time busy in the wagon. "That is the justification," said Kamchak. And he had then laughed and pounded his knee." Nomads, page 116
"As I knew, not just any girl, any more than just any warrior, could participate in the games of the Love War. Only the most beautiful were eligible, and only the most beautiful of these could be chosen." Nomads, page 117
occurs once every ten years
spans a period of several months
the four Tribes basically cease all warring amongst Themselves during this time in order to 'come together'
omens are read by hundreds of haruspexes, in verr livers and bosk blood, in order to determine whether the time is right for the choosing of an Ubar San
"The Wagon Peoples war among themselves, but once in every two hands of years, there is a time of gathering of the peoples and this, I had learned, was that time. In the thinking of the Wagon Peoples it is called the Omen Year." Nomads, page 11
"It is the Omen Year,' had said Kamchak of the Tuchuks....It is in the spring that the omens are taken, regarding the possible election of the Ubar San, the One Ubar, he who would be Ubar of all the Wagons, of all the Peoples." Nomads, page 55
"The games of the Love War are celebrated every spring... whereas the Omen Year occurs only every tenth year." Nomads, page 115
"The animals sacrificed, incidentally, are later used for food, so the Omen taking, far from being a waste of animals, is actually a time of feasting and plenty for the Wagon Peoples, who regard the Omen taking, provided it results that no Ubar San is to be chosen, as an occasion for gaiety and festival. As I may have mentioned, no Ubar San had been chosen for more than a hundred years." Nomads, page 171
"This is the first Omen, said Kamchak, '--the Omen to see if the Omens are propitious to take the Omens. " Nomads, page 172
"Conrad spoke. 'The Omens have been taken, ' he said.
'They have been read well, ' said Hakimba.
'For the first time in more than a hundred years,' said the Paravaci, 'there is a Ubar San, a One Ubar, Master of the Wagons!'...
'Kamchak,' they cried, 'Ubar San!' " Nomads, page 334
known as 'the wily ones'
will often bet/wager on anything.. from the number of seeds in a tospit, to the direction a bird flies, to whom will be granted the privilege of slaying another
often times, even the slaves participated
"The Tuchuks, not unlike Goreans in general, are fond of gambling. Indeed it is not unknown that a Tuchuk will bet his entire stock of Bosk on the outcome of a single kailla race; as many as a dozen slave girls may change hands on something as small as the direction that a bird will fly or the number of seeds in a tospit." Nomads, page 60
"As soon as Kamchak had agreed to Albrecht's proposal the children and several of the slave girls immediately began to rush toward the wagons, delightedly crying 'Wager! Wager!' Soon, to my dismay, a large number of Tuchuks, male and female, and their male or female slaves, began to gather near the worn lane on the turf. The terms of the wager were soon well known. In the crowd, as well as Tuchuks and those of the Tuchuks, there were some Kassars, a Paravaci or two, even one of the Kataii. The slave girls in the crowd seemed particularly excited. I could hear bets being taken." Nomads, pages 59-60
"'I wager,' she said, 'that 1 will reach the lance.' This irritated me. Moreover, I was not insensitive to the fact that though she were slave and I a free man, she had not addressed me, as the custom is, by the title of Master. I had no objection to the omission itself, but I did object to the affront therein implied. For some reason this wench seemed to me rather arrogant, rather contemptuous. 'I wager that you do not,' I said. 'Your terms!' she challenged. 'What are yours?' I asked. She laughed. 'If I win,' she said, you give me your bola, which I will present to my master.' 'Agreed,' I said. 'And if I should win?' 'You will not,' she said. 'But if do?' 'Then,' said she, 'I will give you a golden ring and a silver cup.' 'How is it that a slave has such riches?' I asked. She tossed her head in the air, not deigning to respond. 'I have given her several such things,' said Albrecht. I now gathered that the girl facing me was not a typical slave, and that there must be a very good reason why she should have such things. 'I do not want your golden ring and silver cup,' I said. 'What then could you want?' asked she. 'Should I win,' I said, 'I will claim as my prize the kiss of an insolent wench.' " Nomads, pages 60-61
the Tuchuks do NOT worship the Priest Kings, but instead, pray to 'The Spirit of the Sky'
the Tuchuks believe that the rain which falls from the sky is what formed the earth, the bosk, and the Tuchuks themselves
while praying, often upon kaiila back, the Tuchuk demands victory and luck for themselves, and defeat and misery to their enemies
the Tuchuks approach the sky, as a Warrior does an Ubar
the women of the Tuchuks are forbidden to pray to the Sky, but as well have an active spiritual life, centering around the powers of the haruspexes
"The Tuchuks and the other Wagon Peoples reverence priest-kings, but unlike the Goreans of the cities, with their castes of Initiates, they do not extend to them the dignities of worship. I suppose the Tuchuks worship nothing, in the common sense of that word, but it is true they hold many things holy, among them the bosk and the skills of arms but 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, and the bosks, and the Tuchuks. It is to the sky that the Tuchuks pray when they pray, demanding victory and luck for themselves, defeat and misery for their enemies. The Tuchuk…like others of the Wagon Peoples, prays only when mounted, only when in the saddle and with weapons at hand; he prays to the sky not as a slave to a master, nor a servant to a god, but as a warrior to a Ubar; the women of the Wagon Peoples…are not permitted to pray; many of them, however, do patronize the haruspexes, who, besides foretelling the future with a greater or lesser degree of accuracy for generally reasonable fees, provide an incredible assemblage of amulets, talismans, trinkets, philters, potions, spell papers, wonder-working sleen teeth, marvelous powdered kailiauk horns and colored, magic strings that, depending on the purpose, may be knotted in various ways and worn about the neck." Nomads, page 28
"…there was a small altar to Priest-Kings, where there burned a small fire. On this fire, at the beginning of the feast the feast steward had scattered some grains of meal, some colored salt, some drops of wine. ‘Ta-Sardar-Gor,’ he had said, and this phrase had been repeated by the others in the room. ‘To the Priest-Kings of Gor.’ It had been the general libation for the banquet. The only one in the room who did not participate in this ceremony was Kamchak, who thought that such a libation, in the eyes of the sky, would not have been fitting." Nomads, page 89
