Fourth of the High Castes

The Gorean Warrior is placed fifth among the High Castes. The Caste of Warrior, whose color is scarlet, includes infantry, tharlarion cavalry, and tarnsmen. They have the strictest set of Caste Codes on Gor. Members of this Caste comprise the military branch of Gorean Government, up to an including a Ubar, although not the City Administrator (please refer to the Gorean government and politics pages for more information on this).

This is the Caste of those who concern themselves with the healing arts. Surgeons, apothecaries, medical researchers and health practitioners, are all member of this Caste. Universally recognized as non-combatants during time of war. Their Caste Color is Green.

It is mentioned first here in Tarnsman of Gor, the fact that medical knowledge is quite advanced.

"There is at least one area, however," said my father, "in which the Priest-Kings do take a most active interest in this world, and that is the area of technology. They limit, selectively, the technology available to us, the Men Below the Mountains. For example, incredibly enough, weapon technology is controlled to the point where the most powerful devices of war are the crossbow and lance. Further, there is no mechanized transportation or communication equipment or detection devices such as the radar and sonar equipment so much in evidence in the military establishments of your world.
      "On the other hand," he said, "you will learn that in lighting, shelter, agricultural techniques, and medicine, for example, the Mortals, or Men Below the Mountains, are relatively advanced." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 31-32.

"… where the stabilization serums were developed centuries ago by the Caste of Physicians in Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and transmitted to the Physicians of other cities at several of the Sardar Fairs." — Assassin of Gor, page 29.

Caste Craftwork

Birth right into a caste does not preclude that person from having to actually serve an apprenticeship within the caste before being permitted to practice the caste craft fully. Additionally — roleplayers take note — just because a woman is a specific craft does not mean she was allowed to practice certain things within the craft. This is especially true for the Caste of Physicians.

Women of the Physicians caste are not permitted to full practice until they have borne two children, for it is the general consensus that professional women will not busy themselves with the toils of family life and therefore not reproduce. Ensuring that these women first secure the caste before seeking personal goals is of highest precedence. The future of the castes are important, and stringent guidelines have been set up to ensure the castes' survival; a singular person within a caste is far less in importance than the caste as a whole.

"The women of a given caste, it should he noted, often do not engage in caste work. … A notable exception to the generalization that women of a given caste normally do not engage in caste work is the caste of Physicians, whose women are commonly trained, as are the boys, in the practice of medicine. Even the Physicians, however, normally do not admit their women to full Practice until they have borne two children. The purpose of this is to retain a high level of intelligence in the caste. Professional women, it is well understood, tend not to reproduce themselves, a situation which, over time, would be likely to produce a diminution in the quality of the caste. Concern for the future of the caste, is thus evinced in this limitation by the physicians on the rights of their women to participate without delay in the caste craft. The welfare of the caste, typically takes priority in the Gorean mind over the ambitions of specific individuals. The welfare of a larger number of individuals as the Goreans reason, correctly or incorrectly. Is more important than the welfare of a smaller number of individual I do not argue this. — Fighting Slave of Gor, pages 209-210.
      "The woman of the Physicians, at the age of fifteen in many cities, wears two bracelets on her left wrist. When she has one child one bracelet is removed; when she has a second child the second bracelet is removed. She may then, if she desires, enter into the full practice of her craft." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 210.

Castework for Other Castes

The Physicians have many duties beyond their basic medical practice and research. One common function of the Physicians is to examine slave girls that are about to be auctioned to determine their health, as well as confirm if the girl is a virgin or not. Another example is that within the city of Turia, members of the Caste of Physicians are called upon to be in the selection process of determining which of Turia's maidens will participate in the Games of the Love War.

"The selection of the girls, incidentally, is determined by judges in their city, or of their own people, in Turia by members of the Caste of Physicians who have served in the great slave houses of Ar; among the wagons by the masters of the public slave wagons, who buy, sell and rent girls, providing warriors and slavers with a sort of clearing house and market for their feminine merchandise." — Nomads of Gor, page 118.

The Caste has also been responsible for the invention of several devices. Examples of their technological invention were the tarn goad and the slave goad, developed in a joint venture with the Caste of Builders.

" On the other side of the belt, there hung a slave goad, rather like the tarn goad, except that it is designed to be used as an instrument for the control of human beings rather than tarns. It was, like the tarn goad, developed jointly by the Caste of Physicians and that of the Builders, the Physicians contributing knowledge of the pain fibers of human beings, the networks of nerve endings, and the Builders contributing certain principles and techniques developed in the construction and manufacture of energy bulbs." — Assassin of Gor, page 84.

Caste Codes

Each caste has a set of ethical teachings, or Caste Codes, which constitute, in simplicity, a list of rules of conduct to which all caste members are held. Some of these teachings are in the form of sayings, profound or otherwise; some mere riddles. Though not stated as laws, in the Gorean world most of what is ethically correct is also legally correct. Naturally there would be those predicaments where the discussion of ethical and legal are quite diverse, as in the case (third quote) of the rape of two slave women. Often, caste codes have more to do with a man's personal honor and integrity. In simpler terms, each set of codes of a caste determine a behavior with a particular interest the specialty of its caste members.

The fairs of the Sardar offer a place for members of castes to meet and disseminate information and clear up disputes, all within their caste codes, thus keeping the castes updated, but within their mandates.

"Further, members of castes such as the Physicians and Builders use the fairs for the dissemination of information and techniques among Caste Brothers, as is prescribed in their codes in spite of the fact that their respective cities may be hostile. And as might be expected members of the Caste of Scribes gather here to enter into dispute and examine and trade manuscripts." — Priest Kings, page 9.

 

 

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Special Note

Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:

  • Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
  • Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
  • Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
  • Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
  • Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
  • Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)

Disclaimer

These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.