Wagon Peoples
Customs & Practices
"The Wagon Peoples, it is said, slay strangers." — Nomads of Gor, page 9.
On this page, we are going to look at some of the very diverse customs and practices of the Wagon Peoples and how they regard certain practices of other peoples on Gor.
Wagon Peoples and Life
The Wagon Peoples are a happy lot for the most part, joking a part of their good nature, easily amused.
"Wily Kassar!" he laughed. This was a joke. Even I had to smile. The Tuchuks were commonly called the Wily Ones. — Nomads of Gor, page 75.
This struck fire in Aphris of Turia. She suddenly straightened indignantly and cried out. "Not I — not Aphris of Turia'!" "You,"said Kamchak.
A serving slave to a barbarian!"
"Yes," said Kamchak.
"Never!" cried the girl.
"Yes," roared Kamchak, throwing back his head and guffawing, "Aphris of Turia, in my wagon, will be a barbarian's serving slave!"
The girl's fists were clenched.
"And I shall see," said Kamchak, "that word of this reaches Turia'" He then bent over and started cracking his knees with his fists, so amused he was. Aphris of Turia trembled with rage before him.
"Please," said Elizabeth, "come away." She tried to take Aphris by the arm.
Aphris of Turia shrugged away her touch arrogantly, not wishing to feel her hand. But then, head in the air, she deigned to accompany Elizabeth from where we stood. "If she does not work well," called Kamchak cheerily, "beat her." — Nomads of Gor, pages 135-136.
And like Goreans of the cities, they are even courteous, too, when at a public place.
"When I returned with the bottle I had to step through, over, and once or twice on, Tuchuks. Fortunately my clumsiness was not construed as a challenge. One fellow I stepped on was even polite enough to say, "Forgive me for sitting where you are stepping." In Tuchuk fashion, I assured him that I had taken no offense, and, sweating, I at last made my way to Kamchak's side. He had rather good seats, which hadn't been there before, obtained by the Tuchuk method of finding two individuals sitting closely together and then sitting down between them. — Nomads of Gor, page 154.
The Wagon Peoples generally are not swimmers, although there are a few known to learn.
"Can you swim?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. Then I inquired, "How is it that you, a Tuchuk, can swim?" I knew few Tuchuks could, though some had learned in the Cartius.
"I learned in Turia,' said Harold, "in the public baths where I was once a slave." — Nomads of Gor, pages 187-188.
The Wagon Peoples, though a generally happy people, are also highly suspicious — not only of strangers — but of anything without absolute, positive physical proof. In the following, Tarl recounts how he killed the Master Assassin, Pa-Kur — but did he?
Kamchak nodded. "I have no quarrel with Ha-Reel, the mercenary," he said. Then Kamchak looked at me. "You, however," he said, "now that he knows of the stakes in these games, may meet him again. He draws his sword only in the name of gold, but I expect that now, Saphrar dead, those who employed the merchant may need new agents for their work — and that they will pay the price of a sword such as that of Ha-keel" Kamchak grinned at me, the first time since the death of Kutaituchik. "It is said," remarked Kamchak, "that the sword of Ha-Keel is scarcely less swift and cunning than that of Pa-Kur, the Master of Assassin" "Pa-Kur is dead," I said. "He died in the siege of Ar."
"Was the body recovered?" asked Kamchak.
"No," I said.
Kamchak smiled. "I think, Tarl Cabot," he said. "you would never make a Tuchuk."
“'Why is that?" I asked.
"You are too innocent," he said, "too trusting."
"Long ago," said Harold, nearby, "I gave up expecting more of a Koroban."
I smiled. "Pa-Kur," I said, "defeated in personal combat on the high roof of the Cylinder of Justice in Ar, turned and to avoid capture threw himself over the ledge. I do not think he could fly."
"Was the body recovered?" Kamchak asked again.
"No," I said. "But what does it matter?"
"It would matter to a Tuchuk," said Kamchak.
"You Tuchuks are indeed a suspicion lot," I remarked.
"What would have happened to the body?" asked Harold, and it seemed he was serious.
"I suppose," I said, "it was torn to pieces by the crowds below or lost with the other dead. Many things could have happened to it."
"It seems then," said Kamchak, "that he is dead."
"Surely," I said.
"Let us hope so," said Kamchak, "for your sake." — Nomads of Gor, pages 323-324.
In part, due to their suspicious nature, the Wagon Peoples often know more than what they speak or make seem.
"If you should ever need the Tuchuks' Tarl Cabot," said Kamchak, "or the Kataii or the Kassar — or the Paravaci — you have only to — speak and we will ride. We will ride to your side, be it even to the cities of Earth." You know of Earth?" I asked. I recalled what I took to be the skepticism of Kamchak and Kutaituchik long ago when they had questioned myself and Elizabeth Cardwell of such matters.
Karnchak smiled. "We Tuchuks know of many things," he said, "Of more than we tell." He grinned. "Good fortune attend you, Tart Cabot, Commander of a Thousand Tuchuks, Warrior of Ko-ro-ba!" — Nomads of Gor, pages 343-344.
Ceremonies and Rituals
There are many customs and rituals observed by the people of the plains. Some are simple courtesies, while others hold a special meaning to the participants. These customs and rituals are indigenous to the Wagon Peoples.
Applauding / Approval
The men of the Wagon Peoples, it seems, applaud or acknowledge approval much in the same way as the rest of Gor.
could hear the other three men of the Wagon Peoples, the Kataii, the Kassar, the Paravaci, striking their shields with their lances. "Well done," said the Kassar. — Nomads of Gor, page 25.
Greetings
A typical greetings amongst the Wagon Peoples could be considered ritualistic.
He grinned a Tuchuk grin. "How are the bosk?" he asked.
"As well as may be expected," said Kamchak.
"Are the quivas sharp?"
"One tries to keep them so," said Kamchak.
"It is important to keep the axles of the wagons greased," observed Kutaituchik.
"Yes," said Kamchak, "I believe so."
Kutaituchik suddenly reached out and he and Kamchak, laughing, clasped hands. — Nomads of Gor, page 44.
Goodbyes
We see here, that in saying farewells, it is universal.
"I wish you well, Tarl Cabot," said Kamchak.
"I wish you well, Kamchak of the Tuchuks," I said — Nomads of Gor, page 343.
The Sharing of Dirt and Grass
On Gor, the words for stranger and enemy are the same. Amongst the Wagon Peoples, however, there is a ritual of brotherhood by which a stranger can be given a status within the Wagon Peoples society as if receiving that by birth. It is called the sharing of grass and earth. This bond made between two men can never be broken.
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 the grass, and were together clasped on it. "Yes," said the warrior, "come in peace to the Land of the Wagon Peoples." — Nomads of Gor, page 26.
"What," I asked Kamchak, "would you do if you thought the message were truly from Priest-Kings?"
"Nothing," said Kamchak, gravely.
"You would risk," I asked, "the herds the wagons the peoples?" Both Kamchak and I knew that Priest-Kings were not lightly to be disobeyed. Their vengeance could extend to the total and complete annihilation of cities. Indeed their power, as I knew, was sufficient to destroy planets.
"Yes," said Kamchak.
"Why?" I asked.
He looked at me and smiled. "Because," said he, "we have together held grass and earth." — Nomads of Gor, page 52."Never forget," said Kamchak, "that you and I have together held grass and earth."
"I will never forget," I said. — Nomads of Gor, page 343.
Cultural Customs
The Wagon Peoples ahere to strict custom, be it out of vanity or necessity. Following are customs indigenous to them.
Nose Rings
The Tuchuks, being vain as they are, adorn their bosk with heavy nose rings of gold. This signifies the value of the bosk. The women of the Tuchuks, free and slave alike, are also of value. Therefore, it is a custom amongst the Tuchuks that all females, free and slave, wear a tinier version of the nose ring that the bosk wear.
"… I supposed that Kamchak would have one of the tiny nose rings affixed; all Tuchuk females, slave or free, wear such rings…" — Nomads of Gor, page 62.
Nose rings, though meant to be permanent, can be removed should it so be desired.
"The ring may be removed," I said. "With instruments it can be opened and then slid free leaving behind no mark that one would ever see." — Nomads of Gor, page 281.
What may be seen as irony to some, given the fact that the Tuchuks pierce the noses not only of their bosk, but of their women as well, and consider it beautiful and of honor, earrings, to the Tuchuks, is considered horrifying and barbaric.
"Tuchuks," I remarked, "regard the piercing of ears as a barbarous custom inflicted on their slave girls by Turians." Elizabeth looked up, the tiny ring glinting in the light of the fire bowl.
"Are your ears pierced?" I asked.
"No," she said, "but many of my friends on Earth who owned fine earrings, had their ears pierced."
"Did that seem so dreadful to you?" I asked.
"No," she said, smiling.
"It would to Tuchuks," I said. "They do not even inflict that on their Turian slaves." I added, "And it is one of the great fears of a Tuchuk girl that, should she fall into Turian hands, it will be done to her." — Nomads of Gor, page 281.
Universal Customs with All of Gor
What of the customs, rituals and ceremonies universal to other parts of Gor?
Free Companionship
Although cities, and perhaps, other cultures of Gor have some sort of free companionship ceremony, for the Wagon Peoples, it is very simplistic and unritualistic.
As he turned to leave the throne room of Phanius Turmus, to return to the wagons, Aphris lightly rose to her feet to accompany him. But Kamchak turned and faced her. She looked up at him, questioningly. It was hard to read his face. She stood quite close to him. Gently, ever so gently, Kamchak put his hands on her arms and drew her to him and then, very softly, kissed her.
"Master?" she asked.
Kamchak's hands were at the small, heavy lock at the back of the steel, Turian collar she wore. He turned the key and opened the collar, discarding it. Aphris said nothing, but she trembled and shook her head slightly. She touched her throat disbelievingly. "You are free," said the Tuchuk.
The girl looked at him, incredulously, bewildered.
"Do not fear," he said. "You will be given riches." He smiled. "You will once again be the richest woman in all of Turia."
She could not answer him. The girl, and the rest of us present, stood stunned. Most of us knew the peril, the hardship and danger the Tuchuk had sustained in her acquisition; all of us knew the price he had been willing to pay only recently that she, fallen into the hands of another, might be returned to him. We could not understand what he had done. Kamchak turned abruptly from her striding to his kaiila, which had been tethered behind the throne. He put one foot in the stirrup and mounted easily. Then, not pressing the animal, he took his way from the throne room. The rest of us followed him, with the exception of Aphris who remained, stricken, standing beside the throne of the Ubar, clad perhaps Kajir, but now uncollared, now free. Her fingertips were before her mouth. She seemed numb. She shook her head. — Nomads of Gor, pages 338-339.
Outside the main gate of the palace of Phanius Turmus, Kamchak, on his kaiila, waited for us. Our beasts were tethered there, and we mounted. Hereena and Elizabeth would run at our stirrups. We turned from the gate, to ride down the long avenue leading toward the main gate of Turia. Kamchak's face was inscrutable.
"Wait!" we heard.
We turned our mounts and saw Aphris of Turia, barefoot, clad Kajir, running after us. She stopped beside Kamchak's stirrup, standing there, her head down. "What means this?" demanded Kamchak sternly. The girl did not respond, nor did she raise her head. Kamchak turned his kaiila and began to ride toward the main gate, the rest of us following. Aphris, as Hereena and Elizabeth, ran by the stirrup. Kamchak reined in, and we all stopped. Aphris stood there, her head down. "You are free," said Kamchak.
Without raising her head, she shook it negatively. "No," she said, "I am Kamchak of the Tuchuks'." She put her head timidly to Kamchak's fur boot in the stirrup.
"I do not understand," said Kamchak.
She lifted her head and there were tears in her eyes. “Please,"' she said, "Master." "Why?" asked Kamchak.
She smiled. "I have grown fond of the smell of bosk," said she.
Kamchak smiled. He held his hand to the girl. "Ride with me, Aphris of Turia," said Kamchak of the Tuchuks. She took his hand and he drew her to the saddle before him, where she turned, sitting across the saddle, and placed her head against his right shoulder, weeping. "This woman," said Kamchak of the Tuchuks, brusquely, his voice stern but almost breaking, "is called Aphris — know her — she is Ubara of the Tuchuks, she is Ubara Sana, of my heart Ubara Sana!" — Nomads of Gor, pages 339-340.
The Pilgrimage to the Sardar
It is stated in the books of Gor, written by John Norman, that "every [free] person, whether male or female, will make a pilgrimage to the Sardar Mountains to honor the Priest-Kings before their 25th birthday. Of course, it must be assumed that only free persons are expected to make this pilgrimage as slaves are not allowed to pray or take part in any religious ceremony.
"Although no one may be enslaved at the fair, slaves may be bought and sold within its precincts, and slavers do a thriving business, exceeded perhaps only by that of Ar's Street of Brands. The reason for this is not simply that here is a fine market for such wares, since men from various cities pass freely to and fro at the fair, but that each Gorean, whether male or female, is expected to see the Sardar Mountains, in honor of the Priest-Kings, at least once in his life, prior to his twenty-fifth year. Accordingly the pirates and outlaws who beset the trade routes to ambush and attack the caravans on the way to the fair, if successful, often have more than inanimate metals and cloths to reward their vicious labors. This pilgrimage to the Sardar, enjoyed by the Priest-Kings according to the Caste of the Initiates, undoubtedly plays its role in the distribution of beauty among the hostile cities of Gor. Whereas the males who accompany a caravan are often killed in its defense or driven off, this fate, fortunate or not, is seldom that of the caravan's women. It will be their sad lot to be stripped and fitted with the collars and chains of slave girls and forced to follow the wagons on foot to the fair, or if the caravan's tharlarions have been killed or driven off, they will carry its goods on their backs. Thus one practical effect of the edict of the Priest-Kings is that each Gorean girl must, at least once in her life, leave her walls and take the very serious risk of becoming a slave girl, perhaps the prize of a pirate or outlaw." — Priest-Kings of Gor, pages 12-13.
"Some six young people, in white garments, passed me. They would stand before the palisade, paying the homage of their presence to the mysterious denizens of the Sardar, the mysterious Priest-Kings, rulers of Gor. Each young person of Gor is expected, before their twenty-fifth birthday, to make the pilgrimage to the Sardar, to honor the Priest-Kings. These caravans come from all over known Gor. Most arrive safely. Some are preyed upon by bandits and slavers. More than one beauty who thought to have stood upon the platforms by the palisade, lifting laurel wreaths and in white robes singing the glories of the Priest-Kings, has found herself instead looking upon the snow-capped peaks of the Sardar from the slave platforms, stripped and heavily chained." — Beasts of Gor, page 47.
Now, does this also mean that those of the tribes of the Wagon Peoples must also make this pilgrimage? Those of the tribes of the desert nomads? Those of the tribes of the Schendi? Though the Wagon Peoples revere the Priest-Kings, they do not hold any religious tithing or worship to them.
"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." — Nomads of Gor, page 27.
This could lead to an argument of whether they uphold this law of the pilgrimage. In Nomads of Gor, there is no mention of this pilgrimage. However, in other books, there is mention of Wagon Peoples in attendance at the Great Fairs.
"I saw two men of the Wagon Peoples pass by, and, not a yard from them, evincing no concern, a fellow in the flowing robes of Turia. The fairs were truce ground." — Beasts of Gor, page 47.
The Wagon Peoples making the pilgrimage to the Sardar? Well… the books DO say… everyone of Gor. But then again, John Norman has been wrong before.
Industry and Farming
The Wagon Peoples have no real industry or manufacturing, therefore, there is no steel forged and such as I have seen done in roleplay rooms.
"The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders and it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk." — Nomads of Gor, page 4.
"At another wagon he haggled over a set of quiva, forged in Ar, and, obtaining his price, arranged to have them, with a new saddle, brought to his wagon on the morrow." — Nomads of Gor, page 170.
However, the Wagon Peoples do make things from the bosk, essential in their life, as well as for trading (please refer to the Trading Practices page for more detailed information).
"Not only does the flesh of the bosk and the milk of its cows furnish the Wagon Peoples with food and drink, but its hides cover the domelike wagons in which they dwell; its tanned and sewn skins cover their bodies; the leather of its hump is used for their shields; its sinews 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 hoofs are used for glues; 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." — Nomads of Gor, page 5.
And, of course, there is the haggling amongst those of the wagons.
He did not buy the kaiila near the wagon of Yachi of the Leather Workers though it was apparently a splendid beast." — Nomads of Gor, page 170.
"After looking at the kaiila Kamchak visited a wagon where he discussed the crossing of one of his cows with the owner's bull, in exchange for a similar favor on his own part." — Nomads of Gor, page 170.
"At another wagon he haggled over a set of quiva, forged in Ar, and, obtaining his price, arranged to have them, with a new saddle, brought to his wagon on the morrow." — Nomads of Gor, page 170.
The Wagon Peoples hunt the tumit mostly for sport, but for variety in diet as well. In hunting the tumit, they use the bola.
"On the saddle there also hung, on one side, a coiled rope of braided boskhide and, on the other, a long, three-weighted bola of the sort used in hunting tumits and men…" — Nomads of Gor, page 11.
"It will soon be time to hunt tumits," growled Kamchak, looking off across the grass toward the wagons beyond the walls. — Nomads of Gor, page 328.
"The tumits run best this time of year rather toward the Cartius," observed Kamchak. — Nomads of Gor, page 328.
"I think," said Kamchak, "I will have a new bola made for the hunting." — Nomads of Gor, page 329.
Medical Practices
Medicine on Gor is not heavily discussed, however, based on the following excerpt, it would seem that at least in the cities, the practice of medicine was advanced, though how advanced, it is not ever truly defined.
"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 page 31
All to often seen in virtual chat Gor, are healers that bring earthen healing methods into role play. Granted, medicine was not much spoken of in the books, but we do have to assume that as with most cultures on Gor being simplistic, that their healing methods, too, would be simplistic. We must remember that the wagon peoples are a simpler people, with a great distrust for things of the city as well as the written word (as discussed earlier on this page). Therefore, we would not find a full-featured physician's office in a wagon camp.
Well-baby care, prenatal care, annual physical examinations, medical charts and such are all 21st century earth culture — and not Gorean. To see such practices in a roleplay room is rather an indulgence by those portraying such; perhaps because they wish not to take the time to learn a more simplistic medical practice. Of course, most roleplayers portraying a healer or physician — is not either in real life, and instead practice a Marcus Welby, MD sort of medical practice in roleplay rooms. It's obnoxiously annoying, especially for those who want realism in roleplay.
Roleplayers have to remember that yes, there are earth-born living on Gor, these were generally all slaves, save for a very rare few, and would be highly doubtful that any earth-born who are brought to Gor would be allowed in the physician's caste, let alone be a healer amongst the wagon peoples. Too, we see a lot of healing remedies that are of earth nature (i.e., willow-bark, dandelion, agrimony, etc.) which are doubtful would be found on Gor. What we can probably determine is the variety of curatives available based on specific vegetation found on Gor.
"They do have, however, certain clans, not castes, which specialize in certain matters, for example, the clan of healers, leather workers, salt hunters, and so on." — Nomads of Gor, page 12 (footnote).
It seems, however, that the Wagon Peoples did not always seek out medical help from their own healers. The following quote regards a visit from a member of the Caste of Physicians, who gives Kamchak some sort of yellow fluid, which he in turn administers to his father, Kutaituchik.
"When Kamchak had finished he held out his right hand and a man, not a Tuchuk, who wore the green robes of the Caste of Physicians, thrust in his hand a goblet of bosk horn; it contained some yellow fluid." — Nomads of Gor, page 44.
Living as they do out on the plains, the Wagon Peoples would not have access to medical facilities and equipment afforded to the city physician. I have seen wagon camps with full-scale hospitals and the equipment therein, which would be very unreasonable considering the fact that they are nomads and are often migrating, not to mention the inaccessibility to energy sources. Too, the Wagon Peoples being the suspicious lot they are and their desire to remain far from the mainstream of city life, they would most likely not have the medical services one would have who lives in a city.
"I looked to the left and right over the torn, bloody barricade of wagons, at the remains of my men, wounded and exhausted, many of them lying on the barricade or on the ground behind it, trying to gain but a moment's respite. Free women, and even some Turian slave girls, went to and fro, bringing water and, here and there, where there was point in it, binding wounds." — Nomads of Gor, page 263.
Well, there you go folks, the above quote being a perfect example of their medical practices — and support in the fact that slave girls do tend to wounds as well; at least bandaging.
I have done extensive research on medicine and medical practices on Gor, including birth control, menstruation (yes, folks, menstruation is a fact of life on Gor as well), sip root and slave wine (which inhibits fertility and not menstruation), and herbs and remedies that would be found on Gor, versus those that are not supported as being practical (i.e., willow-bark and agrimony).
Vices of Destruction
Amongst the peoples of Gor, one common vice is the chewing of kanda, very narcotic and addictive in nature. It inevitably destroys the person who so chooses this particular vice. Even amongst the Wagon Peoples, this is also found.
"Kutaituchik absently reached into a small golden box near his right knee and drew out a string of rolled kanda leaf. The roots of the kanda plant, which grows largely in desert regions on Gor, are extremely toxic, but, surprisingly, the rolled leaves of this plant, which are relatively innocuous, are formed into strings and, chewed or sucked, are much favored by many Goreans, particularly in the southern hemisphere, where the leaf is more abundant. Kutaituchik, not taking his eyes off us, thrust one end of the green kanda string in the left side of his mouth and, very slowly, began to chew it." — Nomads of Gor, page 43.
"And yet was I sad as I looked upon him, for I sensed that for this man there could no longer be the saddle of the kaiila, the whirling of the rope and bola, the hunt and the war. Now, from the right side of his mouth, thin, black and wet, there emerged the chewed string of kanda, a quarter of an inch at a time, slowly. The drooping eyes, glazed, regarded us. For him there could no longer be the swift races. across the frozen prairie; the meetings in arms; even the dancing to the sky about a fire of bosk dung. Kamchak and I waited until the string had been chewed. When Kamchak had finished he held out his right hand and a man, not a Tuchuk, who wore the green robes of the Caste of Physicians, thrust in his hand a goblet of bosk horn; it contained some yellow fluid. Angrily, not concealing his distaste, Kutaituchik drained the goblet and then hurled it from him." — Nomads of Gor, page 44."I resolved that the best- time to steal the egg would be during the days of the Omen Taking. At that time Kutaituchik and other high men among the Tuchuks, doubtless including Kamchak, would be afield, on the rolling hills surrounding the Omen Valley, in which on the hundreds of smoking altars, the haruspexes of the four peoples would be practicing their obscure craft, taking the omens, trying to determine whether or not they were favorable for the election of a Ubar San, a One Ubar, who would be Ubar of all the Wagons. If such were to be elected, I trusted, at least for the sake of the Wagon Peoples, that it would not be Kutaituchik. Once he might have been a great man and warrior but now, somnolent and fat, he thought of little save the contents of a golden kanda box." — Nomads of Gor, pages 146-147.
Music, Songs and Dance
References are made to wagon tunes, which are often sung by girls (free or slave, it does not say) accompanied by bosk sticks (acting as drum sticks, I would assume), and the Blue Sky Song, most undoubtedly, almost a prayer to the endless sky.
"About this time I heard someone coming along the street whistling a tune. I had heard it. Then I realized that I had heard it among the wagons of the Tuchuks. It was a Tuchuk tune, a wagon tune, sometimes sung by the girls with the bosk sticks." — Nomads of Gor, page 236.
"I looked to the left and right over the torn, bloody barricade of wagons, at the remains of my men, wounded and exhausted, many of them lying on the barricade or on the ground behind it, trying to gain but a moment's respite. Free women, and even some Turian slave girls, went to and fro, bringing water and, here and there, where there was point in it, binding wounds. Some of the Tuchuks began to sing the Blue Sky Song, the refrain of which is that though I die, yet there will be the bosk, the grass and sky." — Nomads of Gor, page 263.
Culinary Habits
It is said in the books that the Wagon Peoples are not an agricultural or industrial people; understandable as they are migratory. It is further stated that they eat and drink only of the bosk and eat nothing that has touched the earth.
"The Wagon Peoples grow no food, nor do they have manufacturing as we know it. They are herders and it is said, killers. They eat nothing that has touched the dirt. They live on the meat and milk of the bosk." — Nomads of Gor, page 4.
There has been much debate on the "nothing that has touched the earth" thing. Most agree, it's in reference to foods such as tubers, in which the actual fruit or vegetable itself has laid within the dirt, and those vegetables and fruits which grow on trees or bushes, are perfectly fine to eat. However, that doesn't stop some from chewing cud.
"The wagon girls, watching this, some of them chewing on fruit or stalks of grass, jeered." — Nomads of Gor, page 117.
"… the other lay indolently on her side, incuriously regarding us, her weight on one elbow; there was a yellow stain about her mouth where she had been fed some fruit…" — Nomads of Gor, page 42.
And in the following passage, we see a mention of root vegetables, which seems to confirm the general consensus that tubers are the foods that would not be found in a meal of the Wagon Peoples. Although the passage states that these are some of the items which they are willing to barter, it does not state that the Wagon Peoples do not keep some for themselves… But then again, John Norman was not known to be a dietician, physician or physicist.
"The Turians also, I note, receive other goods from the Wagon Peoples, who tend to be fond of the raid, goods looted from caravans perhaps a thousand pasangs from the herds, indeed some of them even on the way to and from Turia itself. From these raids the Wagon Peoples obtain a miscellany of goods which they are willing to barter to the Turians, jewels, precious metals, spices, colored table salts, harnesses and saddles for the ponderous tharlarion, furs of small river animals, tools for the field, scholarly scrolls, inks and papers, root vegetables, dried fish, powdered medicines, ointments, perfume and women…" — Nomads of Gor, pages 57-58.
The Wagon Peoples do have a fermented drink indigenous to them: fermented milk curds from the milk of the bosk. It's the alcoholic version of buttermilk. Interestingly, ancient Mongolians were well-known for their milk-curd fermenting techniques!
"By one fire I could see a squat Tuchuk, hands on hips, dancing and stamping about by himself, drunk on fermented milk curds, dancing, according to Kamchak, to please the sky." — Nomads of Gor, page 28.
Paga. That doesn't come from the bosk. It's not fermented milk curds. Paga is brewed from grains, grains from plants which grow from the dirt. Yet, that doesn't stop the Wagon Peoples from drinking this beverage.
"Tomorrow," I said, "you fight on the Plains of a Thousand Stakes."
"Yes," he said, "so tonight I will get drunk."
"It would be better," I said, "to get a good night's sleep."
"Yes," said Kamchak, "but I am Tuchuk so I will get drunk."
"Very well," I said, "then I, too, shall get drunk."
We then spat to determine who would bargain for a bottle of Paga. — Nomads of Gor, pages 111-112.
Now that the myth of Wagon Peoples not eating anything but bosk meat and not drinking anything but milk of the bosk has been exposed, we see that as guests in a city, such as Turia, they are quite eager to partake of other foods. It's kind of like my Jewish friends that may claim to eat only kosher, but if sat in front of a table laden with wonderful Italian foods…
"I looked to one side and saw Kamchak scraping another plate clean, holding it to his mouth, sliding and shoving the carefully structured design of viands into his mouth." — Nomads of Gor, page 86.
"Besides," Kamchak had told me, nudging me in the ribs, "the food and the entertainment is better in the house of Saphrar than in the palace of Phanius Turmus." I would still, I told myself, settle for a piece of bosk meat. I wondered how the stomach of Kamchak could sustain the delightful injuries he was heaping into it with such gusto." — Nomads of Gor, page 86.
On the Youth
Names are sacred, and especially, amongst the Wagon Peoples. Therefore, until it is realized that a child will survive for several years, they are not named. The young males of the Wagon Peoples are trained at an early age to learn the weapons of war and hunt. Once these are mastered, then they are named.
"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 him a name, for names are precious among the Wagon Peoples, as among Goreans in general, and they are not to be wasted on someone who is likely to die, one who cannot well 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 the first, or the second, and so on, son of such and such a father." — Nomads of Gor, page 11.
Wagon People and Death
The Wagon Peoples are a very passionate people, with a lust for life, a zeal for battle — and great sorrow at the loss of a loved one, and in such sorrow, they behave — as humans, with all its prejudices and ugliness.
Since the death of Kutaituchik, Kamchak had turned ugly in manner. Now he seldom drank or joked or laughed. I missed his hitherto frequent proposals of contests, races and wagers. He now seemed dour, moody, consumed with hatred for Turia and Turians. He seemed particularly vicious with Aphris. She was Turian. When he returned that night from the wagon of Kutaituchik to his own wagon he strode angrily to the sleen cage where he had confined Aphris with Elizabeth during the putative attack. He unlocked the door and ordered the Turian maiden forth, commanding her to stand before him, head down. Then, without speaking, to her consternation he tore swiftly away the yellow camisk and fastened slave bracelets on her wrists. "I should whip you," he said.
have been seen from the distant walls of Turia.
The girl trembled. "But why, Master?" she asked.
have been seen from the distant walls of Turia.
"Because you are Turian," he said. The girl looked at him with tears in her eyes. Roughly Kamchak took her by the arm and thrust her into the sleen cage beside the miserable Elizabeth Cardwell. He shut the door and locked it. — Nomads of Gor, page 184.
Men of the Wagon Peoples are given a funeral befitting the greatest of warriors… Here is the sending of one of the greatest Tuchuk warriors, Kutaituchik.
I had found Kamchak, as I had been told I would, at the wagon of Kutaituchik, which, drawn up on its hill near the standard of the four bosk horns, had been heaped with what wood was at hand and filled with dry grass. The whole was then drenched in fragrant oils, and that dawn of the retreat, Kamchak, by his own hand, hurled the torch into the wagon. Somewhere in the wagon, fixed in a sitting position, weapons at hand, was Kutaituchik, who had been Kamchak's friend, and who had been called Ubar of the Tuchuks. The smoke of the wagon must easily have been seen from the distant walls of Turia.
Kamchak had not spoken but sat on his kaiila, his face dark with resolve. He was terrible to look upon and I, though his friend, did not dare to speak to him. I had not returned to the wagon I had shared with him, but had come immediately to the wagon of Kutaituchik, where I had been informed he was to be found.
Clustered about the hill, in ranks, on their kaiila, black lances in the stirrup, were several of the Tuchuk Hundreds. Angrily they watched the wagon burn. I wondered that such men as Kamchak and these others would so willingly, abandon the siege of Turia.
At last when the wagon had burned and the wind moved about the blackened beams and scattered ashes across the green prairie, Kamchak raised his right hand. "Let the standard be moved," he cried.
I observed a special wagon, drawn by a dozen bosk, being pulled up the hill, into which the standard, when uprooted, would be set. In a few minutes the great pole of the standard had been mounted on the wagon and was descending the hill, leaving on the summit the burned wood and the black ashes that had been the wagon of Kutaituchik, surrendering them now to the wind and the rain, to time and the snows to come, and to the green grass of the prairie.
"Turn the wagons!" called Kamchak.
Slowly, wagon by wagon, the long columns of the Tuchuk retreat were formed, each wagon in its column, each column in its place, and, covering pasangs of prairie, the march from Turia had begun. Far beyond the wagons I could see the herds of bosk, and the dust from their hoofs stained the horizon. Kamchak rose in his stirrups. "The Tuchuks ride from Turia!" he cried.
Rank by rank the warriors on the kaiila, dour, angry, silent, turned their mounts away from the city and slowly went to find their wagons, save for the Hundreds that would flank the withdrawal and form its rear guard. Kamchak rode his kaiila up the hill until he stood, that cold dawn, at the edge of the burned wood and ashes of Kutaituchik's wagon. He stayed there for some time, and then turned his mount away, and came slowly down the hill. Seeing me, he stopped. "I am pleased to see you live," he said.
I dropped my head, acknowledging the bond he had acknowledged. My heart felt grateful to the stern, fierce warrior, though he had been in the past days harsh and strange, half drunk with hatred for Turia. I did not know if the Kamchak I had known would ever live again. I feared that part of him — perhaps that part I had loved best — had died the night of the raid, when he had entered the wagon of Kutaituchik.
Standing at his stirrup I looked up. "Will you leave like this?" I asked. "Is it enough?"
He looked at me, but I could read no expression on his face. "The Tuchuks ride from Turia," he said. He then rode away, leaving me standing on the hill. — Nomads of Gor, pages 232-233.
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.