Wagon Peoples
The Migrations
The Needs of the Bosk
The Wagon Peoples, nomads of the southern plains, migrate with the bosk. In fact, it is the bosk who lead the process.
"I could now see the herds quite clearly, making out individual animals, the shaggy humps moving through the dust, see the sun of the late afternoon glinting off thousands of horns. Here and there I saw riders, darting about, all mounted on the swift, graceful kaiila… Soon the animals would be turned in on themselves, to mill together in knots, until they were stopped by the shaggy walls of their own kind, to stand and grew until the morning. The wagons would, of course, follow the herds. The herd forms both vanguard and rampart for the advance of the wagons. The wagons are said to be countless, the animals without number. Both of these claims are, of course, mistaken, and the Ubars of the Wagon Peoples know well each wagon and the number of branded beasts in the various herds; each herd is, incidentally, composed of several smaller herds, each watched over by its own riders." — Nomads of Gor, page 21.
Most years, the migration is simply the movement of the bosk with the changes in weather. However, during the Omen Year ONLY, which takes place only once every ten (10) years, and lasts for almost two full "regular" years, the migration process consists of three phases:
- The Passing of Turia takes place in the fall; it is during this time that the herds begin to move north from the southern plains (as the plains are located south of the equator), passing by the city of Turia;
- The Wintering of course occurs during the winter months, north of Turia to the Cartius River, and, at times, crossing the Cartius, swimming bosk and kaiila, floating wagons, etc.; and
- The Return to Turia which takes place in the spring (or as the Wagon Peoples say, the Season of Little Grass).
"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, though the Omen Year is actually a season, rather than a year, which occupies a part of two of their regular years, for the Wagon Peoples calculate the year from the Season of Snows to the Season of Snows; Turians, incidentally, figure the year from summer solstice to summer solstice; Goreans generally, on the other hand, figure the year from vernal equinox to vernal equinox, their new year beginning, like nature's, with the spring; the Omen Year, or season, lasts several months, and consists of three phases, called the Passing of Turia, which takes place in the fall; the Wintering, which takes place north of Turia and commonly south of the Cartius, the equator of course lying to the north in this hemisphere; and the Return to Turia, in the spring, or, as the Wagon Peoples say, in the Season of Little Grass. It is near Turia, in the spring, that the Omen Year is completed, when the omens are taken usually over several days by hundreds of haruspexes, mostly readers of bosk blood and verr livers, to determine if they are favorable for a choosing of a Ubar San, a One Ubar, a Ubar who would be High Ubar, a Ubar of an the Wagons, a Ubar of all the Peoples, one who could lead them as one people." — Nomads of Gor, pages 11-12.
"It is the Omen Year," had said Kamchak of the Tuchuks. The herds would circle Turia, for this was the portion of the Omen Year called the Passing of Turia, in which the Wagon Peoples gather and begin to move toward their winter pastures; the second portion of the Omen Year is the Wintering, which takes place far north of Turia, the equator being approached in this hemisphere, of course, from the south; the third and final portion of the Omen Year is the Return to Turia, which takes place in the spring, or as the Wagon Peoples have it, in the Season of Little Grass. 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 of Gor, page 55.
"I had enjoyed the Wintering, but now it was done. The bosk were moving south with the coming of the spring. I and the wagons would go with them." — Nomads of Gor, page 82.
The winter months are especially fierce on the southern plains, with bitterly cold winds, snow and ice. The bosk, unable to survive in this temperament because of lack of food, serves as the most basic need for migration, and thusly why the wagons follow the bosk.
The winter came fiercely down on the herds some days before expected, with its fierce snows and the long winds that sometimes have swept twenty-five hundred pasangs across the prairies; snow covered the grass, brittle and brown already, and the herds were split into a thousand fragments, each with its own riders, spreading out over the prairie, pawing through the snow, snuffing about, pulling up and chewing at the grass, mostly worthless and frozen. The animals began to die and the keening of women, crying as though the wagons were burning and the Turians upon them, carried over the prairies. Thousands of the Wagon Peoples, free and slave, dug in the snow to find a handful of grass to feed their animals. Wagons had to be abandoned on the prairie, as there was no time to train new bosk to the harness, and the herds must needs keep moving.
At last, seventeen days after the first snows, the edges of the herds began to reach their winter pastures far north of Turia, approaching the equator from the south. Here the snow was little more than a frost that melted in the afternoon sun, and the grass was live and nourishing. Still farther north, another hundred pasangs, there was no snow and the peoples began to sing and once more dance about their fires of bosk dung.
"The bosk are safe," Kamchak had said. I had seen strong men leap from the back of the kaiila and, on their knees, tears in their eyes, kiss the green, living grass. "The bosk are safe," they had cried, and the cry had been taken up by the women and carried from wagon to wagon, "The bosk are safe" This year, perhaps because it was the Omen Year, the Wagon Peoples did not advance farther north than was necessary to ensure the welfare of the herds. They did not, in fact, even cross the western Cartius, far from cities, which they often do, swimming the bosk and kaiila, floating the wagons, the men often crossing on the backs of the swimming bosk. — Nomads of Gor, pages 58-59.
Because the plains of Turia are below the equator, the herds migrate north. Still, the winter months spent in the winter camps are far from balmy and warm. The temperatures can get rather cold, however, what is important is that there is grass for the bosk to eat.
"The Wintering was not unpleasant, although, even so far north, the days and nights were often quite chilly; the Wagon Peoples and their slaves as well, wore boskhide and furs during this time; both male and female, slave or free, wore furred boots and trousers, coats and the flopping, ear-flapped caps that tied under the chin; in this time there was often no way to mark the distinction between the free woman and the slave girl, save that the hair of the latter must needs be unbound; in some cases, of course, the Turian collar was visible, if worn on the outside of the coat, usually under the furred collar; the men, too, free and slave, were dressed similarly, save that the Kajiri, or he-slaves, wore shackles, usually with a run of about a foot of chain." — Nomads of Gor, page 59.
Preparations for migration is a busy time, in which everyone, free and slave alike, participate in securing goods, ensuring the bosk and other animals and the wagons are travel-ready, etc. However, if during the time of the Omen Year, the haruspexes will remain behind to continue with their readings.
"The afternoon among the wagons was a busy one, for they were preparing to move. Already the herds had been eased westward, away from Turia toward Thassa, the distant sea. There was much grooming of wagon bosk, checking of harness and wagons, cutting of meat to be dried hanging from the sides of the moving wagons in the sun and wind. In the morning the wagons, in their long lines, would follow the slowly moving herds away from Turia. Meanwhile the Omen Taking, even with the participation of the Tuchuk haruspexes, continued for the haruspexes of the people would remain behind until even the final readings had been completed." — Nomads of Gor, pages 183-184.
"As we sped high over the prairie I wondered at how it was that Kamchak was withdrawing the wagons and bosk from Turia that he would so soon abandon the siege. Then, in the dawn, we saw the wagons below us, and the bosk beyond them. Already fires had been lit and there was much activity in the camp of the Tuchuks, the cooking, the checking of wagons, the gathering and hitching up of the wagon bosk. This, I knew, was the morning on which the wagons moved away from Turia, toward distant Thassa, the Sea." — Nomads of Gor, page 231.
A Lesson in Geography and Climates
Unless you're a big history and geography buff like me, understanding why the herds move northward rather than south can get a bit confusing. Most of us live in the northern hemisphere on Earth, and we think of migrating as the Canadian geese flying south to warmer climates and old folks hurrying from their homes in New England to the warm pleasures of Florida.
When you live in the southern hemisphere, everything is flipped; it is a mirror-opposite of what we know up here in the northern half. For example, while we're looking outside at the snow on Christmas Day, our friends down under in Australia are unwrapping their gifts in the heat of summer.
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| Figure 1 | Figure 2 |
Let's look at Figure 1. This is a representation of the planet; the red line being that of the equator. If you look to the left, I've created a chart to demonstrate the climate in relation to the equator. If you look, from the equator line, moving north, when you reach the peak, you are at the arctic region, the coldest point in the northern hemisphere. If you look from the equator line and move south, you will eventually come to the sub-arctic (or antarctic) region, the coldest point in the southern hemisphere. The sub-arctic is far colder than the arctic region.
Figure 2 is my rather crude depiction of Gor. I didn't make it pretty or to scale; I simply wanted to demonstrate where the Wagon Peoples are located in relation to other points, and especially to the equator. If you see, Turia also lies far south of the equator. Therefore, when the Wagon Peoples leave the plains south of Turia, they first must pass Turia (the Passing of Turia), before moving north-eastward to the wintering grounds near and sometimes above the Cartius River.
Such is probably relative to the Eastern and Western Steppes of Eurasia in the times of the nomadic tribes such as the Huns, the Avars, the Mongols, et al.
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.