Merchants and Conquests

Merchant caravans are often found making their way along highways and roads, traveling from city to city, township to township, selling their wares. However, caravans normally do not tread upon the southern plains because of the threat of the fierce Wagon Peoples. There are circumstances, however, which do allow for some Merchants to visit the Wagon Peoples.

"No caravans, to my knowledge, make their way to the Wagon Peoples, who are largely isolated and have their own way of life." — Nomads of Gor, page 4 (footnote).

This may be so, but look at some of the precious and rare items found in the wagon camps of the Wagon Peoples:

"About Kutaituchik there were piled various goods, mostly vessels of precious metal and strings and piles of jewels; there was silks there from Tyros; silver from Thentis and Tharna; tapestries from the mills of Ar; wines from Cos; dates from the city of Tor. There were also, among the other goods, two girls, blonde and blue-eyed, unclothed, chained; they had perhaps been a gift to Kutaituchik; or had been the daughters of enemies; they might have been from any city…" — Nomads of Gor, page 42.

"This afternoon Kamchak and I, leading four pack kaiila, had entered the first gate of nine-gated Turia. On the pack animals were strapped boxes of precious plate, gems, silver vessels, tangles of jewelry, mirrors, rings, combs, and golden tarn disks, stamped with the signs of a dozen cities." — Nomads of Gor, page 87.

As said earlier, there are those occasions when peddlers, merchants, musicians, haruspexes, soothsayers and such are permitted by the Wagon Peoples to enter the wagon cities. The Wagon Peoples crave certain goods such can provide to them. However, each of these peoples, the peddlers, the merchants, the singers and musicians, the haruspexes, the soothsayers, were all required to wear a tiny brand on their forearm, which is known as the acceptance brand.

Note: I've seen this incorrectly notated on an "official" site as a passage brand. In the books, however, it is specifically called an acceptance brand.

"We suddenly emerged into the center of what seemed to be a wide, grassy street among the wagons, a wide lane, open and level, an avenue in that city of Harigga, or Bosk Wagons. The street was lined by throngs of Tuchuks and slaves. Among them, too, were soothsayers and haruspexes, and singers and musicians, and, here and there, small peddlers and merchants, of various cities, for such are occasionally permitted by the Tuchuks, who crave their wares, to approach the wagons. Each of these, I was later to learn, wore on his forearm a tiny brand, in the form of spreading bosk horns, which guaranteed his passage, at certain seasons, across the plains of the Wagon Peoples. The difficulty, of course is in first obtaining the brand. If, in the case of a singer, the song is rejected, or in the case of a merchant, his merchandise is rejected, he is slain out of hand. This acceptance brand, of course, carries with it a certain stain of ignominy, suggesting that those who approach the wagons do as slaves." — Nomads of Gor, pages 34-35.

Trade Among the Peoples

Naturally, there is much trading and haggling amongst the Wagon Peoples themselves, such as in the purchase of a beast, the mating of beasts, and the purchasing of weapons. Wagon Peoples do not have any sort of manufacturing industry, it must be noted, and therefore they do not make their own weapons. Such comes from cities such as Ar.

He did not buy the kaiila near the wagon of Yachi of the Leather Workers though it was apparently a splendid beast. At one point, he wrapped a heavy fur and leather robe-about his left arm and struck the beast suddenly on the snout with his right hand. It had not struck back at him swiftly enough to please him, and there were only four needlelike scratches in the arm guard before Kamchak had managed to leap back and the kaiila, lunging against its chain, was snapping at him. "Such a slow beast," said Kamchak, "might in battle cost a man his life." I supposed it true. The kaiila and its master fight in battle as one unit, seemingly a single savage animal, armed with teeth and lance. — 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.

Foreign Policy

We learn that the Wagon Peoples trade among the peoples of Turia, and are known to venture into the city for such purposes. Turians, it seems, are not so concerned with the presence of the Wagon Peoples within their city walls. However, should a Turian face one of the Wagon Peoples outside the safety net of their walls, that is another thing altogether.

"We did not attract as much attention as I had thought we would, and I gathered that every spring, at least, visitors from the Wagon Peoples must come to the city. Many people scarcely glanced at us, in spite of the fact that we were theoretically blood foes." — Nomads of Gor, pages 87-88.

"I suppose that life in high-walled Turia, for most of its citizens, went on from day to day in its usual patterns oblivious of the usually distant Wagon Peoples. The city had never fallen, and had not been under siege in more than a century. The average citizen worried about the Wagon Peoples, customarily, only when he was outside the walls. Then, of course, he worried a great deal, and, I grant him, wisely." — Nomads of Gor, page 88.

"This afternoon Kamchak and I, leading four pack kaiila, had entered the first gate of nine-gated Turia. On the pack animals were strapped boxes of precious plate, gems, silver vessels, tangles of jewelry, mirrors, rings, combs, and golden tarn disks, stamped with the signs of a dozen cities. These were brought as gifts to the Turians, largely as a rather insolent gesture on the part of the Wagon Peoples, indicating how little they cared for such things, that they would give them to Turians. Turian embassies to the Wagon Peoples, when they occurred, naturally strove to equal or surpass these gifts. Kamchak told me, a sort of secret I gather, that some of the things he carried had been exchanged back and forth a dozen times." — Nomads of Gor, page 87.

We do learn that trade between the Wagon Peoples and Turia does occasionally take place. The two could not truly exist without the other, the Wagon Peoples providing goods made from the bosk to the Turians, and the Wagon Peoples obtaining such things as metal and cloth. However, it must be noted of the two things that the Wagon Peoples do not trade — the living bosk and the girls of Turia.

"I had learned, to my surprise, that trade did occasionally take place with Turia… The Wagon Peoples, though enemies of Turia, needed and wanted her goods, in particular materials of metal and cloth, which are highly prized among the Wagons. Indeed, even the chains and collars of slave girls, worn often by captive Turian girls themselves, are of Turian origin. The Turians, on the other hand, take factor or trade in trade for their goods obtained by manufacture or trade with other cities principally the horn and hide of the bosk, which naturally the Wagon Peoples, who live on the bosk, have in plenty. 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, customarily plainer ones they do not wish to keep for themselves; prettier wenches, to their dismay, are usually kept with the wagons; some of the plainer women are sold for as little as a brass cup; a really beautiful girl, particularly if of free birth and high caste, might bring as much as forty pieces of gold; such are, however, seldom sold; the Wagon Peoples enjoy being served by civilized slaves of great beauty and high station; during the day, in the heat and dust, such girls will care for the wagon bosk and gather fuel for the dung fires; at night they will please their masters. The Wagon Peoples sometimes are also willing to barter silks to the Turians, but commonly they keep these for their own slave girls, who wear them in the secrecy of the wagons… It might be added that there are two items which the Wagon Peoples will not sell or trade to Turia, one is a living bosk and the other is a girl from the city itself, though the latter are sometimes, for the sport of the young men, allowed, as it is said, to run for the city. They are then hunted from the back of the kaiila with bola and thongs." — Nomads of Gor, pages 57-58.

So how do the Wagon Peoples come by all these precious goods, things such as foods and cloth from other parts of the world? Singly, from Turia? Or from other sources? We do learn that indeed, the peoples, at least the men, of the Wagon Peoples venture far from there home, and are known to attend the Great Fairs. Most undoubtedly, they participate in bartering and purchase of goods.

"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.

Apparently, just as a bidder at an auction has specific signals to the auctioneer, the Tuchuk has his patented "trading shrug."

"Kamchak shrugged, his wily Tuchuk trading shrug. I had seen him use it several times while discussing the possible sale of little Tenchika to Albrecht in the wagon." — Nomads of Gor, page 92.

 

 

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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.