- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 47
The Sardar Fairs are great gathering points of Gorean culture. Held in the shadow of the mountain range for which they are named, and dedicated to the Priest-Kings of Gor that are said to dwell within those mysterious peaks, the Fairs are a combination of religious rite, epic trade market, a gathering point for intellectuals, planet-wide athletic tournament, and multi-national/cultural summit.
Travelers and caravans from all parts of Gor converge on this spot during the Fair season. Here people from many cities and cultures, even those normally at war, put aside their differences in both respect for the Priest-Kings whom the Fairs honor, and to allow the opportunity for the "international" exchange of trade and knowledge, and the chance for negotiations and treaties between cities to occur. Pilgrims seeking to fulfill their obligatory religious visit to the Sardar, also often choose this time for such a trek, with great gatherings of young people arriving to present themselves before the mountains of the Priest-Kings.
Merchant organization and activity at the Fairs is said to be paralleled only by that of the greatest trade districts of Ar. The volume of trade and transaction, coupled with the unique nature of the event, make the Fairs a center point of Gorean world economy, and the Merchants Caste take great care to insure that all within it runs well. Merchant Law rules the event itself, and city's violating this can easily find themselves banned from the next such event. Such gives the Merchants a good bit of power and control both at the Fairs and at home, especially regarding the smooth and organized traffic of trade, in the face of government.
"The markets of the Sardar fairs are large and important ones in the Gorean economy."
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 56
"The fairs incidentally are governed by Merchant Law and supported by booth rents and taxes levied on the items exchanged. The commercial facilities of these fairs, from money changing to general banking, are the finest I know of on Gor, save those in Ar's Street of Coins, and letters of credit are accepted and loans negotaited, though often at usurious rates, with what seems reckless indifference. Yet perhaps this is not so puzzling, for the Gorean cities will, within their own walls, enforce the Merchant Law when pertinent, even against their own citizens. If they did not, of course, the fairs would be closed to the citizens of that city."
- PRIEST-KINGS OF GOR, Pg. 11
Arguments between peoples are also often settled at the Fairs, through bloodless contest, with the decision of the point in question held on the line. These contests take the form most often of feats of ability and skill, be they athletic or artistic performance. Physical events that require any sort of direct contact are held in an area set outside the Fair grounds, as it goes against both the general Merchant Law, and Religious Law said to be placed by the Priest Kings themselves, to spill blood in any manner at the actual Fair. In keeping with this, weapons are never directly used in contests at this time, even off the grounds, with such feats as wrestling, and even then without the use of any deadly or dangerous holds, being the extent of such things.
"The contests at the fairs, however, I am pleased to say, offer nothing more dangerous than wrestling, with no holds to the death permitted. Most of the contests involve such things as racing, feats of strength, and skill with bow and spear. Other contests of interest pit choruses and poets and players of various cities against one another in the several theaters of the fair."
- PRIEST-KINGS OF GOR, Pg. 11 - 12
Contests other then those of a physical nature also abound. Scribes for example meet in great forums of debate, challenging one another over ideas and standing to defend their beliefs. Perhaps what is often spoken of the most, is the great tournaments of Kaissa which are held. These events attract some of the greatest Players to be found on Gor, and with them, crowds of enthusiasts, and in turn gamblers. Great stakes are set on these games, with wagers placed with merchants in the public tents that surround the location of the event. Legendary matches are often spoken of with awe filled pride by those having witnessed them, the moves of the game becoming known throughout Gor.
"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 of 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 then inanimate metals and cloths to rewards their vicious labors."
- PRIEST-KINGS OF GOR, Pg. 12
The collaring of slaves is also forbidden on the actual Fair grounds, though the sale of those already slave may occur, and does on a grand scale. In this way, the camp provides a sort of safe haven from the ministrations of slaver's, though being far from a gentle place. Fair events involving the collaring of slaves occur on the same outside ground that is set for more contests requiring physical contact, and the roads leading to the Sardar are often busy with the business of slave raiders and brigands.
"This pilgrimage to the Sardar, enjoined by the Priest - Kings according to the Caste of Initiates, undoubtedly plays its role in the distribution of beauty among 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 tharlarion 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, Pg. 12 - 13
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 then 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."
- PRIEST-KINGS OF GOR, Pg. 12 - 13
"The contest takes place in an area outside the perimeters of the great fair, for in it slaves are made. The area is enclosed by a low wooden wall, and spectators observe."
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 41
Great tents and pavilions are set up for those arriving, with space rented within these public structures to those needing shelter, or land provided for a fee to those wishing to erect their own camps. The sum of this all creates a sort of temporary tent city, in which great sprawling, platform raised markets, open air forums and amphitheaters, and winding avenues lined with tent taverns, hostels, kitchens and stores, blend together over an area covering several square pasangs. This is all set before a great, brassbound timber gate of black temwood, which leads up into the Sardar itself, and by a narrow path, to what is said to be the sanctuary of the Priest-Kings themselves.
The Sardar Fairs are known throughout Gor, and are occasions of prime importance and interest that a year's events are often planned around. Four such Fairs occur annually, each marking a season of the Gorean year - En'Kara around the month of the Vernal Equinox, En`Var around the month of the Summer Solstice, Se`Kara around the month of the Fall Equinox, and Se`Var around the month of the Winter Solstice.
"Indeed, one might buy slaves here and there, publicly and privately, at many places in the Fair of En'Kara, one of the four great annual fairs at the Sardar. It is not permitted to fight, or kill, or enslave within the perimeters of the fairs, but there is no prohibition against the buying and selling of merchandise within those precincts; indeed, one of the main functions of the fairs, if not their main function, was to facilitate the buying and selling of goods; the slave, of course, is goods. The fairs, too, however, have many other functions. For example, they serve as a scene of caste conventions, and as loci for the sharing of discoveries and research. It is here, for example, that physicians, and builders and artisans may meet and exchange ideas and techniques. It is here that Merchant Law is drafted and stabilized. It is here that songs are performed, and song dramas. Poets and musicians, and jugglers and magicians, vie for the attention of the crowds. Here one finds peddlers and great merchants. Some sell trinkets and others the notes of cities. It is here that the Gorean language tends to become standardized. These fairs constitute truce grounds. Men of warring cities may meet here without fear. Political negotiation and intrigue are rampant, too, generally secretly so, at the fairs. Peace and war, and arrangements and treaties, are not unoften determined in a pavilion within the precincts of the fairs. 'The nearest,' I told the fellow from Torvaldsland, pointing down a corridor between pavilions and booths, 'lies some quarter of a pasang in that direction, beyond the booths of the rug merchants. The largest, on the other hand, the platforms of slave exhibition and the great sales pavilion, lie to your left, two pasangs away, beyond the smithies and the chain shops.'
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 44
"I would stay in one of the public tents tonight. For five copper tarsks one may rent furs and a place in the tent. It is expensive, but it is, after all, En'Kara and the time of the fair. In such tents it is not unusual for peasants to lie crowded, side by side, with captains and merchants. During En'Kara, at the Fair, many of the distinctions among men and castes are forgotten. Unfortunately meals are not served in the tents. For the price it seems one should banquet. This lack, however, is supplied by numerous public kitchens and tables. These are scattered throughout the district of the fair. Also there are vendors. I took my place at the end of one of the long lines, that which I conjectured to be the shortest. There are some compensations in the public tents, however. One may ahve paga and wine there. These are served by slave girls, whose comforts and uses are also included within the price of lodgings."
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 50 - 51