Sailing Ceremony:
When a ship of Por Kar begins its journey upon the waters the captain performs a short ceremony. He gathers wine oil and salt and just before they cast of he says Ta-Sardor-Gor, Ta-Thassa. "To the Priest-Kings and to the sea" he then slowly pours the wine and oil and salt into the waters.
in Torvaldsland They do this a little differently.....*grin*... They drink the wine, use the oil to protect Thier Blades and ignore the salt..... the common words spoken are more along the lines of "Lookout Gor, The Men of the North are out to Raid"
Disownment Ceremony:
A parent, who is of same Caste places His/Her had on the hilt of his sword or symbol of Their Caste, the other hand is placed on the symbol of the city or homestone of the family and says the words "This person is disowned and no longer a member of our family or caste." The person named is then without family or caste.
in Torvaldsland they usually just Kill the Urt and go Raiding.* grin*
Funeral Ceremony:
The common ceremony of a warrior is one where a pyre is built by his friends and caste members of ka-la-na wood, which are trimmed and squared. The pyre takes the form of a structured, tiered, truncated pyramid. Free women then carry jars of perfumed oils and sprinkle it on the pyre. The body of the Warrior is borne on the shoulders of 4 Warriors, on crossed spears, lashed together. The body is wrapped in scarlet leather. The funeral procession follows, they do not chant, or sing, or carry the boughs of ka-la-na nor play an musical instrument. At such times Goreans do not sing or speak, they are silent, for at such times words mean nothing, and would demean or insult. For Goreans there is only silence, memory and fire. A family member or one who was close to the person lights the pyre.
In Torvaldsland the body is Placed in His Ship will all things he will need in the next life around him, and launched out to sea. Each person present may be given the opportunity to say a few words. The great horns on the cliffs are blown while the flaming arrows are shot to the ship to start it burning. They wake up Thor and Odin to receive a new warrior to Valhalla. The Warrior's favorite slave or his FC may accompany him on the journey. She is tied to the mast, and the first arrow will pierce her heart before the flaming ones are shot to set the ship burning.
Looking Into The Blood - a Gorean Ritual:
After killing a foe or beast the victor drinks a mouthful of the victims blood then....."One looks into the blood in one's cupped hands. It is said that if one sees one's visage black and wasted one will die of disease, if one sees oneself torn and scarlet one will die in battle, if one sees oneself old and white haired, one will die in peace and leave children."
Friendship Ritual:
The two men shake hands, greeting each other as Friend and then taste the salt from the back of each others hand.
The Branding Ceremony:
The Master secures the slave in the branding rack (shaped rather like an X-shaped table, with either snap-bracelets (manacles) for her wrists and ankles at the ends of the X, or metal rings set into the wood so her wrists and ankles might be secured with binding fiber.
A removable vise-like clamp fitted with spinning twist handles to adjust the tension can be attached to the left leg platform, to hold the slave's left thigh motionless during the actual branding.
The Master holds up the heated branding iron, white hot, for the slave to see and says, "You will soon be branded, girl."
When the brand is ready, he holds it above here left thigh and says, "You are now to be branded, slave girl."
He then brands the slave, pressing it firmly into her skin for five full Ihn (seconds), then swiftly and cleanly removes it.
He examines the mark closely, hoping that it was clean and deep enough to create an excellent brand.
It is common Gorean practice to allow the slave the luxury of screaming, since it is in effect her final act as free person. Sometimes assistants are standing by with small vials of oil and salve, which they then dab onto the brand to reduce chance of infection and promote faster healing.
The Master then frees the slave from the rack.
in Torvaldsland there are many times when no rack is available so in that case any firm object, normally a great peeled log, will serve to bend a girl over, and another man (Free or thrall) will hold her steady.....the main thing is to get a clear and clean brand for to mar a girls skin with a smudged or poorly done brand says alot about Him that holds the iron...
The Kajirus Brand:
Block Letter in Gorean script of the inital of Kajirus.
The Kajira Brand:
Cursive Letter in Gorean script of the initial of Kajira.
Alternate Kajira Brand:
Cursive Letter in Gorean script of the inital of Sa-Fora which means, literally,
Chain Daughter.
Some cities, such as Treve, have their own brands. And some Masters will brand a girl with Their initials or a special Mark....for a look at some of the Brands click here
there are also two other Brands of importance on Gor..... The Merchant Brand and the Thieves Brand...
the Thieves brand
a tiny, three-pronged black tattoo/brand visible on their
cheekbone
.....to see these Brands click here
Brands of the Wagon Peoples
each of the 4 tribes of wagon People has a seperate and distinct brand as
well....
to see these Brands click here
FC Ceremony:
The planet of Gor does not have marriage, but has Free companionship. Its the signing of a contract, between a Free Man and Free Woman, for the duration of one year. If, at the end of that time, both parties wish to continue, the contract is renewed.
For a Free Woman, realize that you are now under your FC. You have entrusted him to protect you now. He will take care of you. But you also lose some of the freedom you have acquired, as he is Your FC. His word does become your law. An FC can be chained to the end of the bed, usually the Free Woman is the one chained there. When you have found the one you feel you want to FC with, there is normally an announcement made, in the room, that you are commencing to court. During that time, really get to know your partner. There is no set time limit for courting, as it is between the two of you. When you both decide this is what you want, then go to the bride to Be's Father, brother or Ubar/Jarl he will set a bride price that Must be fullfilled, when this is done you will announce a date for the ceremony.
Below is a sample contract feel free to add, delete, change wording as it fits your needs. This is ONLY a sample, a guideline. After you make your contracts, then you need to make your ceremony preparations. You need someone to Officiate it, decide if anyone is standing with you, who is walking the Free Woman to the Free Man, what type of ceremony you want. There are three examples of ceremonies, which you may choose to use or you may design your own, keeping in mind that the MOST important part is the signing of the contracts.
[insert your name and homestone]
Signed this day[insert date]
.These are guides only, Each Person should adapt the Ceremony to Fit those involved and the place where the Ceremony takes Place
In looking at actual Norse ceremonies of marriage, they are very close to what was just written. The difference being that the Man hands over the keys to the Woman, keys to his property and money boxes for her to take care of. Norse marriages are not for "one year", they are for keeps. It will be up to the individuals whether or not they wish to go for the "1 year" or the "for keeps". As always, the collaring of one or both of the partners nullifies the marriage, as does death.