Master and Mistress: Given or Earned?

 This topic came up in a private conversation with two mainstream BDSM friends. They say that in BDSM, at least in general terms, the title of ‘Sir’, ‘Master’, ‘Ma’am’ and ‘Mistress’ (amongst others) are earned through getting a name for yourself in the community, being around a while, and gaining the respect and trust of submissives/slaves who then ‘vouch’ (for want of a better word) for the dominant amongst their friends.

I tried to explain that the Gorean lifestyle is rather different, as anyone (theoretically) can come into the lifestyle and from the get-go can expect to be called ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’, it is only when they prove to or show other dominants that they do not hold the majority of Gorean traits (that is, traits like honesty, integrity, and honour) that the title is removed (at the command of the master) and the ‘respect’ begins to waver.

I could have been trying to explain nuclear physics to an three-year old (no offense to my friends!) but it just went way over their heads as it’s not what they’re used to, because what the lifestyle they’ve chosen preaches is the complete opposite.

So, it got me thinking... Goreans don’t ‘earn’ their titles, they just ‘have’ them. Why?   

Well, the easy answer is “because the books say so”, but unfortunately the simple ‘get-out clause’ has never been enough to satisfy my curiosity. I’m not about to follow every word written in a Gor book purely because it’s there – it has to make sense... otherwise I would be climbing Everest looking for Priest-Kings and hanging whole cows on the roof for the passing tarns.

So *why* do the books say so? The logical conclusion I found was because the Gorean culture is based on a hierarchy system, everything has its place and knows its place in relation to everything else. To show, and illustrate clearly, the difference between free and slave there are a lot of factors – the brand on the slave, the robes of the free woman, the wearing of earrings, sandals, and the like. And so the titles of ‘Master’ and ‘Mistress’ are just another way to illustrate the difference between free and slave.

By this definition, of course every free person should be called ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’, because it is not a title of accomplishment or something that is ‘earned’. It is merely a verbal indication of the relationship between two individuals. It serves to ensure a slave is always remembers who and what she is within the dynamic - not only her own relationship, but the dynamic between herself and anyone who identifies with the Gorean lifestyle.

But does this really compute with our Earth upbringings? It works fine in a fantasy book, sure.. but does it work in our lives? I know when I’m using the term ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’ I’m always far more aware of my collar and my position than if I was using ‘legal’ names, and in a world which doesn’t recognise my slavery, it is always nice to have that added reminder and reassurance.

Of course it isn’t compatible in the sense that I cannot go around calling everyone ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress’, it isn’t socially acceptable or normal to do so and I would get some strange looks in the supermarket! However, within the Gorean communities (that is, around those who are Gorean) it is completely compatible in my view. I call my master ‘Master’ in the supermarket, in a restaurant, even around his work friends – and no-one has batted an eyelid at it. As I often say, people are too caught up in their own world to care what I, or anyone else for that matter, do.

I suppose in some ways the Gorean term ‘Master’ is like ‘kajira’. I spent nearly two years with my Master before I became comfortable using that title – and even then it was after a long discussion with my Master about its meaning and it’s usage. But theoretically (‘by-the-books’) someone could come into the lifestyle now, having not known a thing about it – and use the same title as people who have been around for years and years and are knowledgeable about the lifestyle.

Is this fair? I’m reminded of the saying ‘Gor isn’t fair’, and ‘life isn’t fair’. But I’m also reminded that Gor isn’t BDSM – and trying to put BDSM or even vanilla values on the Gorean ethos is like trying to get the square peg into the round hole... It might work eventually.. but it isn’t going to be precise, or exact.

I wish you well,

kamira.

Historical References?

Greetings,

After making a couple of posts about the historical references used in the Gorean series, I thought it would be something to post here.

The problem I have is that so many people are so quick to judge the Gorean lifestyle as ‘pure fantasy’, even some of my friends who have great interest in history and classical studies dismiss Gor as ‘bad science-fiction’... Well, I want to quash some of those ideas, and replace them with some truths.

I will try to write this post in ‘basic’ terms, that is, that not a lot of background knowledge is needed other than what I supply here. This is because everyone has a different level of historical knowledge, and I don’t want this to go over anyone’s head. If you do miss something, or have any questions – as always, feel free to contact me via CM or Fetlife.

The issue is there is so much to write about, where to start? Where to end?!

~

Okay, let me do the logical thing and start at the beginning. The basics. John Norman wrote a series of books called the Gorean saga, this was set mainly on a world known as ‘Gor’ or ‘Counter-Earth’.

“As he spoke, my father often referred to the planet Gor as the Counter-Earth, taking the name from the writings of the Pythagoreans who had first speculated on the existence of such a body.” – Tarnsman, Pg. 16

“Oddly enough, one of the expressions in the tongue of Gor for our sun was Lar-Torvis, which means The Central Fire, another Pythagorean expression, except that it had not been, as I understand it, originally used by the Pythagoreans to refer to the sun but to another body.” – Tarnsman, Pg. 16

The Historical Facts: Pythagoras of Samos was (as expected) born in Samos in 569BC, and is best known as a mathematician. His ‘followers’ were dubbed ‘Pythagoreans,’ and it was considered a very secretive group of people. One of the few things known about the Pythagoreans is their idea of a ‘counter-Earth’. Being mathematicians, Pythagoreans decided everything could be factored down into the numbers one, two, three and four; added together, they make ten. The idea that ‘ten’ was the ‘perfect’ number is the basis for most of the Pythagorean theories.

They believed there had to be ten ‘bodies’ in the sky – but they could only find and see nine. This gave birth to the theory of a ‘counter-Earth’. The answer? An equal but opposite of our Earth, a ‘balance’ to counteract the Earths movement in the grand scheme of things (much like one must put two identical weights on a scale to make them balance, the Earth must have its own ‘counter weight’).

This is supported by the mention in Tarnsman of Gor of the ‘Sun Shield’ (the reason we cannot see the counter Earth), another part of the Pythagorean theory.  The Sun Shield was also dubbed the ‘Central Fire’.

So, the term ‘Gor’ and ‘Gorean’ come from the terms ‘PythaGORas’ and ‘PythaGOREANs’. And the ideal of a ‘counter-Earth’ stems from the theories of these mysterious Greek mathematicians and philosophers.

 

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The story starts; Tarl Cabot(of Bristol) finds a letter, and boards a spacecraft which whisks him away to a ‘new’ world where he meets his father, Matthew Cabot

**The Historical Facts:** John Cabot was an Italian, born in 1451 that moved to England to start his career as an ‘explorer’. This meant he flew under the English Flag and with the permission of the English Monarchy.

In 1497, John Cabot, who is often mistaken for Christopher Columbus, was the captain of the first ship (after the Vikings) to ‘discover the new world’: America (North America), purely by accident as he was actually trying to find a western route to Asia, like many of his fellow explorers.

This voyage led him from his home port of Bristol, England, with just a single ship and only a handful of crew. The relatively light and agile ship was called ‘The Matthew’.

Although the location of the landing of The Matthew in America is widely debated, it is stated by the Canadian and British governments that the location was “Cape Bonavista”, Newfoundland.

John Cabot’s son, Sebastian Cabot, made a similar voyage in 1508. But it is unclear as to whether he was following his father’s voyage, or looking for another location (perhaps the North-West passage).

I don’t know of any historical references for the name ‘Tarl’, so if anyone knows any, I’d be interested to hear about it.

 

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The ‘Gods’ of Gor are the Priest-Kings. In the books they are giant bug-like creatures which lead many to believe they have no historical influence. However...

**The Historical Facts:** The term ‘Priest-King’ appears to have come from about 3500 B.C. and from the Sumerian city-states.The Sumerian cities were run by priests, as the general view was that the land was actually ‘owned’ by the Gods and Goddesses and the priests spoke for those Gods and Goddesses and how they wanted the land divided or used by the people. It was considered ‘only right’ that the people who could speak to the Gods should be able to rule. They were called the ‘Ensi’ (which, given my limited reading, I presume to mean ‘Priest’ of some sort).

These ‘Ensi’ were assisted by a council of free men (normally the elders of the city), much like the Ubar of a city has his assistants in the Gorean novels.

During times of war, the Ensi were replaced by a military leader. Many military leaders were known as ‘Lugal’, and after periods of war, some military leaders didn’t return power to the priests and became kings. They were then referred to as ‘Ensi-Lugal’, kings, military leaders and religious leaders.

The Priest-Kings on Gor were also kings, military leaders and religious leaders. They were the kings of Gor. They were often prayed to before and after wars or skirmishes which leads me to believe they were considered to have some kind of influence over military movement and campaigns, and they were considered the ‘Gods’ of Gor, the religious head of Gor almost universally (minus the few number of people who were Sun worshippers, as mentioned in Tarnsman of Gor)

 

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Of course, this is just the first part of the first book only three small points (!), the amount of references and obscure links to our own history in the entire series can only truly be found by being John Norman, or reading the books repeatedly.

I won’t be going into such detail with every book, as I don’t know enough about history to do it justice and I’ve been told it would be more of a ‘shortcut’ for those who are wanting a ‘quick way’ into the Gorean lifestyle.

So my best advice is to read the books, and see what connections you, yourself, make. And when you do, I’d be interested (curious) to hear about the links you’ve made.

                I wish you well,

kamira.