Gorean Slave Brands

It was recommended by Gorean merchant law that all slave girls be branded and collared. This was partly done for purposes of identification and partly also to impress upon the girl that she was now legally an animal, and property. Merchant law recommended various brand sites: the left or right thigh; the lower left abdomen; the left breast; behind the left ear. Of these sites the most popular in the Gorean books, was the left thigh. This scroll we will look at some of the brands described in Gorrean books.

The Kef

By far the most common brand type on Gor was the Kef. One of the descriptions of this brand can be found in Dancer of Gor.

"I had now been branded, a small graceful mark burned into my left thigh, high, under the hip. It had a vertical bar, a rather strict one, with two curling, frondlike extensions, rather near its base, as though in submission to it. It looked a little like a "K" That was mine, There were variations on this theme. Some of the other girls had similar brands, but, in one respect or another somewhat different. There were other sorts of brands, too, but the "K-type" brand was the most common." Book 22: Dancer of Gor pg,66

In the description given we can see that the brand was meant to be attractive and feminine. The brand is also meant to be clean and precise.

"If you knew me not of the metal workers," I asked, "why did you permit me to mark the blond haired slave?" "I wished to see what you would do," he said. "You risked a badly marked thigh on the girl," I said. "The mark was perfect," said Ulafi. "Thus you see," said I, "that I am truly of the metal workers." "No," said Ulafi. "I knew you were not of the metal workers. Thus I saw that you were truly of the warriors." "Should I have blurred the brand?" I asked. "That would have been a shame," said he, smiling. "True," I grinned. All men like a well-marked girl. Book 13: Explorers of Gor pg.85

From this we see that it is important that the girl be well and cleanly marked. The brand will stay on her for the rest of her life and a blurred brand would considerably decrease her value.

It was also meant to suggest that the girl was under discipline. This is made clear by the description given in Dancer of Gor when it talks of the vertical bar with the two curling extensions which were as in submission to it. This could be intrepreted as femaleness being subject to the maleness of the strict vertical bar.

Despite it's attractiveness the Kef brand in all it's variations was the most common brand type on Gor. One of the primary reasons it was given to slaves to make them understand that they were now no more than a common slave girl.

"I have five brands," said the metal worker, "the common Kajira brand, the Dina, the Palm, the mark of Treve, the mark of Port Kar.""We have a common girl to brand," said Ulafi. "Let it be the common Kajira brand." Book13: Explorers of Gor pg.70

Although it is the case that common slaves were normally given the Kef brand it does not automatically follow that girls with any other brand were not common or low slaves.

The Dina

The Dina is another of the common slave brands found upon Gor. It is the brand given to the former Judy Thornton in Slave Girl of Gor.

"....my own brand was the "dina"; the dina is a small, lovely, multiply petaled flower, short-stemmed, and blooming in a turf of green leaves, usually on the slopes of hills, in the northern temperate zones of Gor; in its budding, though in few other ways, it resembles a rose; it is an exotic alien flower; it is also spoken of, in the north, where it grows most frequently, as the slave flower...." Book 11: Slave Girl of Gor pg.61.

This again is described as a very feminine brand. It is a flower with exquisite petals, complementing the feminine beauty of the slave. However, in the north at least, it is a common flower, referred to as the slave flower.

Dina later makes it clear that the brand is not that unusual upon Gor.

"As it became more popular, it was becoming, simultaeneously, of course, a fairly common brand. Girls branded as I was were already spoken of on Gor, rather disparingly as "dinas". Book 11: Slave Girl of Gor pg.63.

Thus the Dina although a little more exotic would still be regarded as the mark of a common slave.

The Brand of the Four Bosk Horns

This is the mark that the Tuchuks use to brand their slaves.

"....the brand of the Tuchuk slave, incidentally.....is the sign of the four bosk horns that of the Tuchuk standard; the brand of the four bosk horns, set in such a manner as to somewhat resemble the letter "H", is only about an inch high....the brand of the four bosk horns, of course, is also used to mark the bosk of the Tuchuks, but there, of course, it is much larger Book 4: Nomads of Gor pg. 62.

Generally this brand would only be found on girls who had, at one time, been properties of the Tuchuks. It is significant that this was also the brand used to mark animals thus reducaing the slave to this status.

The Mark of Treve

This was a brand given to slave girls owned by those of Treve.

"Incised deeply, precisely, in that slim, lovely, now-bared thigh was a startling mark, beautiful, insolent, dramatically marking that beautiful thigh as that which it now could only be, that of a female slave" "It is beautiful," I whispered. ..."It is the first letter, in cursive script, " she said, " of the name of the city of Treve." Book 7: Captive of Gor pg.277.

This, like the Kef is a cursive representation of a letter in the Gorean alphabet. Perhaps, we would imagine that this is a T in shape, perhaps also with a strict vertical bar like the Kef and with the crosspiece being cursive in design. This mark would generally only be found on girls who had been enslaved by those of Treve.

The brand of Torvaldsland

This brand was used by those of Torvaldsland to mark their slaves.

The brand used by Forkbearrd is not uncommon in the north, though there is less uniformity in Torvaldsland on these matters than in the south.... The brand used by the Forkbeard, found rather frequently in the north, consisted of a half circle, with at its right tip, adjoining it, a steep diagonal line. The half circle is about an inch and a quarter in width, and the diagonal line about an inch and a quarter in height. The brand is, like many symbolic. In the north, the bond-maid is sometimes referred to as a woman whose belly lies beneath the sword. Book 9: Marauders of Gor pg.105.

This brand would usually only be found on girls who had at one time been slaves in Torvaldsland. The symbolic nature of it again emphasises the slave's vulnerability and femininity.

The Taharic slave mark

This brand was used by those of the Tahari to brand their slaves.

"The contact surface of the iron would be formed into the Taharic character 'Kef' ...Taharic is a very graceful script. It makes no distinctions between capital and small letters and little distinction between printed and cursive script.....The initial printed letter of 'Kajira', rather than the cursive letter, as generally, is used as the common brand for women in the Tahari. Both the cursive letter in common Gorean and the printed letter in Taharic are rather lovely, both being somewhat floral in appearance. Book 10: Tribesmen of Gor pg.148.

This may be seen as a regional variation of the Kef. It would generally only be found on girls who has served in the Tahari. The emphasis again is on femininity and attractivess.

Penalty Brands

These were brands used as a punishment to the slave girl.

"Sometimes, too," she said,"a girl may be branded as a punishment, and to warn others against her." I looked at her puzzled. "Penalty brands," she said. "They are tiny, but clearly visible. There are various such brands. There is one for lying, and another for stealing." Book 7: Captive of Gor pg.277.

This is the only time in the books that these are mentioned apart from when Elinor receives them later in this book. This may be because Elinor, is the most difficult and rebellious slave in the whole series.We can see how penalty brands would have a deterrent effect, in that the punishment would be very painful and the brands would remain forever marking the girl as a thief and a liar.

As was stated, we attempted in this section to describe the main brands found in the Gor books. Some may have been lefted out inadvertantly. Branding is illegal in the several countries, however this section will act as inspiration to those who wish to be marked in some other way. The descriptions could be adapted to designs for tatoos for example, or if permitted, an actual slave brand, which is the ultimate form of showing that a slave is owned and should not be taken lightly.