*The actual number of brands on Gor is unknown due to Master specific brands and ever-changing fashion but below are the Known listed brands.*

Beyond this, there exists on Gor a variety of brands for women, though the Kajira brand, which Eta wore, is by far the most common. Some merchants invent brands, as the dina was invented, in order to freshen the nature of their merchandise and stimulate sales. Collectors, for example, those who are rich, sometimes collect exotic brands, much as collectors on Earth might collect stamps or coins, populating their pleasure gardens not only with girls who are beautiful but diversely marked. There are, of course, men who buy for brands. To meet this market various brands are developed and utilized. The "slave flower" brand was a natural development. Slave Girl of Gor pages 62 - 63

The Common Kajirus Brand

also known as

*The Kajirus Brand*

*The Cursive Kef*

Book 14 page 118

The brazier, fierce with heat, stood not two yards away from Marlenus of AR. Its coals were poked and stirred with one of the metal bars. Then one of the men of Tyros lifted the iron, glowing redly, from the fire. Its marking surface, its termination soft and red in the night, was in the form of a large, block letter in Gorean script, the initial of Kajirus, a common Gorean expression for a male slave. Hunters of Gor page 194

The Common Kajira Brand

also known as

*staff and fronds*

Book 14 page 96

*The Kajira mark*

Book 14 page 186, Book 15 page 103

*The Cursive Kef*

Book 14 page 96

“The man, placing heavy gloves on his hands, withdrew from the brazier a slave iron. Its tip was a figure some inch and a half high, the first letter in the cursive script, in the Gorean alphabet, of the expression Kajira. It is a beautiful letter.”
Hunters of Gor page 51

“I resisted the impulse to trace lightly in the palm of her left hand a small cursive "Kef,' the staff and fronds, that letter used commonly in the branding of female slaves.” Fighting Slave of Gor page 96

“My brand, she said, ?is the common Kajira mark. I hope it pleases Master. I regarded it, the staff and fronds, delicate and incisive, beauty subject to discipline.” Rogue of Gor page 204

The Sa-Fora Brand

also known as

*Chain Daughter*

Book 8 page 194

“Another common expression for a female slave, is incidentally, the initial of which, in cursive script, is sometimes used to mark a girl, is Sa-Fora, which means, rather literally, Chain Daughter.” Hunters of Gor page 194

The Dina

also known as

*the slave flower brand*

Book 11 page 52, Book 23 page 436

“I had seen the design at the tip of the iron. It was a small flower, stylized; it was circular, about an inch and a half in diameter; it was not unlike a small rose; it was incredibly lovely and delicate.”
Slave Girl of Gor, p. 52

“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 and exotic, alien flower; it is also spoken of, in the north, where it grows most frequently, as the slave flower; it was burned into my flesh; in the south, below the Gorean equator, where the flower is much more rare, it is prized more highly.”
Slave Girl of Gor, page 61

“But perhaps the dina is spoken of as the slave flower merely because, in the north, it is, though delicate and beautiful, a reasonably common, unimportant flower; it is also easily plucked, being defenseless, and can be easily crushed, overwhelmed and, if one wishes, discarded.” Slave Girl of Gor page 62

The Northern Standard

also known as

*The Belly beneath the sword*

Book 9 page 87

Described as a half circle about an inch and a quarter in width, adjoined at it's right tip by a steep, diagonal line an inch and a quarter in height. In the north, the bond-maid is referred to as a woman whose belly lies beneath the sword.”
Marauders of Gor page 87

“The brand used by Forkbeard is not uncommon in the North, though there is less uniformity in Torvaldsland on these matters than in the South, where the merchant caste, with its recommendations for standardization, is more powerful. All over Gor, of course, the slave girl is a familiar commodity. 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 height. The brand is, like many, symbolic. In the north, the bond-maid is sometimes referred to as a women whose belly lies beneath the sword.”
Marauders of Gor page 87

The Tahari Brand

also known as

*Taharic slave mark*

Book 10 page 337

The initial printed letter of 'Kajira', rather than the cursive letter, as generally, issued as the common brand of 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.” Tribesman Of Gor page 148 - 149

“I had little doubt that it would be the Tahari brand which, white hot, would be pressed into the thigh of the new slave, marking her thenceforth as merchandise. The contact surface of the iron would be formed into the Taharic character 'Kef', which, in Taharic, is the initial letter of the expression 'Kajira', the most common expression in Gorean for a female slave.” Tribesmen of Gor page 148

Knife Brand

Rather like a tattoo, an appropriate design is cut into the thigh of a slave and a colored powder is rubbed into it.”
Explorers of Gor page 330

“He then placed his torch in an iron rack, projecting from the wall. On an iron table, to the right of the rack, there was a flat box. ?Lie on your right side, exposing your left thigh,? he said. ?Yes, Master,? I said. From the box he then took a small, curved knife and a tiny, cylindrical leather flask. I gritted my teeth, but made no sound. With the small knife he gashed my left thigh, making upon it a small, strange design. He then took a powder, orange in color, from the flask and rubbed it into the wound.” Explorers of Gor page 330

The Wagon Peoples

“The Wagon Peoples, too, each have an individual brand for their female slaves.?” Hunters Of Gor page 194

The Tuchuk Standard

“I supposed that on the morrow Kamchak would call for the Tuchuk Iron Master, to brand what he called his little barbarian; the brand of the Tuchuk slave, incidentally, is not the same as that generally used in the cities. Which for girls, is the first letter of the expression Kajira in cursive script. but 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 common Gorean brand, on the other hand, is usually an inch and a half to two inches 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, forming roughly a six-inch square...”
Nomads of Gor page 62

Kassar Standard

“The standard of the Kassars is that of a scarlet, three-weighted bola, which hangs from a lance; the symbolic representation of a bola, three circles joined at the center by lines, is used to mark their bosk and slaves.”
Nomads of Gor page 106

Kataii Standard

“...the standard of the Kataii is a yellow bow, bound across a black lance; their brand is also that of a bow, facing to the left .”
Nomads of Gor page 106

The Paravaci Standard

“...the Paravaci standard is a large banner of jewels beaded on golden wires, forming the head and horns of a bosk its value is incalculable; the Paravaci brand is a symbolic representation of a bosk head, a semicircle resting on an inverted isosceles triangle.”
Nomads of Gor page 106

Priest-Kings and Kurii Brands

“Incidentally, there are many brands on Gor. Two that almost never occur on Gor, by the way, are those of the moons and collar, and of the chain and claw. The first of these commonly occurs in certain of the Gorean enclaves on Earth, which serve as headquarters for agents of the Priest-Kings; the second tends to occur in the lairs of Kurii agents on Earth; the first brand consists of a locked collar and, ascending diagonally above it, extending to the right, three quarter moons; this brand indicates the girl is subject to Gorean discipline; the chain-and-claw brand signifies, of course, slavery and subjection with the compass of the Kur yoke.”
Explorers of Gor page 12

Mark of Treve and Penalty Brands

“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. She regarded the brand. 'It is the first letter, in cursive script,' she said, 'of the name of the city of Treve.'?”
Captive of Gor, page 277

“Four men held me, naked, near the brazier. I could feel the heat blazing from the canister. The sky was very blue, the clouds were white.
'Please, no!' I wept.
I saw Rask, with a heavy glove, draw forth one of the irons from the fire. It terminated in a tiny letter, not more that a quarter of an inch high. The letter was white hot. 'This is a penalty brand,' he said. 'It marks you as a liar.'
'Please, Master!' I wept.
'I no longer have patience with you,' he said. 'Be marked as what you are.'
I screamed uncontrollably as he pressed in the iron, holding it firmly into my leg. Then, after some two to four Ihn, he removed it. I could not stop screaming with pain. I smelled the odor of burned flesh, my own. I began to whimper. I could not breathe. I gasped for breath. Still the men held me.
'This penalty brand,' said Rask of Treve, lifting another iron from the brazier, again with a tyny letter at its glowing termination, 'marks you also as what you are, as a thief.'
'Please, no, Master!' I wept.
I could not move a muscle of my left leg. It might as well have been locked in a vise. It must wait for the iron.
I screamed again, uncontrollably. I had been branded as a thief.
'This third iron,' said Rask of Treve, 'is, too, a penalty iron. I mark you with this not for myself, but for Ute.'
Through raging tears I saw, white hot, the tiny letter.
'It marks you as a traitress,' said Rask of Treve. He looked at me, with fury. 'Be marked as a traitress,' he said. Then he pressed the third iron into my flesh. As it entered my flesh, biting and searing, I saw Ute watching, her face betraying no emotion. I screamed, and wept, and screamed.
Still the men did not release me.
Rask of Treve lifted the last iron from the fire. It was much larger, the letter at its termination some one and a half inches high. It, too, was white hot. I knew the brand. I had seen it on Ena's thigh. It was the mark of Treve. Rask of Treve decided that my flesh should bear that mark.
'No, Master, please!' I begged him.
'Yes, Worthless Slave,' he said, 'you will wear in your flesh the mark of the city of Treve.'
'Please,' I begged.
'When men ask you,' said he, 'who it was that marked you as a liar and a thief, and traitress, point to this brand, and say, I was marked by one of Treve, who was displeased with me.'”
Captive of Gor pages 310 - 311

Merchant Brand

also known as

*Acceptance Brand*

Book 4 page 34

“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 so as slaves.”
Nomads of Gor page 34

Thief's Brand

also known as

*The Thief's scar*

Book 6 page 103

A tiny 1/4 inch three-pronged brand worn on the cheek of those of the Caste of Thieves, who are found only in Port Kar .
Raiders of Gor page 104
Mercenaries of Gor page 239

“I have seen the thief's brand!? she cried. "It is beautiful!" It was a tiny, three-pronged brand, burned into the face over the right cheekbone. I had seen it several times, once on one who worked for the mysterious Others, a member of a crew of a black ship, once encountered in the mountains of the Voltai, not far from great Ar itself, The Caste of thieves was important in Port Kar, and even honored?”
Hunters of Gor of Gor page 304

The Chemical Brand

“Identified?" I asked. ?Slave ship??" "A small chemical brand," she said, "which you will wear in your flesh, something by which our agents in Cos will recognize you." "Chemical brand?" I said. "It will remain invisible until the proper reagent is applied," she said. "Can it be removed?" I asked. "Yes," she said, "but you cannot remove it. It requires the proper combination of chemicals."”

Slave Girl of Gor pages 315 - 316

Ubars Brand

design unknown

“To my astonishment bread, and salt, and a small, flaming brand were brought to him. (skip) Marlenus then, looking at me, took the small brand of fire in his hands. There was a leaf of fire, bright yellow, at its tip. He thrust the brand into the salt, extinguishing it. "You are refused fire," he said.” Assassins of Gor page 404

Barbarian Brand

Earthen vaccination mark, called the Barbarian Brand

“Look," said the first man, taking me by the uppper arm, and turning it to the light. "The barbarian brand." I did not see how I could explain this vaccination mark the men without making clear that my origin was not Gorean. The vaccination was in connection with a disease which, too, as far as I knew, did not even exist on Gor.” Kajira of Gor page 167

Psychology of Branding

“I have wondered upon occasion why brands are used on Gorean slaves. Surely Goreans have at their disposal means for indelibly but painlessly marking the human body. My conjecture, confirmed to some extent by the speculations of the Older Tarl, who had taught me the craft of arms in Ko-ro-ba years ago, is that the brand is used primarily, oddly enough, because of its reputed psychological effect.

In theory, if not in practice, when the girl finds herself branded like an animal, finds her fair skin marked by the iron of a master, she cannot fail, somehow, in the deepest levels of her thought, to regard herself as something which is owned, as mere property, as something belonging to the brute who has put the burning iron into her thigh.

Most simply, the brand is supposed to convince the gilr that she is truly owned; it is supposed to make her feel owned. When the iron is pulled away and she knows the pain and degradation and smells the odor of her burned flesh, she is supposed to tell herself, understanding its full and terrible import, I AM HIS.

Actually I suppose the effect depends greatly on the girl. In many girls I would suppose the brand has little effect besides contributing to their shame, their misery and humiliation. With other girls it might well increase their intractability, their hostility.” Outlaw of Gor page 189

To Brand or Not

“Some fellows do not brand their slaves," I said. "That is stupid!" she said. "It is also contrary to the laws of most cities," I said, "and to merchant law as well." "Of course," she said. Gorean, she approved heartily of the branding of slaves. Most female slaves on Gor, indeed, the vast majority, almost all, needless to say, are branded. Aside from the questions of legality, compliance with the law, and such, I think it will be clear upon a moment's reflection that various practical considerations also command slave brandings to the attention of the owner, in particular, the identification of the article as property, this tending to secure it, protecting it against loss, the brand, incidentally, is doubtless this identification of slaves. To be sure, most Goreans feel the brand also serves psychological and aesthetic purposes, for example, helping the girl to understand that she is now a slave and enhancing her beauty.” Vagabonds of Gor page 188

Masters Branding Their own Slaves

“Masters, incidentally, seldom brand their own slaves. To brand a girl well demands a sure hand, and, usually, experience. In training a man to use the iron slavers always give him poorer women at first, sometimes having him mark them more than once, until he becomes proficient. Usually by the fifteenth or the twentieth woman, the man is capable of marking them deeply, precisely, and cleanly. It is important for the girls thigh to be held immobile, sometimes it is held by more than one man; sometimes it is held bound to a wagon wheel; sometimes, in the house of slavers, a heavy, vise equipped, metal branding rack is used.” Tribesmen of Gor page 41 - 42

Branding Considerations

“It takes time to bring an iron to branding heat and the iron, of course, its head sinking and searing, burning, into the girls flesh, marking her, loses heat rapidly. A given iron, accordingly, must be reheated before being reapplied. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the iron, normally, is cleaned following each application, a procedure which further reduces the heat. The cleaning is important for the precision and clarity of the next marking. Thus, in effect, each girl is marked with a new, fresh iron.” Savages of Gor page 108

Location of the Brand

“I am not branded on the right thigh either.? I had, almost without thinking, moved in such a way as to ascertain this. Most girls? wear their brands on the left thigh, where they may be, conveniently caressed by a right-handed Master. Some girls, on the other hand, are right thigh branded. Some, too, though very few, are branded on the lower left abdomen.”

Fighting Slave of Gor page 148

“Where are we branded?" She said.
"A girl is commonly branded on the left or right thigh," I said, "sometimes on the lower left abdomen."”
Beasts of Gor page 229

“Left thigh or right thigh?" he asked.
"Left thigh," said Ulafi. Slave girls are commonly branded on the left thigh. Sometimes they are branded on the right thigh, or lower left abdomen.”
Explorers of Gor page 71

Branding Example

“I tended the brazier. It glowed in the darkness. Two men came and

stood over me. I looked up, startled. They pulled me up by the arms

and took me to the white- barked tree. They threw me on my back, my

head down, on the tree. I looked at them, wildly. My hands were tied

together before my body and taken pulled up and over my head. They

were fastened, behind my head, out of my vision, to the tree. My body

was stretched out, one leg on each side of the trunk. "What are you

doing?" I cried. I felt my body being tightly roped to the tree. I

squirmed, my head down, my legs up. 'Stop!' I cried. Ropes were

placed on my neck and belly, and on each leg, above the knees and

at the ankles, and lashed tightly. 'Stop,' I begged. 'Please stop!' I could

barely move. The men stepped back; I was fastened to the tree. 'Let

me go!' I cried. 'Please!' I whimpered. 'What are you going to do?' I

asked. They looked at me. I was helpless. 'What are you going to do?'

I whimpered. 'Oh, no!' I cried. 'No, no, no, no!'

My captor had gone to the brazier and, with the leather glove, and

another, too, with two hands, withdrawn the white-hot iron. I felt the, heat

of it, even feet away. 'No!' I screamed. 'No!' Two men, large men,

strong, held my left thigh immobile. I looked into the eyes of my

captor. 'Please, no!' I wept. 'Please, no!'

Then, head down, helpless, held, I was branded a Gorean slave girl.

The marking, I suppose, took only a few seconds. That is doubtless

true. Objectively I grant you the truth of that. Yet a girl who has been

marked finds this obvious truth difficult to accept psychologically.

Perhaps I may be granted that those seconds, those few seconds,

seem very long seconds. For an hour it seemed I felt the iron. It

touched me firmly, kissing me, then claiming me. I screamed, and

screamed. I was alone with the pain, the agony, the degradation, the

relentless, hissing object, so hurting me, the men. Mercifully they let

me scream. It is common to let a girl scream, a Gorean kindness,

while she is being marked with a white-hot iron. Afterwards, however,

once the iron is pulled out of her body, and she is fully marked,

Gorean males are less likely to accord her such consideration for her

feelings. They are less likely, then, to be so indulgent with her. This

makes sense. Afterwards, she is only a branded girl.

It begins swiftly, almost before you can feel it. I felt the iron touch me

and almost instantaneously, crackling, flash through my outer skin

and then, firmly, to my horror, enter and ledge itself fixedly in my

thigh. It was literally in my body, inflexibly, burning. The pain then

began to register on my consciousness. I began screaming. I could

not believe what was being done to me, or how much it hurt. Not only

could I feel the iron, but I could hear it, hissing and searing in the

precise, beautiful wound it was relentlessly burning in my thigh. There

was an odor of burning flesh, mine. I smelled, burning, as of a kind of

meat. It was my own body being marked. I could not move my thigh. I

threw back my head and screamed. I felt the iron tight in my body,

then, to my horror, pressing in even more deeply. The marking

surface of the iron, then, lay hissing, literally submerged, in my flesh. I

could not move my thigh in the least. I threw my head from side to

side, screaming. The marking surface of the iron is some quarter of

an inch in depth. It was within my flesh. It was lodged there,

submerged, hissing and burning. Taking its time, not hurrying, it

marked me, cleanly and deeply. Then, swiftly, cleanly, it withdrew.”

Slave Girl of Gor pages 57 -58

Some Associated Terms

*kan-lara
-(noun): slave brand.
Slave Girl of Gor page 80

*Branding chamber

-(noun) : a room where slaves are branded

Tribesmen of Gor pages 16, 41 and 337

*Branding rack
-(noun): a device to which a new slave girl is chained for branding; her hands are chained above her head but the rest of her body is free to move except for whichever thigh is to be branded this being held motionless in a large vise.
Explorers of Gor page 71
Savages of Gor page 121

*Iron Master
-(noun): one who is skilled at piercing ears and noses, branding, and affixing collars to slaves.
Nomads of Gor page 173

*Street of Brands
-{noun): the city or area in a given city where slavers conduct their business
Tarnsman of Gor page 132

*Thigh!
-(interjection): this command might be given to a female or to the Free person with a female, who is not identified. It essentially means, show your brand.
Guardsman of Gor page 184
Vagabonds of Gor pages 383 and 399

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Gorean Shadows

© 2001

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