November 13 1997
- "As one
that, through the haze of earthbound toil
- Deafened by
the cares which valour foil,
- Confined by
fate to bleak and wasted soil
- Upon which
every man forgets his name
- And no man
strives for honor, nor for fame
- But lives his
desperate days in idle shame
- And such a
one would yearn for Thassa's main,
- Through salty
lips, to breathe clean air again
- So joyful,
from the din of Earthly speech
- Men turn, and
see the stars, and feel the free
- Shrill wind
beyond the close of city-scape
- And from
their languid prisons seek escape
- To hear like
Thassa on a rocky shore
- The surge and
thunder of the words of Gor."
Tal,
Goreans. Once again I put pen to paper, or more accurately, I put
fingers to keyboard, to share and debate whatever interesting
findings I have dug up from those sweeping epics we all love,
namely the Gor books.
This
week I have decided to take on a hotly debated subject, which I
shall attempt to put to rest through pertinent explanations found
in the 25 source books by John Norman.
GOR
according to Norman
This
subject is quite near and dear to my heart (I suspect the same is
true for most Gorean males), namely, what the heck is paga and
where does it come from? Since our virtual environment is rather
unfulfilling in regards to such matters as taste and texture, it
seems appropriate that, since so many of us drink so much virtual
paga, we should be well apprised of what it is we are actually
drinking.
THE
GREAT PAGA DEBATE
- Currently
most Gorean websites describe paga as being "similar
to Earth whiskey" or "strong and potent, like
raw vodka." At one time the website of my own
favorite tavern also described it as such, until the
founder of that tavern and I, through much discourse,
reached the conclusion that, due to the descriptions of
it provided in the books, that it must actually be closer
to Earth beer in taste and texture. It has also been
described in many places on IRC as being "rancid and
lumpy." But what is the truth, according to John
Norman? I have gathered the following quotations for your
perusal:
- "I
decided, if worse came to worst, that I could always go
to a simple Paga Tavern where, if those of Tharna
resembled those of Ko-ro-ba and Ar, one might, curled in
a rug behind the low tables, unobtrusively spend the
night for the price of a pot of Paga, a strong, fermented
drink brewed from the yellow grains of Gor's staple crop,
sa-Tarna, or Life-Daughter."
- --p. 74,
Outlaw of Gor
- Okay.
So, according to Tarl, paga is both "strong"
and "fermented." It also seems to be served in
"pots." But it is not ONLY served in
"pots."
- "He
leaned over and tossed me a skin bag of Paga , from which
I took a long swig, then hurled it contemptously back
into his arms. In a moment he had taken flight again, ...
the bag of Paga flying behind him, dangling from its long
straps."
- --p.78,
Tarnsman of Gor
- Aha!
Now we know that paga is also carried about in skin bags,
wineskins or "botas." Such skin bags are
described further, and particularly large ones even have
spigots for pouring:
- "The
drumhead is usually made of verrskin, as most often are
wineskins."
- --p.36,
Vagabonds of Gor
- "He came
to me, bent over, tattered, swarthy, grinning up at me,
the verrskin bag over his shoulder, the brass cups, a
dozen of them, attached to shoulder straps and his belt,
rattling and clinking... Without removing the bag from
his shoulder, he filled the cup... The water flowed into
the cup between a tiny vent-and-spigot device, which
wastes little water, by reducing spillage, which was tied
in and waxed into a hole left in the front left foreleg
of the verrskin. The skins are carefully stripped and any
rents in the skin are sewed up, the seams coated with
wax. When the whole skin is thoroughly cleaned of filth
and hair, straps are fastened to it, so that it might be
conveniently carried on the shoulder, or over the
back..."
- --p.36,
Tribesmen of Gor
- Now
that we have determined that wineskins are commonly used
on Gor, are made from verrskin, sealed and waxed to
prevent leakage, and that paga is stored in them, what
else can we learn about how paga is stored? We are told
that paga is also served in large bottles:
- "The
proprietor, sweating, aproned, was tipping yet another
great bottle of paga in its sling, filling cups, that
they might be borne to the drinkers."
- --p.105,
Raiders of Gor
- "I threw
a silver tarsk, taken from what we had obtained from the
slavers in the marsh, to the proprietor of the paga
tavern, and took in return one of the huge bottles of
paga, of the sort you put in a pouring sling..."
- --p.111,
Raiders of Gor
- Therefore,
paga is also to be found stored in great bottles,
equipped with carrying slings for ease of pouring. Such
vessels can be found made from several substances,
including clay, ceramic, and bronze, as below:
- "`Paga!'
called the standing man. `Paga!' A blonde girl, nude,
with a string of pearls wound about her steel collar, ran
to the table and, from the bronze vessel, on its strap,
about her shoulder, poured paga into the goblet before
the seated man. The fellow who stood by the table,
scarcely noticing the girl, placed a tarsk-bit in her
mouth, and she fled back to the counter where, under the
eye of a paga attendant, she spit the coin into a copper
bowl."
- --p.78, Rogue
of Gor
- It
is also served in cups:
- "Another
girl ran to him, bearing a cup of paga."
- --p.102,
Raiders of Gor
- "Samos
put down a cup of paga."
- --p.306,
Raiders of Gor
- And
goblets, some rather fancy:
- "I
thrust out the silver paga goblet, studded with rubies,
and Telima, standing beside my thronelike chair, filled
it."
- --p.223,
Raiders of Gor
- "Many
civilians, I believe, do not know why certain warriors,
by habit, request their paga in metal goblets when dining
in public houses."
- --p.77,
Renegades of Gor
- [The reason, we are told, is
that metal goblets are very effective weapons in a bar
fight]
- And
paga is even served in a "kantharos," or
footed-bowl:
- "She
knelt near the table... and put the paga, in a small
kantharos... before me."
- ---p.71,
Renegades of Gor
- [A kantharos is a bowl which
is equipped with a single foot, or stem. It has a
verticle handle on either side, like a sugar bowl.
"Kantharos," by the way, is not a strictly
Gorean word, but actually dates back to ancient Earth
during the bronze age. Click HERE
to view a picture of one.]
- It
is also described as being served in glasses and plain
clay (non-footed) bowls. So basically, we can just assume
that paga is served in any handy container suitable for
storing liquids, or commonly utilized for the act of
drinking.
- How
is it served, though? And what does it taste like? Well,
it is sometimes served warm, as revealed below:
- "`Your
paga,' said the nude slave girl, who served me, her
wrists chained. `It is warmed as you wished.'
- I
took it from her, not even glancing upon her, and drained
the goblet... I liked paga warm. One felt is so much the
sooner that way."
- --p.100,
Raiders of Gor
- Not
only is it sometimes served warm, some folks even prefer
it to be served rather hot::
- "The
girls filled their vessels, which, like the hydria, or
water vessel, are high-handled, for dipping, in a large
kettle hung simmering over a fire near the entrance to
the enclosure. Warm paga makes one drunk quicker, it is
thought... Some Cosians tend to be fond of hot
paga."
- --p.16,
Vagabonds of Gor
- In
addition we discover that paga is not only fermented, it
is "brewed." Nowhere in the books have I found
any reference to regular paga being distilled. That seems
to preclude any argument that paga is distilled like most
hard liquors (whiskey and vodka, for instance). This is
illustrated below:
- "The
beast returned from the cabinet with two glasses and a
bottle.
- 'Is that not
the paga of Ar?' I asked.
- 'Is it not
one of your favorites?' he asked, 'See,' he said, 'It has
the seal of the brewer, Temus.'"
- --p.371,
Beasts of Gor
- The
above quote indicates that paga is also sealed for
storage and shipping, and that certain brands and recipes
are more popular than others, especially those brewed by
such reknowned paga-brewers as the aforementioned
"Temus." Can we therefore assume that, since
paga is not distilled like whiskey or vodka, but is
brewed or fermented like beer or ale, that paga is
therefore more like beer than hard liquor?
- Perhaps...
but then again, perhaps not. Its flavor and effect are
repeatedly described as "fiery" and
"burning":
- "Before
we set out we broke open the great bottle of paga, and
Thurnock, Clitus and I clashed goblets and emptied them
of their swirling fires. Then we forced each of the
girls, choking and sputtering, to themselves upturn a
goblet, swilling down as best they could the fiery
draught."
- --p.113,
Raiders of Gor
- "I threw
down another burning swallow of paga."
- --p.102,
Raiders of Gor
- I
have, in my life, sampled many, many different types of
beer, ale, and mead, and I must admit I have yet to drink
one which I would describe as "fiery" or
"burning." Strong, thick, bitter, heavy, even
plain awful... but never "fiery." When I think
of "fiery, burning" liquor, I invariably think
of hard liquors such as, you guessed it, whiskey and
vodka. So how is it that paga, which we are told is
brewed/fermented and not distilled, is so damn fiery?
Well, we find a few other hints in the books which might
explain this seemingly contradictory situation.
- First
of all we are treated to a description of a beverage
known as "Sul paga," a favorite drink of
members of the caste of peasants:
- "Sul
paga is, when distilled, though the sul itself is yellow,
is as clear as water... the still, with its tanks and
pipes, lay within the village, that of Tabuk's Ford, in
which Thurnus, our host, was caste leader.
- `Excellent,'
said my master, sipping the Sul paga. He could have been
commenting only on the potency of drink, for Sul paga is
almost tasteless. One does not guzzle Sul paga. Last
night one of the men had held my head back and forced me
to swallow a mouthful. In moments things had gone black,
and I had fallen unconscious."
- --p.134,
Slave Girl of Gor
- (submitted by
JaKil)
- And
this one:
- "Sul
paga, as anyone knew, is seldom available outside of a
peasant village, where it is brewed. Sul paga would slow
a tharlarion. To stay on your feet after a mouthful of
Sul paga it is said one must be of the peasants, and then
for several generations. And even then it is said, it is
difficult to manage. There is a joke about the baby of a
peasant father being born drunk nine months later."
- --p.414,
Slave Girl of Gor
- I
grew up in the southern portion of the United States, and
believe me, upon reading that description I immediately
recognize Sul paga for what it is: "bathtub
gin" or "moonshine". It is distilled like
moonshine (in what is colloquially referred to as "a
still" or distillery), and it is stronger than
regular paga which is brewed from grain and not from
suls, which seem to be a Gorean hybrid between the Earth
potato and tomato (picture a potato that grows on a vine
like a tomato). If we accept the premise that "Sul
paga" is a highly potent form of Gorean
"home-brew" similar to moonshine, than it
stands to reason that regular paga must be similar to Sul
paga, minus the suls and the distillation process. If
paga were distilled as is Sul paga, it would be just as
strong as Sul paga, which we are told it is not. It is a
grain-based fermented liquor which has not been
distilled. Other references indicate this to be true. And
if that is so, then paga must be something which is fiery
in taste(which it is), brewed from grain(which it is) and
has a hell of a kick to boot. Since most beers and ales
lack the "fiery burning" quality, then what
does that leave us?
- Sour-mash
liquor, perhaps? Hmmm... an interesting thought.
- While
this is simply speculation on my part, it so happens that
sour-mash is brewed, as is beer, but it is not processed
and diluted in the manner of typical beers and ales. For
one thing, the recipe is different; it's called sour mash
because it is brewed from a "sour mash" of
fermented grains. Once the fermentation and brewing
process is complete more water is added and the resulting
liquid is then filtered, often several times, to strain
out the lumps (ah ha!) from the mixture, and what you are
left with is a highly potent grain-based brew which is
the much stronger version of common beer. In addition,
there are several recipes for sour mash brew which are
bitter and very potent, some of which utilize spices
which I assure you can be described as "fiery".
Since even Gorean wines are incredibly strong:
- "Many
Gorean wines... are very strong, often having an alcohol
content by volume of forty to fifty percent [80 to 100
proof]."
- --p.70,
Renegades of Gor
- ...then
we can assume that paga is at least as powerful, probably
topping out at around 80 to 100 proof as well. Use of a
sour mash in its preparation would certainly account for
the taste, as would the high alcohol content. Sul paga,
therefore, in alcohol content by volume, is almost pure
alcohol... anywhere up to 180 proof.
- Paga
is, therefore, an extremely high powered brewed beverage
like a heavy stout or sour mash wheat beer, which is so
high in alcohol content that it really puts hair on a
Warrior's chest. Or anyone else for that matter. And too
much Sul paga will make you go blind. I wonder if there
are any members of the caste of peasants who make a
living by "bootlegging" Sul paga to the
civilized cities?
- And
as far as the lumps go, or how "rancid" the
paga is, I would suppose that depends upon whether or not
your local brewer fails to strain it correctly or allows
it to ferment for too long. I am sure that most Goreans
are not overly fond of lumpy rancid cocktails; but since
the Tuchuks regularly imbibe such interesting beverages
as curdled bosk milk mixed with kailla blood, I suppose
there is no accounting for taste.
- (special thanks to Zeb, who
provided several of the excerpts listed above.)
SEEKING
THE ELUSIVE KARTA
- While
I have yet to locate a reference in which the position of
Karta is described by name, I have found the following
passage describing forms of obeisance, as performed by
Gorean slaves:
- "`There
are many ways to perform obeisance,' I said... `I shall
instruct you briefly in three' ... `First, kneel before
me, back on your heels... with your knees wide... your
hands on your thighs, your back straight, your breasts
out... your belly in... and now lower your head in
deference and submission... Now, that may not be exactly
a performance of obeisance, for authorities do not all
agree, but for our purposes we shall count it as one. It
is, at any rate, a beautiful position, and it is,
certainly, a common position of slave submission.'
- [This is the position we
commonly refer to as "Nadu"]
- `Now,' I
said, `and this is clearly a form of obeisance, bend
forward and put your head to the mat, the palms of your
hands on the mat.'
- [This second one seems to be
identical to the mysterious "Karta"]
- `Now,' I
said, `for a third form of obeisance... on your belly.
Now inch forward...remaining low on your belly, and when
you reach my feet... lick and kiss them. Now take my foot
and place it gently on your head.... now place it again
on the mat, and kiss it again...you may now belly back a
little, humbly.'"
- [This last one is similar to
another position found on many websites known as,
appropriately enough,"Obeisance."]
- --p.409-411,
Mercenaries of Gor
- In addition, I recently
received an email from a helpful slave who submitted the
following useful information:
- "This girl recognizes
the basics of the position: in the earth-language of
Sanskrit, it is called _pancha-pranama_, and is indeed a
position of utmost submission and obeisance, being the
position taken by a *female* (the male version is called
_astanga pranama) when greeting a Guru or other Holy
Person...a loose translation would be "ultimate
obeisance" or something similar."
- (submitted by arati{H})
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
- Q: Lately
'first slave and second slave' have been described as
ways of serving Gorean drinks. Is this something found in
the books?
- (submitted by
savannah{Risk})
A: It is indeed.
According to the books, the terms "first slave" and
"second slave" are used in regards to the serving of
"black wine," or Gorean coffee. We are told that
"first slave" indicates that the Master desires further
sweeteners and creams to be added to his beverage, whereas
"second slave" indicates that he wishes his coffee
"black" or without such additives. This is illustrated
in the following quotations:
- "'Second
slave,' I told her, which, among the river towns, and in
certain cities, particularly in the north, is a way of
indicating that I would take the black wine without
creams or sugars, and as it came from the pouring vessel,
which, of course, in these areas, is handled by the
"second slave," the first slave being the girl
who puts down the cups, takes the orders and sees that
the beverage is prepared according to the preferences of
the one who is being served."
- The
expression `second slave,' incidentally, serves to
indicate that one does not wish creams or sugars with
one's black wine, even if only one girl is serving."
- p. 244-245,
Guardsman of Gor
So
basically, when a person asks for his black wine "Second
slave" or "to the Second slave" what he is saying
is that he wishes to skip the "first slave" who places
creams and sugars in the cup before the beverage is poured, and
go directly to the "second slave" who actually does the
pouring.
For
more detailed information regarding the usage and qualities of
Gorean black wine, visit the "Caffeine Addicts of Gor"
webpage at the following URL:
http://www2.1starnet.com/mharris/tavern/tavern/caffeine.html
RANDOM
QUOTES
- Below I have again included a
few quotes which my fellow Goreans might find
interesting:
- "A man
in his heart desires freedom, and a woman in her belly
yearns for love. The collar in its way answers both
needs."
- --p.180,
Slave Girl of Gor
- (submitted by
JaKil)
- This
next one is a good one. When I originally read of the
hand gesture which accompanies the Gorean greeting
"Tal" I just assumed that, since Norman
described it as "raising one's right hand, palm
facing inward" that he meant "palm facing
toward your body," or basically showing someone the
back of your hand. Since then I have repeatedly found
references which describe the gesture as "raising
one's right hand, thumb toward the body, little finger
toward the person you are greeting" or, in effect,
making an open "karate-chop" hand to whomever
you were greeting. As the quote below demonstrates, when
Norman originally said "palm facing inward"
what he meant was "palm facing inward toward the
center of the body, knuckles outward toward the right
shoulder."
- "`Tal,'
said I, lifting my right hand to them, palm facing to the
left."
- --p.112,
Beasts of Gor
- (submitted by
kyra{MAR})
- And I also found this little
bit of info:
- "The
sword, the quick, short, double-edged Gorean gladius,
was drawn back for a thrust."
- --p.387,
Mercenaries of Gor
- This
describes the Gorean short sword as a
"gladius," seemingly identical to the Roman
blade of the same name. Somehow, over the course of the
first twenty-one books, the Gorean short sword alters in
size and shape from a Greek short sword into a Roman one.
Similarly, much of Gorean society seems to undergo an
alteration from Greek-based to Roman-based. Despite this,
however, I still fail to see how anyone bereft of a
shield could maintain a prolonged duel with another
person, as Tarl does versus Pa-Kur in the first book,
with what is for all intents and purposes a twenty-inch
knife, which makes effectively parrying an incredibly
difficult action. Believe me, I have experimented with
such matters and the resulting "duel" seems
always to finish up in a grappling match, like any other
knife-fight. To Norman's credit, in later books his
Gorean swordfights, fought with the
"gladius-ized" Gorean shortsword, become
incredibly short and brutal, as would certainly be the
case.
- For
more detailed information regarding the nature and
description of Gorean weaponry, visit the "Weapons
of Gor" webpage at the following URL:
- My
Quote for the Week:
- "...the
love of a slave girl is the deepest and most profound
love that any woman can give a man. Love makes a woman a
man's slave, and the wholeness of that love requires that
she be, in truth, his slave."
- --Tarl Cabot,
p.31, Magicians of Gor
Well,
that's all for this week; I have already taken up too much
bandwidth with my ranting. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank all who wrote to me and who submitted passages from the
source texts for this page. I will display each such quotation in
this column in weeks to come. For those of you who feel lost amid
all of the Gorean references and online practice of Gorean
activity, remember: The Truth is out there. Since I have all 25
books, have read them repeatedly, and have way too much free time
on my hands, drop me a line of you need help tracking something
down.
- I wish you well!
- _Marcus_
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
If you have any of the above, have queries regarding the source
books, or have a quote or brief passage from the books which you
would share here, feel free to e-mail me through the link below.
- This page brought to you by
- (When you're bored with the
First and Second Knowledge, you're ready for the Third.)
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