There are some people in Second Life Gor who are teaching slaves to greet the Free depending on rank, like this:
Greetings, my Master.
Greetings, Ubar.
Greetings, First Sword.
Greetings, Physician.
Greetings, Baker.
Greetings, Mistress.
Greetings, kajirus.
Greetings, kajirae.
There are absolutely no examples of slaves greeting like this in the books. They did not greet according to rank. Though it’s plausible that people may use “greetings,” most of the slaves in the books simply said “Tal.”
Yet I had little doubt that the strong, large-handed men of Laura, sturdy in their work tunics, who stopped to regard us, would not appreciate the body of a slave girl, provided she is vital, and loves, and leaps helplessly to their touch.
“Tal, Kajirae!” cried one of the men, waving. Ute pressed against the bars, waving back at him. The men cheered. – Captive of Gor, Page 87*
The girls stood straight, proud under the gaze of a warrior. `Tal, Master,’ said many of them, as I rode slowly by.
– Tribesmen of Gor, Page 344*
“I am Radish,’ said Radish. ‘I am Turnip,’ said Turnip. ‘I am Verr Tail,’ said Verr Tail. Sandal Thong looked at me. ‘I am Sandal Thong,’ she said. ‘Tal,’ I said to them. ‘Tal,’ they said to me.” – Slave Girl of Gor, Page 199*
Furthermore, in the only examples of slaves addressing men by titles (ie, Ubar or Captain), she/he is scolded.
“Please, my Ubar,” said she, “let me stay.”
“I am not your Ubar,” I said. “I am your master.”
“Please, Master,” she begged, “let Telima stay.”
– Raiders of Gor, Page 224*
“Captain!” demanded the boy.
The kitchen master, in fury, grabbed him by the hair and raised his arm to thrash him.
I gestured that he not do so.
The kitchen master stepped back, angry.
“What do you want?” I had asked the boy.
“To see you, Captain,” said he.
“Master!” corrected the kitchen master.
“Captain!” cried the boy.
“Normally,” I said to the boy, “a kitchen slave petitions to enter his master’s presence through the kitchen master.”
“I know,” said the boy.
“Why did you not do so?” I asked.
“I have,” said the boy defiantly, “many times.”
“And I,” said the kitchen master, “have refused him.”
“What is his request?” I asked the kitchen master.
“He would not tell me,” said the kitchen master.
“How then,” I asked the boy, “did you expect the kitchen master to consider whether or not you should be permitted to enter my presence?”
– Raiders of Gor, Page 220*
I’m still looking for the quote, but there is one that reads something along the lines of “All Free Men are called Master. All Free Women are called Mistress.” I will post the quote once I can find it in the book.
Aha, I found several quotes:
“A Gorean slave, incidentally, always addresses free men as ‘Master,’ and all free women as ‘Mistress.’” — Captive of Gor, Page 73*
“The slave addresses all free men as ‘Master’ and all free women as ‘Mistress.’” — Prize of Gor, Page 295.*
I want to note something here. Norman’s writing style is such that he usually includes modifiers in his books such as many, most, some, often. For example, “most citizens had never tasted blackwine,” meaning that some had. In writing this way, Norman allowed for a lot of interpretation of the world of Gor. However, in the examples above, it is absolute. “The slave addresses ALL…” Not some. ALL.
Many people who don’t play by the books argue that the books only provide a template for roleplay, that people don’t have to write exactly what the books cover. And that’s certainly true, to a point. But it’s important to remember what makes Gor the world it is, otherwise we are playing medieval Earth. One very important aspect of Gor was the cornerstone that is slavery. Let’s call this the spirit of the books.
Gorean men naturally kept slaves in their place. So according to the spirit of the books, men would not allow slaves to command several minutes of attention by greeting several people. Also, Gorean men were all about constantly reminding slaves that they were slaves. Everything about slavery was intended to impress that state upon the women. The use of titles is a convention the Free would use among themselves; allowing slaves to use titles would let them step out of their place.
I don’t understand why people have to make things more difficult. Here you have a very simple rule that’s easy to follow. Instead, people have come up with a very complicated system that requires that those who roleplay as a slave remember all of the castes, which castes ranks highest, and what role everyone in Second Life Gor may play.
Just remember this:
Tal, Master. Tal, Mistress. Tal, slaves.
Simple.
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Works Cited:
Norman. John. Captive of Gor. New York: Ballatine Books, 1972. Print.
Norman, John. Raiders of Gor. New York: Masquerade Books, 1971. Print.
Norman, John. Tribesmen of Gor. New York: Daw Books, 1976. Print.
Norman, John. Slave Girl of Gor. New York: Daw Books, 1977. Print.
Norman, John. Prize of Gor. New York: E-Reads, 2008. Electronic.
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