21

[Dept of PMM Castle Life]

- SLAVE GIRL OF GOR, Pg. 226
What follows is a short list of some common forms of slave punishment used on Gor. This is by far not a complete list, but is presented to give the reader more information to base his thoughts on, with those examples selected, chosen to provide a range of idea, effect and method.
Gorean men do not rely on methods of punishment as the primary means to invoke a girl's submission. A Gorean man uses his very masculinity itself to train a slave. The whip and various other articles are secondary considerations at best, tools to be used in conjunction with this manhood. While fear of the lash can keep a girl in line, and perhaps help her take her first steps towards the fullness of her slavery, it is the man's very being, coupled with the girl's own femininity, which bring out the slave within. There is no better training for a slave than open exposure to strong men. Fear and steel can keep her body enslaved, but it is much more that causes the depths of submission which produce a slave in absolute being.
"The control of a girl's clothing, and many other things, such as her diet, name, whether or not her head is to be shaved, and so on, are all within the purview of the master. His power over the slave is unqualified and absolute."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 26
Whipping
"But there is much to be said for the whip. It is perhaps the simplest, most practical device for such purposes. It is also traditional. Also, of course, it has symbolic value."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 467
"It is a symbol of authority, and an instrument of discipline. The slave is subject to it. Some masters think it is useful to occassionally use it on a slave, if only to remind her that she is a slave."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 466
The "Kurt" or five-bladed Gorean slave whip is a commonly used, and very effective form of punishment. So long as it is used properly it will not mark the flesh of the slave, but will cause flashes of intense, burning pain. Often, when a girl is first collared, she will be given an initiatory whipping so that she might know what such feels like against her skin. Usually, once a girl has felt the lash of the Kurt, she will swiftly seek to be pleasing in any possible way, rather than face the whip again. The Kurt is normally hung in open view within a household for just such a reason, that the slave might continually see the lash, and not forget what it is like to feel it. Its open presence is also symbolic of the house being ruled by the owner, it being "under the master's whip."
"One blow of the whip is worth six months of coaxing."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 42
Whipping on Gor is not done for sexual pleasure, as Goreans do not face the contradictions and frustrations which breed this form of environment, and the resulting desire. Whipping is done for discipline and correction, and is not normally something a slave girl will ever seek. Some kajirae who have grown deeply accustomed to their slavery will sometimes relish the use of the whip, if not the feel, but this is not due to any form of responding sexual pleasure or release. In such uncommon cases, the whip is telling the girl in a very clear way that she is owned, a slave, an animal, and she is mastered. The strike of the whip and the pain caused is not enjoyed, but the knowledge that she is so deeply owned, shown in very real terms by the lash, is comforting and happily accepted, even as she is being punished. It in a sense reinforces what her mind and body have already come to gladly accept, that her very being is slave to men.
"On Gor, slave girls live in terror of that whip. It is designed for the female slave, to correct her behavior with great effectiveness while not leaving lasting traces which might reduce her value."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 42
"A whip, of course, is not absolutely necessary. There are many other means of enforcing discipline."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 466
Deprivation of Use
"'Sometimes female slaves,' she said, 'after their slave fires have been ignited, after the poor things have begun to learn their collar, after they have become sexually helpless, are deprived of sexual experience,' she said. 'Did you know that?'
'I have heard so,' he said. 'Perhaps as a cruelty, to teach them the master's power or that they are slaves, or as a punishement, or to ready them for a successful performance on the block, such things.'"
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 449
As a slave develops and grows, so too does her sexual responsiveness, need, and ability. These factors become a powerful drive within the girl, and as a result, a powerful tool for the owner. Sexuality is one of the facets of a slave girl, and it, just like the others, must be developed and molded to fit the desire of the Master. This process in itself can be used to train the girl, in a sense, her sexual training being a means to correct and control her in her overall development. It can be given as a reward, or taken away as a form of punishment, and in both ways becomes an increasingly effective means of control and conditioning, respective to the stages of her development as a slave.
From the time of her first "slave orgasm," the girl begins to need the touch of a man, creating a sort of dependency, perhaps even addiction. It is said that while men have sex, women are sex manifested, and the "slave orgasm," with its associated need, aptly supports this opinion. A "slave orgasm" is a deep form of sexual release, far more fulfilling and complete than any free woman can possibly know. It is not something that is given to the girl by the master, but rather taken by him from deep inside of her, as he wishes and when he chooses. The control of the girl is further developed by control of her orgasm, with the slave only being allowed to release upon command, usually in response to the girl's abject and desperate begging. Only a girl who knows herself to be helpless before one who would treat her fully and only as a slave, a man who would accept nothing less, can achieve "slave orgasm."
The deprivation of sexual use can thus quickly become a powerful means to correct and control a slave girl. She will seek ever harder to be pleasing in the hope of being touched and used. This is a constant motivating factor in how a girl acts, and a part of her overall need to be found pleasing to men. Deprivation of sex can be more painful to a girl, in different ways, than even the use of the whip, with the latter at times even being preferred. The reward or loss equation is an extremely useful tool to a Master, with the punished girl quickly seeking to correct the situation, end the punishment and gain the resulting reward.
"'Please, Master,' she said, 'take pity on me. Take pity on the miserable needs of a girl.'
'You are not mine,' I told her. 'You are a pretty little thing, but I do not own you.'
'Please,' she said.
'Your master,' I said, 'if he chooses, will satisfy your needs. If he does not, he will not.' For all I knew she might be under the discipline of deprivation. If that were so, I had no wish to impair the effectiveness of her master's control over her.'"
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 49
Denial of Clothing
"'Do you like the garment?' he asked.
'Yes, Master,' she said. 'A slave is grateful, so very grateful.'
'It is not much,' he said.
'It is a treasure,' she said. I smiled. To her, I supposed, a slave, such a tiny thing, little more than a brief rag, would indeed be a treasure.
'Do you wish to retain its use?' he asked.
'Of course, Master,' she said.
'You now have an additional motivation for striving to please,' he said."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 26
A slave is something which is owned, not something that owns, a possession devoid of its own possessions. When a slave is given something, particularly and primarily clothing or jewelry, it does not become her property, she has no rights to it, it is simply something she is allowed to have for as long as the Master chooses, an object which enhances his pleasure in her. It is not something given to "protect her modesty," slave garments are usually far too revealing and scandalous to do anything other then bring even more attention to the girl's sexuality, making the girl also more aware of it herself through the feel of the fabric on her skin and the type of looks she receives from others, especially men as their eyes examine her, unabashed. But besides being something enjoyable to the Master, this provides the owner with another degree of control, presented in the giving and taking of those certain articles, most particularly, clothing.
"I watched her take the tiny garment in her hands, gratefully, joyfully.
It is interesting, I thought, how much such a small thing can mean to a girl. It was a mere slave tunic, a cheap, tiny thing, little more than a ta-teera or camisk, and yet it delighted her, boundlessly."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 21
Even the simplest of rags, a bare strip of cloth that does little to conceal anything, will be prized by the slave girl, as precious to her as the finest of expensive garments. Often, this object is something she must earn in the first place, her nudity teaching her quickly the condition she is held in, and that first scrap of cloth being something that when given is a symbol of accomplishment as one having been found somewhat pleasing, and which futhers the bond of dependency to the master. This article, once given, may of course be taken from her at the whim of her owner. This gives another dimension of power and control, for the girl will seek to keep what very little she is allowed to hold, particularly simple garments, and this also obviously provides an excellent method of discipline. The article might be taken away as punishment or simply due to mood, for a limited time, or for a long period, with the effect of nudity and the uncertainty as to when it might occur, leaving the girl with a feeling of excited helplessness. Though many feel that even more attention is brought to a girl's sexuality when she is dressed in slave garments than simply left naked, the girl will seek to be allowed any sort of article with which to clothe herself. Even if scandalous and highly sexual in itself, garments provide a sense of security that is much sought by the slave girl, who by simple nature of her condition, is often left unassured.
"The garment reprsented not only such things, confirmation of her bondage, her subjection to a master, and such, but, more importantly, at the moment, the considerable difference between being clothed and unclothed. She, a slave, and not entitled to clothing, and more than other animals, was, but the generosity of her master, to be permitted a garment."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 22
Removal of Name
"Their names are simply given to them, as the names of animals. They may be altered or changed at will. Indeed, sometimes a slave is not even given a name. The names a slave wears, of course, are functions of the master's pleasure. They can own a name no more than they can own anything else. It is they who are owned. Some masters have favourite names for girls. Some masters may reward a hard-working girl with a lovely name; others may torment a slave who has been insufficiently pleasing with a cruel or ugly name. Most girls, of course, are given beautiful and exciting slave names, for the masters wish the girl, too, to be beautiful and exciting. She is, after all, a slave."
- EXPLORERS OF GOR, Pg. 366
A Gorean slave girl possesses nothing, not even her name. Such is given and taken at the whim of the master, and the name chosen itself is further based upon what he desires and what he finds pleasing. When the girl is named, her consciousness understands clearly that like an animal, a pet, she has been given a name by her master, her owner. This event can be a happy one for the girl, but it also puts a very clear mark on her psyche, one whose meaning and ramifications is not lost. In this way, the naming of a slave can be used as a means to train the girl, and also punish her. When a slave is nameless, she undergoes a feeling of shame and worthlessness, a condition that causes the placement of even the most simple or perhaps demeaning name to be welcomed gladly. In the nameless state, the girl is made to feel even more like an animal, an object, less in control of herself and more insignificant, helpless and powerless. The removal of a girl's name as a form of punishment, regulates the girl to this state of unimportance and impotence both internally and externally, as she not only feels this herself, but is shamed in front of other men and her slave peers. This can also be coupled with treating the girl as an actual animal, having her feed, crawl on all fours, and act as such, perhaps even not allowing her to speak, thus amplifying the overall effect. A nameless slave is the lowest of the low, an object not even worth a name to be called by. No slave would long enjoy this, as Gorean kajirae thrive on being found pleasing, and simply as women, need to feel that they are wanted and desired, and that they have not failed. Degradation and humiliation are not pleasing stimuli to such a girl. It may help her at times to become a better slave, to seek to be more pleasing, but it in itself is not a reward, even if the result of the discipline may make her more deeply feel her slavery.
"There is some security in a slave having a name. Most masters will not name a slave whom they are planning on having immediately destroyed. It would be a waste of a name. To be sure, names may be put on slaves and taken off them on a master's whim."
- PLAYERS OF GOR, Pg. 36
Shearing of Hair
"I did not crop the hair about her head with the knife, rather in the manner of shaving it off, as is sometimes done as a punishment for female slaves."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 125
Gorean slave girls commonly wear their hair long and loose. Such is appealing to men, a sign of beauty and femininity, and a symbol of the girl's position in society. Normally, only free women will wear their hair up, and neither free or slave will dye their hair as such is considered unnatural and fraudulent, especially in terms of the slave trade.
The shearing of a girl's hair is a very visible and lasting sign of her being disciplined. It is an embarrassment to the girl, makes her feel less attractive and less feminine, and displays to the world the fact that her owner has found her displeasing. The length of time the hair takes to grow back, causes the girl to constantly remember why she was sheared in the first place, and quickly fosters the understanding that this is not something she wishes to have happen again. The readily recognizable sign to others, that the girl has angered her master, is also a futher measure of punishment, not just for the shame it brings her as others look upon her and know she has done wrong, but because it is a badge which marks a "displeasing girl" and gives the expectation that such she will need further correction for anticipated failure.
"Whereas a girl’s hair might be cropped, just as her head might be shaved, as a punishment, such a punishment would be quite unusual. After all, the master commonly delights in the long lovely hair of a slave. Indeed, in most cities, long hair is almost universal with slaves. There are many things that can be done with such hair. Not only can it please the master by its beauty and feel, but it can serve to secure the slave, to gag her, and so on."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 301

"The control of a girl's clothing, and many other things, such as her diet, chaining, name, whether or not her head is to be shaved, and so on, are all within the purview of the master. His power over the slave is unqualified and absolute."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 26
"The whip on Gor, incidentally, though it is much in evidence, is seldom used. That it will be used, and promptly, if the occasion arises, is perhaps, paradoxically perhaps, why it seldom needs to be used. Most girls avoid feeling it, at least generally, by striving to be excellent slaves. To be sure, every female slave will have felt it, upon occasion. It is then common that they try to make certain that these occasions are quite infrequent. To be sure, some women do not fully understand they are owned, until they are whipped."
- VAGABONDS OF GOR, Pg. 21-22
"Excellent slaves are seldom beaten, for there is little, if any, reason to do so. To be sure, such a girl, particularly a love slave, occasionally desires to feel the stroke of the lash, wanting to feel pain at the hands of a beloved master, wanting to be whipped by him because she loves him, in this way symbolizing to herself her relationship to him, that of slave to master, her acceptance of that relationship, and her rejoicing in it. To be sure, she is soon likely to be merely, again, a whipped slave, begging her master for mercy."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 124-125
"Garments are an additional way, incidentally, in which to control slave girls. Knowing that the master may not permit her even such a rag if he chooses tends to make her more eager to please him, that she not be sent into the streets without it."
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 137
"I regarded Ilene.
'You no longer have a name,' I told her.
'I will give you a name,' I told her. 'It will be more convenient.'
'I will call you Ilene,' I said.
Her old name, her old identity, had been taken from her forever. Her new name, though in sound the same, was not her old. Between them there was a difference of worlds, a gulf wider than the dividing planets. Her old name had been hers as a free person, publicly registered, legally certified, historically identified with her throughout her life, until her capture by slavers. It had been a proud, intimate possession, giving her pleasure and dignity. It had ennobled her. It has served, with other properties, to distinguish her as a precious person, a unique individual, among all others on the planet Earth. When asked who she was, it was with that name that she would answer. That was who she was. Then that name was taken from her. She was only an animal in bondage. Her name might be changed, or altered, as often as a Master wished. Indeed, he need not even give her a name. Changing a girl's name, or taking it away, are common modes of Gorean slave discipline."
- HUNTERS OF GOR, PG. 225

"Almost any woman, of any type, would be likely to find herself passionately desired, even fought for, on Gor by many men."
- VAGABONDS OF GOR, Pg. 383


"The expression 'silk girl' is used, often, among bond-maids of the north, to refer to their counterparts in the south. The expression reflects their belief that such girls are spoiled, excessively pampered, indulged and coddled, sleek pets, who have little to do but adorn themselves with cosmetics and await their masters, cuddled cutely, on plush, scarlet coverlets, fringed with gold. Southern girls, incidentally, in my opiion, though scarcely as worked as their nothern sisters in bondage, a function of the economic distinction between the farm and city, are often worked, and worked hard, particularly if they have not pleased their masters."
- MARAUDERS OF GOR, Pg. 144
Aspects of Gorean Slavery vary much depending upon the area it occurs in. Slaves of various cities have certain qualities they are known for, and slaves of differing regions follow customs and manners fitting to where they are from. Usually, the "style" of a slave is dependent upon the land of her birth or where she was trained and what has influenced this training. Certain cities are known for the quality of the slaves they produce, with certain imparted mannerisms and styles of training being noted and known. A slave's dress and service will normally match with the place inwhich she dwells and the form of service expected of her. The Caste and life of an Owner can also often have much to do with what a slave will be like, as slaves of Peasant villages and the Northern lands, are often much different from their soft sisters in bondage in the high cylinders of the great cities.
What kind of girls are purchased by varied peoples depends much on the taste of the buyer, but two common considerations can be made, beyond the normal desire a man might have to own a girl he finds appealing, that of "necessity" and "rarity." In given regions and for specific duties, certain types of slaves may be sought out of necessity. Peasants, for example, commonly do not look for soft pleasure slaves, preferring women that are more fitting to the lands they live in, both in the sense of their capability to work and their appearance. Exotic girls appeal to a different quality in the buyer, being something rare and interesting, as in the case of a fair-skined, blonde girl being sold in the jungles of Schendi. In such a case, a girl that might be found average or plain, would dramatically incease in value and appeal, being sold far from her native lands to a people that would find her anything but common.
Though certain differences may occur, regarding dress, manner, expected service, training, and simply "look," the overall core principles regarding presence and acceptance of slavery, its cultural norms, the relationship and interaction of Master and slave and simply the institution itself, all remain a general constant throughout the planet.

"To be sure, what many urban slaves do not understand is that the peasants who buy in the rural markets are seldom looking for their sort of woman, the normal type of beautiful slave commonly sold in the urban markets, but rather for a different sort of woman, one who appeals more to their own tastes, and also, of course, will be useful in such things as carrying water and plowing."
- VAGABONDS OF GOR, Pg. 70
"Cold, white-skinned women are of interest to the men of the Tahari. They enjoy putting them in servitude. They enjoy, on their submission mats, turning them into helpless, yeilding slaves. Too, blue-eyed, blond women are, statistically, rare in the Tahari districts. Those that exist there have been imported as slaves. Given her complexion and coloring, I though, and Samos concurred, we could get a good price for the wench in Tor, or in the interior, at an oasis market."
- TRIBESMEN OF GOR, Pg. 44
Her throat required only a collar. Her thigh required only a brand."
- PLAYERS OF GOR, Pg. 228


"The brand is to be distinguished from the collar, though both are a designation of slavery. The primary significance of the collar is that it identifies the master and his city. The collar of a given girl maybe be changed countless times, but the brand continues throughout to bespeak her status."
- OUTLAW OF GOR, Pg. 187
In Gorean Slavery, to both masters and slaves, the collar and brand are much more then simply a band of steel and a mark on one's flesh. Both have intense personal and symbolic meanings, which impress themselves upon the very being of the girl and mark her both internally and externally as slave.
"The brand is impersonal; the collar intensely personal; the brand marks her property; the collar proclaims whose property she is, who it is who has either taken or paid for, her; that the brand is an impersonal designation of an absence of status in the social structure is perhaps another reason why masters do not often brand their own girls; the brand relationship to the free man is institutional; the collar relationship, on the other hand, is an intensely personal one."
- TRIBESMEN OF GOR, Pg. 42
The collar serves as an outward symbol of slavery, showing to the world the condition that the one wearing it is held in. It is commonly made of steel, very tight fitting, inscribed with the name and city of the owner, and secured with a "6-pin or disk" lock, one pin for each letter in the word "kajira." Design and inscription can vary from simple to ornate, depending on the master and the status the girl is given in his eyes, but the purpose remains the same, to mark the girl as slave and indicate who her owner is, to make her know this by the feel of the steel on her flesh, and to provide a simple and effective means of attaching a leash or tether. In this way, though an outward sign of slavery, the collar is very personal, for it marks to whom the girl may own, for though a brand can never be removed, collars might change with the changing of owners. It is also for this reason that owners will almost always collar their own girls, for the placement of such is a direct, material link, between slave and owner.
"'What is the common purpose of a collar?'
'The collar has four common purposes, Master,' she said. 'First, it visibly designates me as a slave, as a brand might not, if it should be covered by clothing. Second, it impresses my slavery upon me. Thirdly, it identifies my master. Fourthly - fourthly -'
'Fourthly?' he asked.
'Fourthly,' she said, 'it makes it easier to leash me.'"
- EXPLORERS OF GOR, Pg. 80
The brand is a permanent, unchanging symbol of a girl's slavery. Whether it is visible or covered, its existence cannot be denied and its mark burns not only into the flesh of the girl, but into her very being, altering her and her perception of herself drastically. The psychological effect of branding is a major part of why such is done. Besides marking the girl as slave, at the moment the brand is placed to the flesh, girl's are known to experience a change in personality, the brand having the effect of very strongly convincing the girl that she is now truly a slave and a rightless animal owned by men. Many are known to become more docile and accepting at that moment, knowing now that resistance is no longer acceptable and the truth must be accepted. Not all are effected in the same way, some are even known to become more hostile, but regardless of how they might react, the realization that this is really happening, and that they are no longer free, is made very clear as the iron is applied. Any woman born of Gor knows at that moment society ceases to see her as a free woman, and that mark means that she will most likely never be free again. Even those not born of Gor know that as the iron burns the brand into them, that in that symbolic motion, they are being treated as an animal by men, and that from that moment on, that is how things will be.
"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 girl 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. On the other hand, I have known of several cases in which a proud, insolent woman, even one of great intelligene, who resisted a master to the very touch of the iron, once branded became instantly a passionate and obedient Pleasure Slave."
- OUTLAW OF GOR, Pg. 189
While a collar might be changed as a girl passes hands, the brand is an institutional mark of her status in society, and while having a personal effect on a girl, in what it says to her, it is outwardly a very impersonal sign. It is for this reason, along with the skill proper placement requires, that owners will often have a metal worker place the brand on the girl.
"'On such a girl,' I said, 'brand and collar are no more then emblems, mere tokens, proclaiming on her body the truth of her, the deepest truth of her, which no longer may she conceal.'"
- TRIBESMEN OF GOR, Pg. 91-92
But even though the collar and the brand have intense personal and symbolic meanings, they are not what makes a girl a slave, excepting perhaps in a legal sense. They are, for all their symbolism, external objects which serve to recognize and announce internals truths that were present before either collar or brand were applied. These truths being, that the person wearing them is truly a woman, and as a woman so wearing them, is a slave to men. Part of what causes a girl to come to love her collar and her brand, is the knowledge that they declare to the world what the girl is, and that with them she is given the freedom to be what she naturally is. Even as signs of bondage, they are also a key unlocking things prior trapped within, things that only bondage can free and allow the enslaved girl to joyfully experience.
"What is the magic, the mystery of the brand, the collar, I wondered, that by means of them such marvels might be wrought? It had to do, I supposed, with the nature of woman, her deepest needs, with the order of nature, with the pervasive themes of dominance and submission. In bondage woman is in her place in nature, and she will not be truly happy until she is there. Given this, it may be seen that, in a sense, the brand and collar, as lovely and decorative as they are, and as exciting and profoundly meaningful as they are, when they are fixed on a woman, and she wears them, and as obviously important as they are from the point of view of property law, may be viewed not so much as instituting or producing bondage as recognizing it, as serving, in a way, as tokens, or outward signs, of these marvelous inward truths, these ultimate realities. The true slave knows that her slavery, her natural slavery, is not a matter of the brand and collar, which have more to do with legalities, but of herself. She may love her brand and collar, and beg them, and rejoice in them, but I do not think this is merely because they make her so exciting, desirable and beautiful; I think it is also, at least, because they proclaim publicly to the world what she is, because by means of them her deepest truth, freeing her of concealments and deceits, cutting through confusions, resolving doubts, ending hesitancies, making her at last whole and one, to her joy, is marked upon her. The true slave is within the woman. She knows it is there. She will not be happy until she terminates inward dissonances, until she casts out rending contradictions, until she achieves emotional, moral, physiological and psychological consistency, until she surrenders to her inward truths."
- VAGABONDS OF GOR, Pg. 40-41

"Gorean girls, however, who are aware of the cultural implications of their collar, and its meaning, usually spend little time, once it is helplessly locked on their throats, in fighting their womanhood. They must bend, or die. In bending, in submission, in total, will-less submission to a master, they find themselves free for the first time from the chains of egoism, liberated from the grasping pursuits of the self, readied for the surrenders of love."
- BEASTS OF GOR, Pg. 123
"The condition of slavery does not require the collar, or the brand, or an anklet, bracelet or ring, or any overt sign of bondage. Such things, as symbolic as they are, as profoundly meaningful as they are, and as useful as they are for marking properties, identifying masters, and such, are not necessary to slavery. They are, in effect, though their affixing can legally effect imbondment, ultimately, in themselves, tokens of bondage, and are not to be confused with the reality itself. The uncollared slave is not then a free woman but only a slave who is not then in a collar. Similarly a slave is still a slave even if her brand could be made to magically disappear or, if she has been made a slave in some other way, if she has not yet been branded."
- RENEGADES OF GOR, Pg. 273


"Rejoice that they are on your body. Many slave girls never know them."
- TRIBESMEN OF GOR, Pg. 92


"Then suddenly I understood the brand and collar, the whip, the chain! Of course they would brand us, marking us as their own. Of course they would put us in steel collars, which we could not remove! Of course they could chain us to their walls and slave rings! Of course the would use the whip unhesitantly upon us if we were in the least displeasing!
She knelt before the mirror, shuddering. 'Perhaps now,' I said, 'you understand, in some small particular, what it is for a woman to be attractive to a man.'
'They want us,' she whispered, frightened, 'literally.'
'They want to own us,' she said, 'own us!'"
- EXPLORERS OF GOR, Pg. 199-200
The procedures for collaring and branding on Gor can vary from informal and quick, to a sort of symbolic ceremony. Such can also differ with the region and culture involved, but as a whole how such is done does hold certain similarities of both purpose and design, much the same as the purpose of the collar and the brand in themselves, even if the actual articles may not look the same.
Collaring
"There are many points in favor of the collar, besides those of history and tradition. The throat is not only an ideal aesthetic showplace for the symbol of bondage, displaying it beautifully and prominently, but one which, because of the location, at the throat, and the widths involved, is excellently secure. It also makes it easier to leash the female. Also, of course, by means of it and a rope or chain one may attach her to various rings and holding devices. Some fellows even bracelet or tie her hands to it. The collar, too, of course, helps to make clear to the slave, and others, her status as a domestic animal."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 257
The slave collar is a necessity of ownership in a society with the institution of legalized slavery. Yes, the collar does have an effect on the girl, and it does accent her beauty, but it is a necessity in that it identifies her owner, telling whose property she is, making it harder for her to run away, and easier to be returned to where she belongs. It is for this reason that collars are very widely used and are not only encouraged by many cities and the merchant's caste, but often required and deemed expected. But this is not the only reason it is done. Gorean men want to collar their slaves for the collar marks the girl as their property, not just to the world, but in a very satisfactory sense to themselves. The sight of a girl, who one owns, and whose name is inscribed on her collar as owner, can be quite pleasing, and the bond which develops between a master and a slave can often be seen as having begun at the time of collaring. The placement of the collar is in this sense an important event, even if done in a matter of fact manner, for at this instance the girl is truly the property of her master, the man whose name she now wears as owner. This event is sometimes looked back on as a sort of "anniversary," with the owner remembering the day as most of Earth do not even recollect their weddings. This is not simply a joining, or a bond of marriage, this is the moment that one creature became the full property of another, a slave to a master, a living, breathing, possession.
"'The collar,' I said, touching it, 'is put on from without, but what it encircles, the slave, comes from within.
'Slavery,' I told her, 'true slavery, comes from within."
- SAVAGES OF GOR, Pg. 210
Examples of Collaring
The following are some examples of how a collaring might be done, as taken from the books. These are both examples of men collaring girls that they claim for themselves. Girls that are collared merely for resale are normally simply put in collar with little ceremony or words spoken.
The first depicts a quick sort of collaring, Some formality still occurs, but for the most part the girl is given collar and then spurned as a matter of display, showing to all she is merely a slave now. This is done lest the girl or anyone else, think that in the ceremony, the slave is more then what she is.
"'Kneel to be collared,' he said.
'Bring the collar,' said Thander of Ti to one of his men.
'I have found a slave who pleases me,' he said. 'I am collaring her.'
He cared not for the politics of cities, nor did he fear the wrath of states. He was a warrior.
He stepped behind the girl and, in the manner of Ti and certain other cities, thrust down her head and held ready the opened collar.
'Submit,' he said.
'I submit myself, totally, Master,' she said.
Roughly he shut the collar, enclosing her lovely throat in the obdurate band of slave steel. He then, with his foot, spurned her to the floor."