Guest-Donna

[roman]

Tal,

The Free Woman Donna will be my Guest at the Inn for a while.
She is somewhat young, and learning her Caste.

[roman]

== At one of the Personal Residences ==

: says to StoryTellerGuest of Roma:.... *The Merchant enters the empty chambers, ensuring that there are no urts in the sleen furs used for sleeping on the pallets. He checks to make sure that the tharlarion oil lamps are full of tharlarion oil. He opens the linens chest made of needle tree wood. He sees to it that a long, blue dress of ankle length is put inside of it. He ensures that proper women's boots are placed next to the bed. Blue ribbons are also supplied to tie her hair back. He places a leather satchel on top of these clothes, and closes the chest. On top of the chest, he places a wooden lap desk with a leather shoulder thong. Inside this lap desk are all the things a scribe would need, including writing sticks, rence paper, vellum, sealing wax, candles, and scroll cases., as well as ink. The merchant also places a leather belt with a throwing dagger in a sheath on the chest.

[roman]

Tal, Donna.

'Storytellers' are of the Caste of Entertainers,
either the sub-Caste of Musicians,
or the lower Caste of Poets and Singers.

www.geocities.com/aegans_tuchuk_camp/training_files/gorean_musical_intruments.html

The Caste of Musicians
Czehar players have the most prestige, followed by the flutists and the players of the kalika. The players of the drums come next, and the farthest fellow down the list is the man who keeps the bag of miscellaneous instruments, playing them and parceling them out to others as needed. Musicians are never enslaved, but they may be exiled, tortured, or slain. It is said, that he who makes music must, like the tarn and the Vosk gull, be free.

Book 4: Nomads of Gor, page 154

Caste of Singers
One of the low castes. On Gor the singer or poet is regarded as a craftsman who makes strong sayings he has his role to play in the social structure celebrating battles and histories singing of heroes and cities but also he is expected to sing of living and of love and joy not merely of arms and glory; and too it is his function to remind the Goreans from time to time of loneliness and death lest they should forget that they are men. The Caste name is interchangeable with Caste of Poets.

Book 2: Outlaw of Gor, page 103

The Caste Colorsfor Musicians, Singers and Poets are:
Aqua and red.

Caste colours are sort of like a uniform, they help to identify the 'Caste' that you were born into. To identify yourself as a musician to others, you would wear the colours Aqua and Red somewhere on your person. This might be a dress, a cape, or perhaps a bag or the instrument that you carry.

I am guessing that this might be an Aqua blue field of colour, with a red trim around the sleeves and hem.

A Caste is basically the profession that your entire family has been engaged in for generations. Your parents, brothers and sisters would have been musicians too, as well as your grandparents.

Occasionally, when people of two different Castes marry (called a 'free companionship'), the woman will take the Caste of the man.

Among the caste there is also a hierarchy of prestige:

*czehar players (highest prestige)
*flutists
*kalika players
*kaska players
*the man that handles the bag of miscellaneous instruments;
playing them, and handing them out to the other players
*bits of metal on wires

Czehar:
Musical instrument consisting of a flat oblong box having 8 strings which are played with a horn pick;
similar to a www.lindacaplan.com/koto/koto.html. (japanese koto).

Book 19: Kajira of Gor, page 108

Also of interest:

"Lastly it might be mentioned, thinking it is of some interest, that Musicians are never enslaved, but they may be exiled, tortured, or slain. It is said, that he who makes Music must, like the Tarn and the Vosk gull, be free."

Nomads of Gor, page 154

However, not everyone will respect this. Most especially if you leave the Island.