Time

Goreans seem, for the most part, not too particular about the manner in which they tell time. Oddly enough, Gorean chronometers run backwards, their spinning hands rotating in a counterclockwise direction. I suppose this sort of thing is to be expected, it being "Counter-Earth" and all. Here, then, are the standard Gorean measurements for time, along with their Earth equivalents:

 

Units of Time

Hours of the Day

 

Gorean Year

The Gorean calendar is divided into twelve twenty-five-day months. Each month consists of five weeks (hands), each of which is five days long. Each month is separated from the month which follows it by a five-day "passage hand" which marks the passage from one month to the next. Following the normal passage hand which marks the end of the twelfth Gorean month is a five-day period known as the “Waiting Hand," during which most Goreans mourn the passing of the old year.

Every fourth year (leap year) the Gorean New Year is celebrated on a separate day between the waiting hand of the previous year and the first day of the First Hand of En`Kara. The lists below show the Gorean hands and months along with their equivalent dates according to the calendar of Earth, as calculated from the orbital ecliptic of the twin planets.

 

Gorean Months

En'Kara Second     Camerius     En'Var      Fifth     Sixth     Se'Kara     Eighth     Ninth     Se'Var     Eleventh     Twelfth     The Waiting Hand

 

 

Gorean New Year

On the day of the vernal equinox (March 21), many northern Gorean cities, including Ar, celebrate the Gorean New Year. Typically upon this day a celebration takes place, doors are painted green, and a city-wide festival is held, lasting for two full Gorean hands (ten days). Every fourth year the New Year is celebrated on the extra day which occurs between the waiting hand and the day of the equinox.

Fair of En’Kara (March 21st-March 30th)

 

Sardar Fairs are the Gorean equivalent of the World's Fair on Earth. There are four huge trade fairs which are held quarterly in the shadow of the Sardar Mountain Range. Each young person of Gor is expected to make a pilgrimage to the foot of the Sardar Mountains before he or she reaches their 25th birthday. They typically last ten full days (plus at least that long for set up and break down) and are scheduled to coincide with the solstices and equinoxes. The Fair of En’Kara occurs around the vernal (spring) equinox.

Return to Turia

The last day of the Second Hand of En'Kara (March 30th) is traditionally the day which marks the beginning of The Season of Little Grass for the Wagon Peoples, and shortly thereafter they begin the long trek from their winter pastures back to Turia.

Planting Feast of Sa-Tarna

This complex feast is celebrated by most Gorean cities early during the growing season, and believed by many to ensure a plentiful harvest for the year ahead. Numerous rituals are performed during the three days of the feast (April 16th-18th) by members of the caste of Initiates, and members of each of the five high castes perform their own part of the ceremony during that three-day period.

Most of these rituals consist of sacrifices or prayers to the Priest-Kings conducted in the presence of the city Home Stone. On the final eve of the feast, the Home Stone is placed beneath the sky, typically atop the tallest cylinder in the city, and sprinkled with sa-tarna grain and ka-la-na wine by a dignitary of the city, often the Administrator, Ubar, or a member of the ruling family.

 

Second Month

 

Games of Love War

The Wagon People compete against the Warriors of Turia on the Plain of Stakes during the Second Passage Hand (May 15th-19th) in mid-spring. They participate in various challenges and ceremonial combats in order to exchange freewomen for slaves.

 

Month of Camerius

Month of En'Var (The First Resting)

 

Turian New Year

The peoples of Turia and certain other southern regions officially celebrate their own new year on the day of the summer solstice (June 21st). A ten-day period of revelry follows, similar to the new year celebrations in northern cities.

Fair of En’Var (June 19th-June 28th)

The Sardar Fairs are the Gorean equivalent of the World's Fair on Earth. These are four huge trade fairs which are held quarterly in the shadow of the Sardar Mountain Range. Each young person of Gor is expected to make a pilgrimage to the foot of the Sardar Mountains before he or she reaches their 25th birthday. They typically last ten full days (plus at least that long for set up and break down) and are scheduled to coincide with the solstices and equinoxes. The Fair of En’Var occurs around the summer solstice.

 

Fifth Month

 

Kajuralia: The Festival of Slaves

It is held in most Gorean cities (except Port Kar, where it is not celebrated at all) on the last day of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 15th). In Ar, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth month (August 12th), the day which precedes the Love Feast. Upon this day, slaves may take liberties which are otherwise not permitted them during the year.

Such liberties include: the drinking of wine and liquor, the freedom to roam at will (provided of course they do not attempt to escape from their owners permanently), the freedom to choose their own sexual partners and to couch with slaves of the opposite sex whom they find attractive, temporary suspension of all work and duties, and even the opportunity to play (minor) tricks and practical jokes upon freepersons.

After the twentieth ahn, however, they are expected to be back in their respective kennels and slave quarters to resume the services required by their bonded status. Slaves who "go renegade" during Kajuralia are typically punished severely, if recaptured, and are often executed for such an offense.

Love Feast

This is a five-day celebration within Ar, held during the Fifth Passage Hand (August 13th-17th). It is a time wherein many slaves are sold. The fourth day of the Love Feast (August 16th) is typically considered the climax of the festival in regard to the sale of slaves. The fifth day (August 17th) is normally reserved for great contests and spectacles in the Stadium of Blades, grand races in the Stadium of Tarns, great kaissa championships and general celebratory feasting.

 

Sixth Month

Month of Se’Kara (The Second Turning)

Passing of Turia

The herds of the Wagon People traditionally pass closest to the city of Turia on or around the Second Hand of Se`Kara (September 22nd-26th).

 

Fair of Se’Kara (September 22nd- October 1st)

 

The Sardar Fairs are the Gorean equivalent of the World's Fair on Earth. These are four huge trade fairs which are held quarterly in the shadow of the Sardar Mountain Range. Each young person of Gor is expected to make a pilgrimage to the foot of the Sardar Mountains before he or she reaches their 25th birthday. They typically last ten full days (plus at least that long for set up and break down) and are scheduled to coincide with the solstices and equinoxes. The Fair of Se’Kara occurs around the autumnal equinox.

 

Festival of the 25th of Se'Kara

 

An annual festival held in Port Kar to celebrate their great naval victory over the combined fleets of Cos and Tyros (October 11th).

 

Eighth Month

Feast of Fools

This is a festival celebrated in some Gorean cities on the last day of the Third Hand of the eighth Gorean month (October 31). It is similar in many respects to the southern Festival known as Carnival, except it lasts only for the period of one night. It is also known as Festival of the Cities of Dust, in homage to the spirits of the deceased who died during the last year.

 

Ninth Month

The Thing

An annual celebration held in Torvaldsland, during which all of the shieldmen of the various Great Jarls travel to the Hall of their particular leader, submit their weaponry for inspection, and formally repledge their oaths of loyalty. The Thing usually occupies a span of from three to five days, and occurs sometime during the middle of the ninth Gorean month (mid-November), varying according to such factors as weather and the current political situation.

The Wintering

The nomadic herds of the Wagon People typically occupy their winter pastures during the period from the middle of the ninth Gorean month (late November) through the Second Hand of En'Kara (late March).

 

Month of Se’Var

 

New Year (Wagon People)

The day of the winter solstice (December 21st) is celebrated by the Wagon People as the first day of the new year, and marks the beginning of The Season of Snows. In addition, the women of the Wagon Peoples keep a calendar of their own based upon the phases of the largest of the three Gorean moons. It consists of fifteen separate divisions, each named after one of the fifteen different kinds of bosk, for instance: The Moon of the Brown Bosk, The Moon of the Spotted Bosk, etc.

Fair of Se’Var

The Sardar Fairs are the Gorean equivalent of the World's Fair on Earth. These are four huge trade fairs which are held quarterly in the shadow of the Sardar Mountain Range. Each young person of Gor is expected to make a pilgrimage to the foot of the Sardar Mountains before he or she reaches their 25th birthday. They typically last ten full days (plus at least that long for set up and break down) and are scheduled to coincide with the solstices and equinoxes. The Fair of Se’Var occurs around the winter solstice.

 

Eleventh Month

Twelfth Month

 

Carnival

This festival is held in many southern cities, notably Port Kar, during the five days of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 11th-15th). During this celebration it is often customary to garb oneself in outlandish costumes or masks and attend various masquerade fetes and feasts.

Kajuralia: The Festival of Slaves

It is held in most Gorean cities (except Port Kar, where it is not celebrated at all) on the last day of the Twelfth Passage Hand (March 15th). In Ar, it is celebrated on the last day of the fifth month (August 12th), the day which precedes the Love Feast. Upon this day, slaves may take liberties which are otherwise not permitted them during the year.

Such liberties include the drinking of wine and liquor, the freedom to roam at will (provided of course they do not attempt to escape from their owners permanently), the freedom to choose their own sexual partners and to couch with slaves of the opposite sex whom they find attractive, temporary suspension of all work and duties, and even the opportunity to play (minor) tricks and practical jokes upon freepersons.

After the twentieth ahn, however, they are expected to be back in their respective kennels and slave quarters to resume the services required by their bonded status. Slaves who "go renegade" during Kajuralia are typically punished severely if recaptured, and are often executed for such an offense.

 

The Waiting Hand

 

The Waiting Hand

This is a five-day period (March 16th-20th) during which doors are painted white, little food is eaten, little is drunk and there is no singing or public rejoicing in the city. Walls and doors are adorned with sprigs and branches from the brak bush to ward off ill-luck in the coming year. On the day of the vernal equinox, the Ubar or Administrator of the city performs a ritual "greeting of the sun," after which doors are repainted and the brak foliage is removed, beginning a ten-day period of general revelry.