In Slave Girl of Gor (pages 212-213), Norman explains the concept of Gorean caste quite thoroughly. There are several ways in which one can claim a caste; occupation, birth or investment:
"Whereas caste membership is commonly connected with the practice of an occupation, such as agriculture, or commerce, or war, there can be, of course, caste members who are not engaged in caste work and individuals who do certain forms of work who are not members of that caste commonly associated with such work. Caste, commonly, though not invariably, is a matter of birth. One may, too, be received into a caste by investment."
In addition, a Free Woman may claim the caste of her Companion while children borne of the companionship take the caste of the father:
“Normally, mating takes place among caste members, but if the mating is of mixed caste, the woman may elect to retain caste, which is commonly done, or be received into the caste of the male companion. Caste membership of the children born of such a union is a function of the caste of the father.”
A person’s caste does not only lend itself to one’s occupation, but to most aspects of their lives from a sense of identity through their leisure activities:
"Caste is important to Goreans in a way that is difficult for members of a non-caste society to understand. Though there are doubtless difficulties involved with caste structure the caste situation lends an individual identity and pride, allies him with thousands of caste brothers, and provides him with various opportunities and services. Recreation on Gor is often associated with caste, and tournaments and entertainments.
Similarly most public charity on Gor is administered through caste structure."
A person’s caste designation is infrequently changed; but it does happen:
“The caste system is not inflexible and there are opportunities for altering caste, but men seldom avail themselves of them; they take great pride in their castes, often comparing others’ castes unfavorably to their own; a Gorean’s caste, by the time he reaches adulthood, seems to have become a part of his very blood and being; the average
Gorean would no more think of altering caste than the average man of Earth would of altering his citizenship, from say, American to Russian or French to Chinese.
It is also said that the caste system, although perhaps flawed provides a certain strength to the Gorean community:
“The caste structure, in spite of its many defects, doubtless contributes to the stability of Gorean society, a society in which the individual has a place, in which his work is respect, and in which he can plan intelligently with respect to the future."
At the government building there are five stone chairs...one for each of the head Master of the caste. There is a wide band of the caste color going from the floor to the ceiling six stories high behind the each Master's chair.
The religion of Priest-Kings, institutionalized and ritualized by the caste of Initiates, had made little headway among the primitive men to the north.
Marauders of Gor, p. 26"…the bleakest of all castes of men, the Initiates, skilled only in ritual, mythology and superstition."
Tarnsman of Gor, p.186Behind the Initiates, standing, as befits the men of other castes, I saw men of a hundred cities, joined here in their common fear and plea to the denizens of the Sardar. Well I could suppose the terror and upheavals that had brought these men, normally so divided against one another in the strife of their warring cities, to that palisade, to the dark shadows of the Sardar. I was pleased to see that the men of other castes, unlike the Initiates, did not grovel. There were men in that crowd from Ar, from Thentis, from Tharna, recognized by the yellow cords in their belt; from Port Kar; from Tor, Cos, Tyros; perhaps from Treve. Perhaps even from Ko-ro-ba. And the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes as low as the Peasants, the Saddle-Makers, the Weavers, the Goat-Keepers, the Poets and the Merchants, but none of them groveled as did the Initiates; how strange, I thought. The Initiates claimed to be most like Priest-Kings, even to be formed in their image, and yet I knew that a Priest-King would never grovel; it seemed the Initiates, in their efforts to be like gods, behaved like slaves.
Priest Kings of Gor, p. 294-295"The religious conditioning of the men of Gor, based on superstition though it might be, was as powerful as a set of chains-more powerful than chains because they did not realize it existed. They feared the word, the curse, of this old man without weapons more than they would have feared the massed swords of a thousand foremen."
Tarnsman of Gor, p. 206
"You must not tell other members of the Caste of Scribes," he cautioned........"I will tell everyone," said the Older Tarl kindly, "that you are the bravest of the Caste of Scribes."
Priest-Kings of Gor p.303
Inside the tunnel, though dim, was not altogether dark, being lit by dome-like, wire-protected energy bulbs. These bulbs, invented more than a century ago by the Caste of Builders, produce a clear, soft light for years without replacement.
Tarnsman of Gor, p. 197Of special interest to me was the fact that this room, primitive though it might be, was lit by what, in Gorean, is called an energy bulb, an invention of the Builders. I could see neither cords nor battery cases. Yet the room was filled with a soft, gentle white light.
Captive of Gor, p. 93"But I was of high caste!" said Filomela.
"What was your caste?" I asked.
"The Builders!" she said.
"But you are not know of the Builders, or of any other caste, are you?" I asked.
"No," she said.
"What are you?"
"A slave," she said.
Magicians of Gor, p. 225
"The Player was a rather old man, extremely unusual on Gor, where the stabilization serums were developed centuries ago by the Caste of Physicians in Ko-ro-ba and Ar, and transmitted to the physicians of other cities at several of the Sardar Fairs. Age, on Gor, interestingly, was regarded, and still is, by the caste of Physicians as a disease, not an inevitable natural phenomenon.
Assassins of Gor, p. 30On the first day the Physician, a quiet man in the green garments of his caste, examined me, thoroughly. The instruments he used, the tests he performed, the samples he required were not unlike those of Earth.
Captive of Gor, p. 93
'You have drawn a weapon against me,' I said. `You are of the warriors?' said the fellow. He wavered. He, too, knew the codes.
`Yes,' I said. `And he?' asked them fellow.
`He, too,' I said.
`You are not in the scarlet,' he said.
`True,' I said. Did he think that the color of a fellow's garments was what made him a warrior? Surely he must realize that one not of the warriors might affect the scarlet, and that one who wore the grimed gray of a peasant, one barefoot, and armed only with the great staff, might be of the scarlet caste. It is not the uniform which makes the warrior, the soldier.
Magicians of Gor, p. 129`No,' he said. `I do not keep you because of the gold. I am of the scarlet caste. I am of the warriors. I could cast the gold away, as a gesture.'
Vagabonds of Gor, p. 490"What is it to be a warrior? It is to keep the codes. Nothing else matters."
Beasts of Gor, p. 340'I am of the Caste of Warriors, and it is in our codes that the only death fit for a man is that in battle, but I can no longer believe that this is true, for the man I met once on the road to Ko-ro-ba died well, and taught me that all wisdom and truth does not lie in my own codes.'
Priest Kings of Gor, p. 14
"…the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes as low as the Peasants, the Saddle-Makers, the Weavers, the Goat-Keepers, the Poets and the Merchants, but none of them groveled as did the Initiates; how strange, I thought. The Initiates claimed to be most like Priest-Kings, even to be formed in their image, and yet I knew that a Priest-King would never grovel; it seemed the Initiates, in their efforts to be like gods, behaved like slaves.
Priest Kings of Gor, p. 295
"…When an individual captures a girl for his own uses, does not always mark her, though it is commonly done. On the other hand, the professional slaver, as a business practice, almost always brands his chattels, and it is seldom that an unbranded girl ascends the block.
Outlaw of Gor, p. 186 – 187
On Gor, the singer, or poet, is regarded as a craftsman who makes strong sayings, much like a pot-maker makes a good pot or a saddle-maker makes a worthy saddle. 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.
Outlaw of Gor, p. 103 – 105
"...the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes as low as the Peasants, the Saddle-Makers, the Weavers, the Goat-Keepers, the Poets and the Merchants, but none of them groveled as did the Initiates; how strange, I thought. The Initiates claimed to be most like Priest-Kings, even to be formed in their image, and yet I knew that a Priest-King would never grovel; it seemed the Initiates, in their efforts to be like gods, behaved like slaves.
Priest Kings of Gor, p. 295
Though one is commonly born into a caste one is often not permitted to practice the caste craft until a suitable apprenticeship has been served. This guarantees the quality of the caste product. It is possible, though it is seldom the case, that members of a caste are not permitted to practice specific caste skills, though they may be permitted to practice subsidiary skills. For example, one who is of the Metalworkers might not be permitted to work iron, but might be permitted to do such things as paint iron, and transport and market it.
Fighting Slave of Gor, p. 209 – 210
In most cities it is regarded, incidentally, as a criminal offense to enslave one of the caste of players. A similar decree, in most cities, stand against the enslavement of one who is of the caste of musicians.
Beasts of Gor, p. 44
Outside on the bridges I hear the cry of the Lighter of Lanterns. “Light your lamps,” he calls. “Light the lamps of love.”
Outlaw of Gor, p. 252
Tarns, who are vicious things, are seldom more than half tamed and, like their diminutive earthly counterparts, the hawks, are carnivorous. It is not unknown for a tarn to attack and devour his own rider. They fear nothing but the tarn-goad. They are trained by men of the Caste of Tarn Keepers to respond to it while still young, when they can be fastened by wires to the training perches. Whenever a young bird soars away or refuses obedience in some fashion, he is dragged back to the perch and beaten with the tarn-goad.
Tarnsman of Gor, p. 52
I had scarcely stepped from the stones of the road when, coming down the road, each step carefully measured and solid, I saw a wide, hunched figure, bending under a gigantic bundle of sticks, strapped to his back by two cords which he held twisted in his fists in front of his body. His stature and burden proclaimed him a member of the Caste of Carriers of Wood, or Woodsmen, that Gorean caste which, with the Caste of Charcoal Makers, provides most of the common fuel for the Gorean cities.
The weight the man was carrying was prodigious, and would have staggered men of most castes, even that of the Warriors. The bundle reared itself at least a man’s height above his bent back, and extended perhaps some four feet in width. I knew the support of that weight depended partly on the skillful use of the cords and back, but sheer strength was only too obviously necessary, and this man, and his caste brothers, over the generations, had been shaped to their task. Lesser men had turned outlaw or died. In rare cases, one might have been permitted by the Council of High Castes to raise caste. None of course would accept a lower caste, and there were lower castes, the Caste of Peasants, for example, the most basic caste of all Gor.
Outlaw of Gor, p. 27
I had scarcely stepped from the stones of the road when, coming down the road, each step carefully measured and solid, I saw a wide, hunched figure, bending under a gigantic bundle of sticks, strapped to his back by two cords which he held twisted in his fists in front of his body. His stature and burden proclaimed him a member of the Caste of Carriers of Wood, or Woodsmen, that Gorean caste which, with the Caste of Charcoal Makers, provides most of the common fuel for the Gorean cities.
Outlaw of Gor, p. 27
On Gor, the singer, or poet, is regarded as a craftsman who makes strong sayings, much like a pot-maker makes a good pot or a saddle-maker makes a worthy saddle. 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.
Outlaw of Gor, p. 103 – 105
"It was a throwing knife, of a sort used in Ar, much smaller than the southern quiva, and tapered on only one side. It was a knife designed for killing. Mixed with the blood and fluids of the body there was a smear of white at the end of the steel, the softened residue of a glaze of kanda paste, now melted by body heat, which had coated the tip of the blade. On the hilt of the dagger, curling about it, was the legend, 'I have sought him. I have found him.' It was a killing knife.
'The Caste of Assassins?' I had asked.
'Unlikely,' had said the Older Tarl, 'for Assassins are commonly too proud for poison."
Assassins of Gor, p. 42
"Tiny 1/4 inch three-pronged brand worn on the cheek of those of the Caste of Thieves, who are found only in Port Kar. The thief’s scar in Port Kar is a tiny, three-pronged brand, burned into the face over the right cheekbone. It marks the members of the Cast of Thieves in Port Kar. That is the only city in which, as far as I know, there is a recognized caste for thieves."
"In Port Kar," said I, "there is a caste of thieves. It is the only known caste of thieves on Gor."..."I have seen the thief's brand!" she cried. "It is beautiful!" It was a tiny, three-pronged brand, burned into the face over the right cheekbone.
Hunters of Gor, p. 204
Mercenaries of Gor, p. 239
"In rare cases, one might have been permitted by the Council of High Caste to raise caste. None of course would accept a lower caste, and there were lower castes, the caste of Peasants for example, the most basic Caste of all Gor.
Outlaw of Gor, p. 27