haik: worn to protect slaves from the sun in the Tahari

hair position: in this position a girl stands with feet flat to the floor and bows gracefully at the waist, hair flowing forward for the Master reach:

"I held my left hand open, at my waist. She stiffened, and looked at me, angrily. I opened and closed my left hand once. I saw her training in Gorean customs had been thorough. But she never thought that such a gesture would be used to her. She came beside me, and a bit behind me, and, crouching, put her head down, deeply. I fastened my hand in her hair. She winced. Women are helpless in this position." Beasts of Gor, page 409

Hand: the Gorean week, consisting of five (5) days; as in Waiting Hand: Assassin of Gor, page 78

Hand: name of a military unit in Kurii

A typical Kurii foraging squad consists of six animals, called a "hand," with its "eye," or leader. Two such "hands" with their "eyes," constitutes a "Kur," or "Beast." The military Kur, in this sense a unit, is commanded by a "Blood" This seems peculiar perhaps but is explained by ancient Kurii belief, that thought is a function of the blood. One "thinks" thus with one's entire body, not just the brain. Marauders of Gor, page 241

handle tie: a girl's ankles are ties together with 12 inches between them and her wrists are bound before her with a lengthy tether; this tether is then drawn between her legs and tied about her neck, forming a 'handle' that a Free Person can use to lead her: Beasts of Gor, page 173

harl ring: form of slave chain which consists of an ankle ring with a welded ring in back and a chain in front; the chains terminate in a locking device which can be attached to another Harl ring, around a post, or to itself in order to secure a slave: Hunters of Gor, page 208

harpoon: A long slender javelin-type spear fitted with a barbed head and used with an attached line for retrieval. A similar weapon first appears in the brine pits of Klima in book #10, Tribesmen of Gor, and the actual harpoon itself is used extensively in book #12, Beasts of Gor.

I grasped the long harpoon. It was some eight feet in length, some two and a half inches in diameter. Its major shaft was of wood, but it had a foreshaft of bone. In this foreshaft was set the head of the harpoon, of bone, drilled, with a point of sharpened slate. Through the drilled hole in the bone, some four inches below the slate point and some four inches above the base of the head, was passed a rawhide line, which lay coiled in the bottom of the boat. As the hole is drilled the line, when it snaps taut, will turn the head of the harpoon in the wound, anchoring it.”  Beasts of Gor, page 258 “

“I set the light harpoon into the notch on the throwing board and, even mittened, an instant before the beast turned toward me, grunted, snapping the throwing board forward and downward, speeding the shaft toward the enraged animal.”  Beasts of Gor, page 285 

har-ta - (command): faster!: Tarnsman of Gor, page 57

haruspe: soothsayer; omen-taker:

"I heard a haruspex singing between the wagons; for a piece of meat he would read the wind and the grass; for a cup of wine the stars and the flight of birds; for a fat bellied dinner the liver of a sleen or slave."  Nomads of Gor, page. 27 

healing ointment:: an ointment produced by the Priest Kings

"The ointment will soon be absorbed, she said. "In a few minutes there will be no trace of it nor of the cuts." The Physicians of Treve, I said, have marvelous medicines. It is an ointment of Preist Kings, she said."  Priest Kings of Gor page 64

heel position - (command): goes to the Master and remains behind and to the left, either kneeling in nadu or walking.

"Then Forkbeard turned about and, one arm about Pudding, the other about Gunnhild, started from the dock. Hilda followed him, to his left.
'She heels nicely,' said Ottar. The men and bondmaids laughed. The Forkbeard stopped. Hilda's face burned red with fury, but she kept her head high. Pet sleen are taught to heel; so, too, sometimes, are bond-maids;
I was familiar with this sort of thing, of course; in the south it was quite common for slave girls; in various fashions in various cities, to heel their masters. Hilda, of course, was a free woman. For her to heel was an incredible humiliation. Then Forkbeard started off again, and then again stopped. Again, Hilda followed him as before. She is heeling!' laughed Ottar." Marauders of Gor, page 123

He turned about and, with his weapons, strode from the camp. I followed him, at his heel, where a slave girl belongs." Slave Girl of Gor, page 109

The girl normally heels a right-handed Master on the left, that she not encumber the movements of the weapon hand." Magicians of Gor, page 117

These things vary, I learned from city to city, and depend, also, on such matters as context and conditions. In a market, in the crowding and jostling for instance, a girl may follow so closely she pressed against the back of his left shoulder. Girls seldom follow behind and on the right. If she is thusly placed it is commonly a sign she is in disfavor. If more than one girl is involved, she who follows most closely on the left is generally taken to be in highest favor; girls compete for this position. In an open area, such a the fields in which we trekked, the girl is placed some five or ten feet behind, and on the left. So if he must move suddenly she will not, thusly, constitute an impediment to his action. Slave Girl of Gor, page 30

Due to the highly developed metal-working capabilities of modern Goreans, however, it is a safe assumption that they are actually of tempered steel, which is lighter and stronger, and that Cabot's reference to them as iron is merely a fanciful allusion on the part of the author. Additionally such helmets can be hammered from bronze, also an inferior metal, though such examples are probably symbolic of some cultural significance and not intended to be used in actual combat. According to Cabot each such helmet is fitted with removable padding of rolls of leather, stuffed with softer material and laced into the helmet to insure a superior fit. These helmets are often stripped of their crests and padding to be used as crude cooking vessels by soldiers on the march.  

Another example of a Gorean helmet is that often worn by the desert tribesmen and denizens of such southern cities as Turia and Tor, as well as by the nomadic warriors of the Wagon Peoples. This helmet is similar in design to the Mongol/Saracen battle helmet of Earth and is a cone-shaped steel defense worn atop the head, often fitted with a nasal guard of narrow flat construction. Such helmets may be adorned with a ring of fur or fabric, which encircles the browband area, and can also be found mantled with either a cloth covering or a camail of linked chain. These helmets are closely fitted to the wearer's head, padded with a thick cloth cap, which laces into it, and are often fitted with a leather or cord chinstrap to secure the device in place.

Above the shield was a suspended helmet, again reminiscent of a Greek helmet, perhaps of the Homeric period. It had a somewhat 'Y'-shaped slot for the eyes, nose, and mouth in the nearly solid metal. Tarnsman of Gor, Page 22

...and the simple helmet, innocent of insignia, with empty crest plate, of curved iron with its "Y"-like opening, and cushioned with rolls of leather. Raiders of Gor, Page 68

...he wore a conical, fur-rimmed iron helmet, a net of colored chains depending from the helmet protecting his face, leaving only holes for the eyes. Nomads of Gor, Page 10

All were silent. I wore the garb of the Caste of Assassins, and on the left temple of the black helmet was the golden slash of the messenger. Tarnsman of Gor, Page 192

The helmet was bronze, worked in the Greek fashion, with a unitary opening somewhat in the shape of a Y, it bore no insignia and its crest plate was empty  Outlaw of Gor, Page 21

The helmets of the north are commonly conical, with a nose-guard, that can slip up and down. At the neck and sides, attached by rings, usually hangs a mantle of linked chain. The helmet of Thorgard him-self, however, covered his neck and the sides of his face. It was horned. Marauders of Gor, Page 73

To be sure, carved in wood, high on the chair, was the helmet with crest of sleen-fur, the mark of the captain, ... Marauders of Gor, Page 6

herlit: Gorean eagle, has wingspan of 6-8 feet; is carnivorous, and has yellow feathers tipped with black; also called 'Sun-Striker' or 'out-of-the-sun-it-strikes', from its habit of striking with the sun above and behind it; inhabits the Barrens:

It was peeled Ka-la-na wood and, from its top, there dangled two long, narrow, yellow, black-tipped feathers, from the tail of the taloned Herlit, a large, broad-winged, carnivorous bird, sometimes in Gorean called the Sun Striker, or, more literally, though in clumsier English, Out-of-the-sun-it-strikes, presumably from its habit of making its descent and strike on prey, like the tarn, with the sun above and behind it. Savages of Gor, page 143 

herlit-bone whistle: a whistle made from the bone of the herlit used by the Kaiila tribe in the performance of the great dance:

These rattles were then joined by the fifing of whistles, shrill and high, formed from the wing bones of the taloned Herlit. Blood  Brothers of Gor, page 40  

hermit bird, yellow-breasted: similar to Earth sap-sucker or woodpecker; beats with beak against trees to search for food: 

Somewhere, far off, but carrying through the forest, was the rapid, staccato slap of the sharp beak of the yellow-breasted hermit bird, pounding into the reddish bark of the tur tree, hunting for larvae. Hunters of Gor, page 106

Hersius: the planet Jupiter; named for a legendary hero of Ar: Assassin of Gor, page 65

High Caste: There are five "High Castes" in place within Gorean society. They are ranked according to their prominence in Gorean government: Initiates, Scribes, Builders, Physicians, and Warriors

"Benches of stone, on which the members of the Council sat, rose in five monumental tiers about the walls, one tier for each of the High Castes. These tiers shared the color of that portion of the wall behind them, the caste colors. The tier nearest the floor, which denoted some preferential status, the white tier, was occupied by the Initiates, Interpreters of the Will of the Priest Kings. In order, the ascending tiers; blue, yellow, green and red were occupied by representatives of the Scribes, Builders, Physicians, and Warriors." Tarnsman of Gor, page 61

On the other hand, the High Castes, specifically the Warriors, Builders, Scribes, Initiates, and Physicians" Tarnsman of Gor, page 41

high-harness position: a display position in which a kneeling slave is braceleted and leashed and commanded to hold her head very high, exposing her neck.

"Lift your head, " he said. "Higher! Higher!" She looked up at him, her head far back, the leash on her throat.
"You need not now keep your head in high-harness position,", he said to the girl. She moved her head. Mercenaries of Gor, pages 308-309

hith: huge python-like snake; the golden variety is rare: 

"In another case, somnolent and swollen, I saw a rare golden hith, a Gorean python whose body, even when unfed, it would be difficult for a full-grown man to encircle with his arms." Priest-Kings of Gor, page 191

One such serpent was the huge, many-banded Gorean python, the Hith. Outlaw of Gor, page 26 

Ho - (prefix): in gorean is a common prefix, indicating lineage: Savages of Gor, page 343

Homan: a letter of the Gorean alphabet; derived from the Cretan alphabet:

"It is true," said Bosk. "Further, over sixty percent of the language consists of those five letters plus Ar, Ina, Shu, and Homan." world

'Homan', I speculate, may derive from Cretan. Explorers of Gor, page 9 

Home Stone: lit translation of the word Gor

''Gor,' he said, 'is the name of this world.  In all the languages of this planet, the word means Home Stone.' He paused, noting my lack of comprehension.  'Home Stone,' he repeated.  'Simply that.'

home stone, dwelling: a stone, often circular and flat, that is sacred to each dwelling, and is to be defended ferociously by even the meanest peasant:

home stone, city: a similar stone that represents the soul of a city; to be without a Home Stone is to lack citizenship: Tarnsman of Gor, page 26

 'Later,' said my father, 'Home Stones were used for villages, and later still for cities.  The Home Stone of a village was always placed in the market; in a city, on the top of the highest tower.  The Home Stone came naturally, in time, to acquire a mystique, and something of the hot, sweet emotions as out native peoples of Earth feel towards their flags became invested in it.' 

My father had risen to his feet and had begun to pace the room, and his eyes seemed strangely alive.  In time I would come to understand more of what he felt.  Indeed, there is a saying on Gor, a saying whose origin is lost in the past of this strange planet, that one who speaks of Home Stones should stand, for matters of honour are here involved, and honour is respected in the barbaric codes of Gor.

 'These stones,' said my father, 'are various, of different colours, shapes, and sizes, and many of them are intricately carved.  Some of the largest cities have small, rather insignificant Home Stones, but of incredible antiquity, dating back to the time when the city was a village or only a mounted pride of warriors with no settled abode.'

My father paused at the narrow window in the circular room and looked out on to the hills beyond and fell silent.  At last he spoke again.

'Where a man sets his Home Stone, he claims, by law, that land for himself.  Good land is protected only by the swords of the strongest owners in the vicinity.'

'Swords?' I asked. 

'Yes,' said my father, as if there was nothing incredible in this admission.  He smiled.  'You have much to learn of Gor,' he said.  'Yet there is a hierarchy of Home Stones, one might say, and two soldiers who would cut one another down with their steel blades for an acre of fertile ground will fight side by side to the death for the Home Stone of their village or of the city within whose ambit their village lies.  

'I shall show you someday,' he said, 'my own small Home Stone, which I keep in my chambers.  It encloses a handful of soil from the Earth, a handful of soil that I first brought with me when I came to this world - a long time ago.' He looked at me evenly.  'I shall keep the handful of earth you brought,' he said, his voice very quiet, 'and someday it may be yours.' His eyes seemed moist.  He added, 'If you should live to earn a Home Stone.'  

I rose to my feet and looked at him. 

He had turned away, as if lost in thought.  'It is the occasional dream of a conqueror or statesman,' he said, 'to have but a single Supreme Home Stone for the planet.' Then, after a long moment, not looking at me, he said, 'It is rumoured that there is such a stone, but it lies in the Sacred Place and is the source of the Priest-Kings' power.'Tarnsman of Gor, page 26

honey:  It is served on foods throughout Gor and is produced from hives all over. Torvaldslanders use it to produce an sweet but potent drink.

"In the cafes I had feasted well. I had had verr meat, cut in chunks and threaded on a metal rod, with slices of peppers and larma, and roasted; vulo stew with raisins, nuts, onions and honey; a kort with melted cheese and nutmeg; hot Bazi tea, sugared and later, Turian wine." Tribesmen of Gor, page 48

I saw small fruit trees, and hives, where honey bees were raised; …." Marauders of Gor, page 81

hook-billed gort: a carnivorous hunting bird of the rainforests inland of Schendi; preys on ground  urts… 

In the ground zone, and on the ground itself, are certain birds, some flighted, like the hook-billed gort, which preys largely on rodents, such as ground urts, and the insectivorous whistling finch, and some unflighted, like the grub borer and lang gim. Explorers of Gor, page 311

hook knife: Though never described in detail, its usage seems to suggest that it is a short weapon, consisting of a thick, ridged fighting handle and a wide curved blade, sharpened on both sides. The blade is perhaps stubby and crescent shaped, like a modern Earth linoleum or grouting knife, though larger and sharper. Its hilt and pommel can be either fancy or plain and unadorned. The hook knife is often seen in duels and ritual combats, though in displays or sport it is kept sheathed and the sheath itself is coated with colored powder or pigment, so that any successful attack scored by the user can be easily detected for judging purposes. Very popular in the larger cities such as Ar.

"I found Flaminius, the Physician, in his quarters, and he obligingly, though drunk, treated the arm which Ho-Tu had slashed with the hook knife. The wound was not at all serious. The games of Kajurilia can be dangerous, remarked Flaminius, swiftly wrapping a white cloth about the wound, securing it with four small metal snap clips."  Assassin of Gor page 264

“Ho-Tu, his hook knife dripping, a buckler on his left arm now stood beside us.”  Assassin of Gor, page 346

“. . .did you find any small knives, such as a hook knife or a shaving knife?”  Renegades of Gor, page 246

“. . .a small, thick, curved blade, the hook knife of Ar, used sheathed in the sport of that name. . .” Assassin of Gor, page 12 

“. . .held the razor-sharp hook knife. . .”  Assassin of Gor, page 317

“Each carried, sheathed, a hook knife. The edges of the sheath were coated with a bluish pigment.”  Assassin of Gor, page 86

“To this belt there hung the sheath of a hook knife, which was buckled in the sheath, the strap passing over the hilt.”  Assassin of Gor, page 84 

horn bow: bow formed with split pieces of tabuk horn; not effective over thirty yards.

I learned as well the rope and bow. The bow, of course, small, for use from the saddle, lacks the range and power of the Gorean longbow or crossbow; still, at close range, with considerable force, firing rapidly, arrow after arrow, it is a fearsome weapon. Nomads of Gor, Page 66

His lance remained on his back, but he carried in his right hand the small, powerful horn bow of the Wagon Peoples an attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows. Nomads of Gor, Page 11

 “. . .he carried in his right hand the small, powerful horn bow of the Wagon Peoples and attached to his saddle was a lacquered, narrow, rectangular quiver containing as many as forty arrows.”  Nomads of Gor, page 11

“. . .the small horn bow of the Wagon Peoples can be used to advantage not only from the back of a kaiila but, like the crossbow, from such cramped quarters.”  Nomads of Gor, page 31 

“. . .the tiny, swift bow of Tuchuks, the narrow, rectangular quiver, with its forty arrows. . . . It is small, double-curved, about four feet in length, built up of layers of bosk horn, bound and reinforced with metal and leather; it is banded with metal at seven points, including the grip. . .the bow lacks the range of both the longbow and the crossbow, but, at close range, firing rapidly, it can be a devastating weapon. . .”  Assassin of Gor page 365 

“Again and again the small bow, swift and vicious, fired, twenty barbed arrows in half an Ehn. . .”  Assassin of Gor, page 372 

“The bow, of course, small, for use from the saddle, lacks the range and power of the Gorean longbow or crossbow; still, at close range, with considerable force, firing rapidly, arrow after arrow, it is a fearsome weapon.”  Nomads of Gor, pages 66

“The small bow, interestingly, has never been used among tarnsmen. . .”  Assassin of Gor page 365 

“The horn bow, unfortunately, formed of pieces of split tabuk horn, bound with sinew, is not effective beyond some thirty yards, One must, thus, be almost upon the animal before loosing the shaft.”  Beasts of Gor, page 205 

hort: a measure of distance equal to 1- 1/4 inches:

"The hort is approximately and inch and a quarter in length." Tribesmen of Gor, page 49

hot chocolate: This is a drink usually served to free woman in their homes by their slaves. It is served in a ceramic goblet.

"This is warmed chocolate," I said, pleased. It was very rich and creamy. "Yes, Mistress," said the girl. "It is very good," I said. "Thank you, Mistress," she said. "Is it from Earth?" I asked. "Not directly," she said. "Many things here, of course, ultimately have an Earth origin. It is not improbable that the beans from which the first cacao trees on this world were grown were brought from Earth." "Do the trees grow near here?" I asked. "No Mistress," she said, "we obtain the beans from which the chocolate is made, from Cosian merchants, who in turn, obtain them in the tropics." Kajira of Gor, page 61

hou: a form of greeting for Red Savages: Savages of Gor, page 240

house veil: the next-to-last veil worn by free women, esp. when in the company of men not of her own family; worn over the pride veil, and under the street veil upon leaving the house: Slave Girl of Gor, page 107

huda: a measurement equaling 5 tefa; 

"A handful with the five fingers closed, not open, is a tef. Six such handfuls constitute a tefa, which is a tiny basket. Five such baskets constitute a huda." Tribesmen of Gor, page 46

hurlit: a small forest bird of Gor...no description

"The migration of the forest hurlit and the horned gim do not take place until late in the spring." Nomads of Gor, page 138

hurt: a two-legged marsupial animal whose wool is used for cloth.

"wool from the bounding Hurt" Tribesmen of Gor, page 37

"Two peasants walked by, in their rough tunics, knee-length, of the white wool of the Hurt." Tribesmen of Gor, page 47

"I wore a white robe, woven of the wool of the Hurt, imported from distant Ar," Hunters of Gor, page 7

"Her hair was blond and straight, tied behind her with a ribbon of blue wool, from the bounding Hurt, dyed in the blood of the Vosk sorp." Marauders of Gor, pages 1-2

Cernus of Ar wore a coarse black robe, woven probably from the wool of the bounding, two-legged Hurt, a domesticated marsupial raised in large numbers in the environs of several of Gor's northern cities. The Hurt, raised on large, fenced ranches, herded by domesticated sleen and sheared by chained slaves, replaces its wool four times a year. Assassin of Gor, page 39