The Ubar of Thentis will not allow the branding of a slave until He is satisfied that the slave understands the meaning and implication of the brand. A branding is usually performed when a Freewoman is taken into slavery for the first time, or when a slave that has been previously branded is to be re-branded by their new Master/Mistress. BE AWARE OF THE IMPLICATIONS. Ask the Ubar for instruction concerning this.
To the Masters/Mistresses. It is advisable to allow the slave the priveledge of screaming. This will be their last act as a Free Person. The iron is hot and burns flesh easily. Be sure to tie the slave tight to the branding rack. Be swift with the branding...5 seconds is customary. Remove the brand quickly and with care. Burned skin will come with it. It is a serious burn, so it is advisable to allow the slave the luxury of having their sisters or brothers available with soothing oil/salve to help heal the burn. This will also assure that the mark will be true. Give Your slave the opportunity to recover from the branding. Even though the brand is an honour, it can also be a very painful experience.
To the slaves...be still and do exactly as your Master/Mistress tells you. Have brothers, or sisters available with oil/salve to soothe your burn.
So it is written...so it shall be done...
The mark of the brand is often times an impersonal one. Unlike the collar, which proclaims who owns the girl, who provides for her, who has been willing to spend money to purchase her or who has taken her, the brand does little more than say she is a slave. It doesn't carry the emotional or personal depth that the collar does. Instead it is merely an institutional, or common, practice on Gor, much like the branding or tattooing of cattle on Earth. It carries a strong psychological impact on the slave as well, reminding her that she is no longer a Freewoman. While a collar can come or go, a brand is with the slave for life, always reminding her of her place on Gor.
The placement of the brand can vary, but the most common place to mark a slave is on her upper, outer thigh, beneath her hip. Because of this placement it is not only easy to hide, if the Master wishes his slave to conceal the mark, but it is also easy for a slave to display the mark when asked to, simply by raising the skirt of her livery. It is also commonly placed on the left leg of the slavegirl, perhaps because the majority of Masters are right-handed, and having it on a slave's left leg makes it easier for him to touch and caress if he chooses. However, keep in mind that it is up to the Master where a slave is branded. She can be branded on her right leg if he chooses. It has also been said that some girls are branded on their inner thigh, their belly, their heel, or even their neck.
The types of brands a slave girl receives can vary as well. Perhaps the most common brand is the kef, a cursive "K" that stands for the word kajira. There is also a male version of this mark, a block "K", which is used on many male slaves on Gor. Another common brand is the dina flower, a flower that greatly resembles a rose. Other brands mentioned included the brand of the four bosk horns, the brand of Treve and the Taharic brand.
Finally, there is one other type of brand, although not often, if at all, seen on Cyber Gor. It is the penalty brand. These brands, although extremely tiny, are clearly visible, and are often used to mark a slave as a thief or a liar. Branding a girl in this way not only warns others against her, showing them clearly, by use of her own skin, her crimes against Gor or her Master, but it works as a strict disciplinary measure as well, the girl knowing that her value may forever be decreased because of her mark.
The Branding CeremonyThe Ubar says..."name of Master/Mistress, are you prepared for the ceremony"
Master/Mistress says..."Nay or Aye" Choose the appropriate response.
The Ubar says..."slave, present yourself for the branding"
**** The slave will go to the Master or Mistress and present themselves nabu before them
The Ubar says..."Proceed with the Ceremony"
The Master/Mistress will then take the slave to the branding rack and bind them securely. (the branding rack is an X-shaped table...one arm of the X for each limb of the slave to be bound to)Bind the left leg very secure as that is the thigh which will be branded. Any movement at all will diminish the branding effect upon the skin.
The Master/Mistress moves to the fire and removes the brand...inspecting it. Then returns to the slave and shows them the branding iron.
The Master/Mistress says..."you will soon be branded slave, prepare yourself"
Holding the branding iron over the slaves left thigh.
The Master/Mistress says..."The time has come slave...you will now be branded
The Master/Mistress then presses the iron firmly against the left thigh of the slave holding for five seconds and then removing straight away hoping for a clean brand.
The slaves brothers and sisters are then allowed to care for the brand. The Master/Mistress will remove the bindings and release the slave from the branding rack.
The Master/Mistress will then stand towards the Ubar..raising the brand in the air and say..."HAI Thentis!!!!!"
The City will respond in kind.
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 odour of her burned flesh, she is supposed to tell herself, understanding its full and terrible import, I AM HIS.
From Book 2, Outlaw of Gor by John Norman
The Kajirus Brand
Block Letter in Gorean script of the inital of
Kajirus.
The Kajira Brand
Cursive Letter in Gorean script of the initial of
Kajira.
Alternate Kajira Brand
Cursive Letter in Gorean script of the inital of
Sa-Fora which means,literally, Chain Daughter.
Some cities, Treve, for example, have their
own brands.
Kassar Brand
A three weighted bola.
Tuchuck Brand
Tiny and fine, the paired bosk horns.
Kataii Brand
A bow, facing left.
Paravaci Brand
A symbolic representation of a bosk head, a
semicircle resting on an inverted isosocles
triangle.
