The Bakah

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May 2012

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May 28 - Memorial Day

[Laja DeCuir]

Zelmo posted this short briefing about the Bakah this wild Tahari-Tribe, living in the Oasis of the two Scimitars a short while ago on the former blog and it would be a shame to loose this information*smiles

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The Bakah:

In the Tahari it’s better to have your origins in the Tahari, if one wants to survive. Especially if one encounters within the scorching heat its wild inhabitants and guardians: the proud and spirited Bakah, which are rougher and at the same time  more open hearted than other tribes of Gor and who count on proverbs like: "A good fight justifies each reason" and "Realer than the law is the heart". The Tahari became their mother and father, and they do not tolerate any other human beings within a large area around  their Camps. People who try to draw up maps of the desert, are supposed to die.

The world of the Tahari is ambivalent:  the heat at daytime, at night the coldness. Surviving is difficult, if not even impossible, if one is not aware of the deserts laws and does not know the refinement of surviving in it. Both reflects the consciousness of the Bakah, their behavior, and they know: Often nothing is how it seems to be - like an illusion or an aimlessly wandering Fata Morgana. A visitor from earth would think of the Orient and wild Beduins if he meets the Bakah on their patrols in the desert. One might consider them as  hostile like the desert itself, but who wins their friendship and their trust won’t find more hospitable and more reliable humans. The warriors and huntresses, the Free Women and kajirae of the Bakah belong to a vassal-tribe of the Kavar. They are nomads, who locate at the "Oasis of the two Scimitare" and  their homestone is  the desert itself. Each day they struggle against and with the nature. They learned to survive in the Tahari, which is hardly possible for strangers without skillful guides.

Many cities regard the Bakah as Outlaws. That may be connected with the fact that, as they are nomads, the castes are unlike to them. But nevertheless they respect the castes and  their fighters follow the warrior-codex. Also it is permitted to some Free Women are under arms in order to defend the camps. The Scimitars of some of them are feared and famous all over Gor. They are well respected, although they are women – who, by the way, are on the one hand  treated more dismissive in the Tahari than in the rest of Gor, but are more honoured on the other. The slaves have larger liberties than at other places of Gor – effects of nomadism and the daily fight in the Tahari. Escape is an illusion anyway, alone in the killing desert.

The Bakah are proud, emotional, distrustful, devious and easily offended. In the Tahari the term honour has a high value. Sometimes as a visitor one will meet crude Bakah or such, which welcome one exalted. The tribe loves to trade – sometimes with very emotional bargaining. You will score with presents for the leaders – but friendly tunes can change very fast, if wrong words are chosen or praise gets exaggerated. In negotiations one will possibly hear neither "yes" nor "no" - unless it comes to a bet, a play or a raid at a caravan.

 The Tahari is a world of the rites, scents and senses. The beautiful slaves of the Bakah dance more than elsewhere and offer the valuable Verminium-water  for bathing the hands. To the Bakah they are a symbol of prosperity and are often decorated, perfumed and dressed up. Light-skinned and cold girls are rare highly valuable in the Tahari. The dishes are somewhat spicier, beguilingly scents, sensually luxury and pleasures in the Camps are as natural as Bakshish.  Water, tea and blackwine are the traditional drinks -  in each serve a drop is given to the sand as a sacrifice for the Tahari. During the greeting-ritual the palms of the hands are stroked twice, Free Women however might not earn more than a nodding. If one enters an oasis, it is usual to pour ones water into the cistern to share it. Since most oases have public baths, many men of the Tahari can swim. Finally the bath culture originates from the desert, and in such baths one can relax and clean oneself, usually with oils and cloths.
 
The most precious property of the Bakah is - beside water - salt, which they have discovered at the oasis in old mines. The salt is the white gold of the desert and, beside robbed slaves and things which have fallen down from "a little vibrated caravans", the largest commodity. Who offers salt to a Bakah, a gesture of the friendship and peace, can count on the fact that each attack is stopped immediately. The men of the Bakah share the salt with their friends and allies, strew it on each others wrists, cross their arms and lick it from the skin. A gesture, which promises a blood- and sword-brother into death - a Bakah, a noble warrior and guardian of the Tahari. However one should never point with the finger to a Bakah (gesture for animals and slaves), never reject something (impolitely, and means that one is a slave) or flirt with the free women of the Bakah (equals her with slaves)... The parting words are usually "May your waterbags never be empty" or "May you always have water".

[Santana Graves]

As long as so many parts in the text stays, smile, you should mention the Original Writers of original Text....

Eldin Stonecutter, former Administrator of Ketora
Carter Ebbage, former Sheikh of the "Nomads of Ketora" now known as "The Bakah"

 

[Laja DeCuir]

oh really?*blushes..well I didn't know anything about that quote, I thought this one was written by Zelmo, that's why I posted it that way...I am sorry of course it should be mentioned

[Zelmo Boucher]

The Text ist a mixture of about five different sources and combined with aspects of oriental ways of life from other sources, some things of my personal view and things that have become odd in the camplife. The mentioned authors have been also a part of the research like the authors of the Luther Scrolls and others which should draw an actual picture of the Bakah today. No need to blush, Laja ;-) The text is written by me and was posted by me - but the authorship doesnt matter anyway. It is just a background for the visitors.

[Sylvie Munro]

To be correct - that's the true Source for the Informations about the Bakah and the Oasis of the 2 Scimitars:

http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/bakah/


"Shadow smiles a bit and went back to her small camp in the ruins of the Wastelands"

[Zelmo Boucher]

Yes - this one of the differnet sources, too. An John Norman is quoted in it, too - refering to his novel "Tribesmen of Gor". And yes: Some ideas from a Bertelsman guide for managers visiting Arabia, hints for Arabia of the chamber of commerce OWL/Bielefeld and others. Hell, is this academic - I will put some footnotes in my next briefings and handouts which by the way dont mention any author, not even me...

[Sucarab Schwartzman]

a Bertelsman guide for managers visiting Arabia

In this case you infringe a copyright!

*chuckles, runs and hides somewhere out of the range of Zelmo's arrows*

[Zelmo Boucher]

* Zelmo Boucher draws his Quivas, throws them after the escaping Sleen wearing Sucas clothes and screams: "...and the quoting is mostly  just corresponding to the original sources, and in 20 years in the blue caste I have never infringed copyrights by copy writes, son of a coinslut!"

[Carter Ebbage]

Its great to read how the Bakah has evolved and taken an idea and concept and been added too. I miss my days as a nomadic taharian...it had a great basis for developing a really interesting character and Role Play.

Warrior, outlaw, mercenary... lover  all wrapped up into one theme.

[Sucarab Schwartzman]

Good old times Carter... Tribeman of the Tahari...

[Laja DeCuir]

*smiles dreamingly and wipes the sentimental thoughts away..mumbling "Winter solstice seems to be a time of reviewing I always love to think back of those times and every now and then there is still a lil grain of sand pricking in my shoes. For a lots of reasons I don't regret the moving up to the north, especially cause it isn't that hot in the ropes I have to wear."*winks

[Carter Ebbage]

mmm robes of concealment, I hated them, all taharian women should have been naked in my opinion.. I am sure there was a book.. "naked women of the tahari"

[Cheyenne McAlpine]

Agreed!... i was truely thankful it was silks for me, Not those god awful heavy robes and head scarves... sooo next time you all comment on my tan in the north!, its from all my days being chased around the hills of the bakah encampment acting as a target for practising Sheikh's!!