** Collaring vs. Branding: Permanence and Removal **

 

Please note that the Gorean Saga is a fictional series, and its world, customs, and values may not align with modern societal standards or moral principles.

This is written using both the websites ~ The Gorean Cave ~ Home and Branding in Gor, my own words and ChatGPT to help clarify the differences.

Gor is Copyrighted by John Norman

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT WHAT EVERYONE BELIEVES and is in fact, disproved in the newer books, but I'm going off OLD JOHN NORMAN BOOKS WRITTEN BY HIM! 

Collaring vs. Branding: Permanence and Removal

Branding does not have to occur at the same time as collaring. Many kajirae are collared first and branded later. While a collar signifies ownership, it is not permanent and may be removed, replaced, or changed as ownership changes.

“The collar of a given girl may be changed countless times, but the brand continues throughout to bespeak her status.”
— Outlaw of Gor, Chapter 21

A slave may be freed from her collar, renamed, or transferred to a new owner. A brand, however, represents the final act of submission. It marks a woman permanently as a slave, not merely as the property of a specific master.

Within the Gorean books, a brand is intended to be forever.

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Can a Brand Be Removed?

Canon evidence overwhelmingly suggests brands are not meant to be removed. There are no clear examples of a brand being fully erased without trace.

There is, however, rare evidence that brands may be altered, usually through illegal or criminal means:

“Coffles of stolen slaves, sometimes with their brands altered.”
— Plunder of Gor, Book 34, p. 243

This implies crude tampering rather than clean removal and reinforces that alteration is exceptional, illicit, and unreliable.

What is clearly documented is that slaves may receive multiple brands, not replacements.

There are other newer texts like Warriors of Gor (Book 37) which establishes that brands can be removed, and there is no indication that this is a recent development. On the contrary, it is acknowledged that repeated removal of a brand may disfigure a slave—knowledge that could only have been gained over time through experience.

Additionally, Tarl notes that the removal or alteration of a brand can constitute a capital offense. The existence of such laws logically implies that sufficient time must have passed for the practice to occur, be observed, and ultimately be regulated.

As Ruffio states:

“The brand was removed,” said Ruffio. “The matter was attended to by discrete members of the green caste. They did well. Their instruments were skillfully handled. Their creams and salves are effective. She is healing rapidly. Her thigh is now as smooth as silk.”
Warriors of Gor, Book 37, pp. 516–517

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Multiple Branding: Evidence from the Books

Elinor Brinton (Captive of Gor) is branded more than once. In addition to three penalty brands (liar, thief, traitress), she also receives the Mark of Treve. There is no indication that any earlier brand was removed or obscured.

“I knew the brand. I had seen it on Ena’s thigh. It was the mark of Treve.”
— Captive of Gor, Book 7, p. 310

Penalty branding is explicitly cumulative:

“He might, without a second thought, put the liar’s brand in my thigh, marking me as a mendacious kajira.”
— Smugglers of Gor, Book 32, p. 540

Talena is also branded more than once across the series, further supporting the concept that brands accumulate rather than replace one another.

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Common Brand Sites

The customary location for branding is high on the left thigh:

“The customary brand site… is high on the left thigh.”
— Fighting Slave of Gor, p. 349

Other, less common sites include the right thigh, lower left abdomen, neck, calf, heel, or forearm.

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Types of Gorean Brands

1. Common and Regional Brands

• Kef (K) – The most common brand; the first letter of kajira

  “It looked a little like a ‘K.’ That was mine.”
  — Dancer of Gor, p. 66

• Dina (Slave Flower) – A prized brand, especially rare in the south

  “My own brand was the ‘Dina.’”
  — Slave Girl of Gor, p. 61

• Bond-Maid Brand – Common in the north; symbolic of submission
  — Marauders of Gor, p. 87

• City Brands (e.g., Treve, Port Kar)

  “It is the first letter… of the name of the city of Treve.”
  — Captive of Gor, p. 277

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2. Nomadic Brands

• Tuchuk – Four bosk horns
  — Nomads of Gor, p. 62

• Kassars – Bola symbol
  — Nomads of Gor, p. 106

• Kataii – Bow facing left

• Paravaci – Bosk head symbol

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3. Custom and Merchant Brands

Designed by slaver houses or merchants and placed on select girls, often increasing a slave’s value due to rarity.

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4. Penalty Brands

Small letters marking crimes such as liar, thief, or traitress.

“This is a penalty brand… It marks you as a liar.”
— Captive of Gor, p. 310

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5. Non-Standard Brands

• Knife brands of Schendi (scarification with pigment)
  — Explorers of Gor, p. 330

• Priest-Kings (collar and moons)

• Kurii (chain and claw)

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Conclusion

• Collars are removable and changeable

• Brands are intended to be permanent

• No canonical example shows a brand cleanly removed

• Rare alterations exist but are criminal and unreliable

• Multiple brands on one slave are well documented 

In Gorean canon, a brand is not simply difficult to remove—it is conceptually irreversible, marking a woman as a slave for life.