Post by Joe MacBain on Nov 11, 2006 4:29:37 GMT -5
Time
The passage of years is measured differently in each city, usually according to that city's list of Administrators or Ubars. For example, it might be the tenth year in the Administration of someone or the fifteenth year of this Ubar. Some cities rely upon the calendar of Ar which is considered a standard in certain areas. In the Arian calendar, the years are marked in Contasta Ar (C.A.), since the founding of Ar. Ar is allegedly over 10,000 years old. Some of the barbarian cultures, such as the Wagon Peoples and Red Savages, have their own calendars. The Wagon People actually have two different calendars.
Gorean years are generally calculated from one vernal equinox to the next. Turia though uses the summer solstice as their New Year. There is no known Gorean term for a year. A year consists of twelve months and thirteen hands. Each month equals five weeks, each week consisting of five days. This means a Gorean year has 365 days. There is no known Gorean term for a month. In between each month is a Passage Hand, a five-day period. In many cities the Twelfth Passage Hand is a time of carnival, a festival of merriment. Players of Gor provides an excellent example of a carnival in Port Kar.
The Twelfth Passage Hand is followed by the Waiting Hand, a five-day period prior to the vernal equinox, which marks the New Year. The Waiting Hand is a solemn time when little business is done and many Goreans stay home. It is a time of fasting, meditation and mourning. The doors of many homes are painted white, sealed with pitch and branches of the brak bush are fastened to them. The brak bush is meant to keep bad luck away. On the dawn of the vernal equinox, a ceremonial greeting of the sun takes place within the city. The end of this greeting is signified by the ringing of great bars suspended above the city. The people then exit their houses, washing the pitch away and burning the brak bush. The festivities will last for the first ten days of the month. The Initiates do not make much of the Waiting Hand in their ceremonies and preachments so it is unlikely of much religious significance.
En'Kara-Lar-Torvis, commonly called En'Kara, is the first Gorean month, which would correspond roughly to the middle of the Earth month of March. It is the month of the vernal equinox. The term translates as the "First Turning of the Central Fire." The Central Fire is a Gorean term for the sun. According to Ar and some other cities, Hesius is the second month and Camerius is the third month. In Ko-ro-ba, the month of Camerius is known as Selnar. Se'Kara-Lar-Torvis, or Se'Kara, is the month of the autumnal equinox. The term translates as the "Second Turning of the Central Fire." En'Var-Lar-Torvis, or En'Var, is the month of the summer solstice. The term translates as the "First Resting of the Central Fire." Se'Var-Lar-Torvis, or Se-Var, is the month of the winter solstice. The term translates as the "Second Resting of the Central Fire." The four "Lar-Torvis" months are common to most Gorean cities. The names of the rest of the months vary widely.
A Gorean day is divided into twenty Ahn, numbered consecutively. The tenth Ahn is noon and the twentieth Ahn is midnight. A Gorean day is the same length as an Earth day. An Ahn is similar to an Earth hour but the length of each is different. Each Ahn consists of forty Ehn, or minutes, and each Ehn of eighty Ihn or seconds. An Ihn is only a little longer than an earth second. In Earth terms, an Ahn is equal to 1.2 hours, or 72 minutes. An Ehn is equal to 1.8 minutes, or 108 seconds. An Ihn equals 1.35 seconds.
The duration of an Ahn may vary in other cities. Some cities divide their days by assigning ten Ahn to their daylight hours and ten to their night hours. Thus, in the summer, the day Ahns last longer than the night Ahns. Despite these differences, their days are still the same length as all other cities. It is only the length of some Ahns that varies.
Time bars are commonly rung in the city to signal each hour. Chronometers, watches, are rare and valuable. Their hands move counterclockwise and have a sweeping Ihn hand. Official clocks are adjusted, according to certain astronomical measurements, by the Scribe Caste. The average Gorean also has a variety of other simple devices to mark the passage of time. These include marked or calibrated candles, sun dials, sand glasses, clepsydras (water clocks) and oil clocks.
Gorean Calendar (Not all the months were named in the books)
En'Kara (Vernal equinox/First month)
First Passage Hand
Second Month (Known as Hesius in Ar)
Second Passage Hand
Third Month (Known as Camerius in Ar and Selnar in Ko-ro-ba)
Third Passage Hand
En'Var (Summer solstice/Fourth Month)
Fourth Passage Hand
Fifth Month
Fifth Passage Hand (Love Feast)
Sixth Month
Sixth Passage Hand
Se-Kara (Fall equinox/Seventh Month)
Seventh Passage Hand
Eighth Month
Eighth Passage Hand
Ninth Month
Ninth Passage Hand
Se'Var (Winter solstice/Tenth Month)
Tenth Passage Hand
Eleventh Month
Eleventh Passage Hand
Twelfth Month
Twelfth Passage Hand (Carnival time)
Waiting Hand
The passage of years is measured differently in each city, usually according to that city's list of Administrators or Ubars. For example, it might be the tenth year in the Administration of someone or the fifteenth year of this Ubar. Some cities rely upon the calendar of Ar which is considered a standard in certain areas. In the Arian calendar, the years are marked in Contasta Ar (C.A.), since the founding of Ar. Ar is allegedly over 10,000 years old. Some of the barbarian cultures, such as the Wagon Peoples and Red Savages, have their own calendars. The Wagon People actually have two different calendars.
Gorean years are generally calculated from one vernal equinox to the next. Turia though uses the summer solstice as their New Year. There is no known Gorean term for a year. A year consists of twelve months and thirteen hands. Each month equals five weeks, each week consisting of five days. This means a Gorean year has 365 days. There is no known Gorean term for a month. In between each month is a Passage Hand, a five-day period. In many cities the Twelfth Passage Hand is a time of carnival, a festival of merriment. Players of Gor provides an excellent example of a carnival in Port Kar.
The Twelfth Passage Hand is followed by the Waiting Hand, a five-day period prior to the vernal equinox, which marks the New Year. The Waiting Hand is a solemn time when little business is done and many Goreans stay home. It is a time of fasting, meditation and mourning. The doors of many homes are painted white, sealed with pitch and branches of the brak bush are fastened to them. The brak bush is meant to keep bad luck away. On the dawn of the vernal equinox, a ceremonial greeting of the sun takes place within the city. The end of this greeting is signified by the ringing of great bars suspended above the city. The people then exit their houses, washing the pitch away and burning the brak bush. The festivities will last for the first ten days of the month. The Initiates do not make much of the Waiting Hand in their ceremonies and preachments so it is unlikely of much religious significance.
En'Kara-Lar-Torvis, commonly called En'Kara, is the first Gorean month, which would correspond roughly to the middle of the Earth month of March. It is the month of the vernal equinox. The term translates as the "First Turning of the Central Fire." The Central Fire is a Gorean term for the sun. According to Ar and some other cities, Hesius is the second month and Camerius is the third month. In Ko-ro-ba, the month of Camerius is known as Selnar. Se'Kara-Lar-Torvis, or Se'Kara, is the month of the autumnal equinox. The term translates as the "Second Turning of the Central Fire." En'Var-Lar-Torvis, or En'Var, is the month of the summer solstice. The term translates as the "First Resting of the Central Fire." Se'Var-Lar-Torvis, or Se-Var, is the month of the winter solstice. The term translates as the "Second Resting of the Central Fire." The four "Lar-Torvis" months are common to most Gorean cities. The names of the rest of the months vary widely.
A Gorean day is divided into twenty Ahn, numbered consecutively. The tenth Ahn is noon and the twentieth Ahn is midnight. A Gorean day is the same length as an Earth day. An Ahn is similar to an Earth hour but the length of each is different. Each Ahn consists of forty Ehn, or minutes, and each Ehn of eighty Ihn or seconds. An Ihn is only a little longer than an earth second. In Earth terms, an Ahn is equal to 1.2 hours, or 72 minutes. An Ehn is equal to 1.8 minutes, or 108 seconds. An Ihn equals 1.35 seconds.
The duration of an Ahn may vary in other cities. Some cities divide their days by assigning ten Ahn to their daylight hours and ten to their night hours. Thus, in the summer, the day Ahns last longer than the night Ahns. Despite these differences, their days are still the same length as all other cities. It is only the length of some Ahns that varies.
Time bars are commonly rung in the city to signal each hour. Chronometers, watches, are rare and valuable. Their hands move counterclockwise and have a sweeping Ihn hand. Official clocks are adjusted, according to certain astronomical measurements, by the Scribe Caste. The average Gorean also has a variety of other simple devices to mark the passage of time. These include marked or calibrated candles, sun dials, sand glasses, clepsydras (water clocks) and oil clocks.
Gorean Calendar (Not all the months were named in the books)
En'Kara (Vernal equinox/First month)
First Passage Hand
Second Month (Known as Hesius in Ar)
Second Passage Hand
Third Month (Known as Camerius in Ar and Selnar in Ko-ro-ba)
Third Passage Hand
En'Var (Summer solstice/Fourth Month)
Fourth Passage Hand
Fifth Month
Fifth Passage Hand (Love Feast)
Sixth Month
Sixth Passage Hand
Se-Kara (Fall equinox/Seventh Month)
Seventh Passage Hand
Eighth Month
Eighth Passage Hand
Ninth Month
Ninth Passage Hand
Se'Var (Winter solstice/Tenth Month)
Tenth Passage Hand
Eleventh Month
Eleventh Passage Hand
Twelfth Month
Twelfth Passage Hand (Carnival time)
Waiting Hand