Could the Kokiri Be Hylian?

[Burning Beast]

I was thinking the other day after just beating OOT, how interesting it was that the Kokiri were at Lon Lon Ranch (outside the forest) when at the beginning of the game they say that any Kokiri will die if they leave the forest.

For me personally I disagree with this theory, despite being the one to come with it, but thought i'd see what everyone else thought about, I thought it was interesting. Under this theory one could say that Link is really Kokiri, I think that the Kokiri just age like hylians and thats why they would die if they left the forest.

 

[vengenz]

They don't age though. Which makes them unique.
I believe the Deku Tree didn't mean that they would literally DIE if they left
the forest. I think he only wanted to protect them. Outside in Hyrule isn't safe.
If they get lost in The Lost Woods they become Stalfos, that if their fairy's don't help them find their way back.

But that's just me.
I'm not sure about the whole dying thing. But for sure, Kokiri don't age.
We never see it.

 

[Burning Beast]

They don't age though. Which makes them unique.
I believe the Deku Tree didn't mean that they would literally DIE if they left
the forest. I think he only wanted to protect them. Outside in Hyrule isn't safe.
If they get lost in The Lost Woods they become Stalfos, that if their fairy's don't help them find their way back.

Yeah okay, but as far as I know the only reason they don't age is because they don't leave the forest

 

[Castle]

Maybe leaving the forest removes their immortality? Perhaps that is what the myth about Kokori leaving the forest and dying means. Technically they would die... eventually.

As in most cases with Zelda, details about the Kokiri are largely nondescript. We know for a fact that they are immortal and never age beyond adolescence.

I for one prefer to think the myth about them dying if they leave the forest is a ruse. A cautionary tale the Kokiri took as fact. Or maybe if they aren't as innocent as children, perhaps they acknowledge that the outside world is dangerous and don't take it so literally. Maybe they were just trying to scare or intimidate Link? Link was, after all, left in their care.

This theory has a bit of a Lost Boy's vibe to it. Granted, it fits with the many allusions to Peter Pan in OoT, but I don't think the Kokiri are escaped Hylian children. They are supernatural beings, entirely different from Hylians.

 

[izi]

Contrary to some past statements, Kokiri are not immortal; after a certain amount of time alive, they just vanish. Nothing says they die, nothing says they live.
I believe Kokiri may be some Hylian sub-race (just like Humanity is broken up into Caucasian, African, European, Asian... You get the idea), being the children born in the forest under the Deku Tree's magic to grant them this eternal childhood. I would believe it if there was proof the Kokiri were Hylian.

 

[PalaeoJoe]

This theory has a bit of a Lost Boy's vibe to it. Granted, it fits with the many allusions to Peter Pan in OoT, but I don't think the Kokiri are escaped Hylian children. They are supernatural beings, entirely different from Hylians.

Check out the last picture on this page, maybe that idea is not that far fetched: Did You Know Gaming?



As it turns out link is based off of Peter pan, my be there is a connection between the Kokiri and the lost boys.

 

[Castle]

Check out the last picture on this page, maybe that idea is not that far fetched: Did You Know Gaming?

View attachment 30779

As it turns out link is based off of Peter pan, my be there is a connection between the Kokiri and the lost boys.

Yeah, I was thinking of that when I wrote that post but didn't care to post the reference at the time. The Peter Pan allusions have been quite apparent so it is not all that surprising that they were intentional.

Good point. But what little context we have does not seem to point to the Kokiri as Hylian children run amok. The similarities only appear to be visual and thematic. What little info there is to base assumptions off of say they're supernatural, imo. The Kokiri are specifically stated to be eternally young... that's a bit more than you can base an assumption off of. It's fact. Similar enough to the Lost Boys, but never anything mentioned to suggest they are or once were Hylian. Link is specifically set a part from them by that fact.

 

[vengenz]

Kokiri - Zeldapedia, the Legend of Zelda wiki - Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, and more

^ That is the only thing I found about the Kokiri that makes any sense to me.
Even though we don't really know HOW they don't age....they just DON'T maybe that's
just how the race is? I don't really wanna go into it. All the races are special in some way
Gorons are rock-like, Zoras are fish-like, and Kokiri are child-like. I'm happy.

 

[Locke]

Check out the last picture on this page, maybe that idea is not that far fetched: Did You Know Gaming?

View attachment 30779

As it turns out link is based off of Peter pan, my be there is a connection between the Kokiri and the lost boys.

That's didyouknowgaming's speculation. Miyamoto only said that Peter Pan suited Link's design well. I wouldn't say that Peter Pan "inspired" the design -- maybe it "influenced" it. They had already decided on the hat and big pointed ears, and the fact that he was an elf. The green color was supported by the prevalence of trees in the environment and the NES's limited color palette. Peter Pan may have helped solidify these elements as a solid and believable character. Something like "well, we have this character design... it's very similar to that popular character, so it must be good!" Full quote for reference (google-translated):

At the time, as you know, the NES was very limited, and we had only allowed three different colors. And yet, we wanted a recognizable character. What I wanted above all is that it uses either his sword or his shield, and it is visible. We have therefore made ​​it big guns for them to be recognized on the screen. He then had to create a hero that we can distinguish these weapons, despite its small size. We thought a long hat and big ears. This has raised a magical character, so we left in the direction of an elf. At the time, saying, with pointy ears character as Peter Pan said, and as I love Disney, we started to inspire us. Not completely, of course, otherwise it would not have been super ... From there, I thought that the green Peter Pan suited him perfectly. But as we were restricted to three colors, and there was a lot of forest environments in the game, green to green, it suited quite well, so we continued this track.

Furthermore, all of this is only in reference to his visual design. The function and story of the character are described in the follow-up question:

Gamekult: And where does his name?
Miyamoto: This is a story that is not well known, but at the time, when we started the design of The Legend of Zelda, it was believed that the fragments of the Triforce would actually chips! It was supposed to be a video game that happen in both the past and the future. As the hero was the link between one and the other, called the "Link" link in English. But ultimately Link never went into the future and it remained a game of fantasy . One can even say that it has absolutely nothing futuristic! (laughs)

On-topic, the Kokiri are consistently described as a separate race - just look at the Koroks in WW. From a story standpoint, Link's contrast with the community he grew up with is vital to a meaningful exit from a society to which he doesn't belong. If the Kokiri were Hylians all along, then there'd be no exoticism in Link's mother leaving him to be raised by the forest folk; the scene with Saria on the bridge wouldn't be the masterpiece that it is; returning after seven years wouldn't have such a great impact in the realization of how Link has changed in the eyes of the world.

 

[felipe970421]

It is generally agreed on that the Kokiri can get out of the forest, but are simply not allowed to by the Great Deku Tree, on the grounds of it being too dangerous