Human (?) races in Hyrule

[Chevywolf30]

(Continued from a discussion between @Hyrulian Hero and myself in another thread.)

Spoiler

Spoiler: Bandwidth Saver

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I feel like I missed something somewhere...I don't claim to have kept up with lore for many years now but I always assumed Hylians and Sheikah were different people groups. Kind of analogous to the Hylians vs Gerudo. Sheikah do have pointed ears and are destined to guard the royal family so I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility but it still seems odd to me. Reminds me of my annoyance at TP referring to Link (a Hylian) as a human.

I've always thought that Sheikah was a different race entirely, but it also might just be like, a creed/religion type thing, or even just a sub-race of Hylians, like how humanity has different races.

And yeah, that totally could be. I would venture that it was something of an oversight but that's just a guess. The thing is, the Gerudo are obviously not Hylian and there are lore purposes for that but you also have Holodrumites and Labrynans who aren't Hylian. But then, they are kind of named for the kingdom and maybe since the Sheikah have always been part of the kingdom, maybe they are being considered Hylian as denizens of Hyrule. But do we then consider the people of New Hyrule "New Hylians"? I doubt it. Again, I am reminded of Link being called a human instead of a Hylian in TP (where the people of Hyrule didn't have pointed ears). Anyway, maybe I should have put this in the Zelda Theory board.

Isn't there also the thing about Gerudo having children with Hylians? It kinda seems to me like Sheikah, Hylians, Gerudo, etc are all human, just whatever versions of humans that exist in Hyrule.

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

I think so, my head canon is that Hylians are more elven but the Gerudo definitely do interbreed with them. I just mean that when TP released, I was annoyed that they referred to Link as a human instead of a Hylian but that was also around the same time I think they made the final switch from Hyrulian to Hyruean (barf) so they may have been cleaning house a bit.

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

Some humans do have pointed ears, so perhaps that was why Link was originally called human?

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

Some humans do have pointed ears, so perhaps that was why Link was originally called human?

Was he referred to as human before TP? Nearly all the denizens of Hyrule in TP were round-eared.

Edit: looks like the Minish also called him a human in MC. I never noticed that before now.

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

Was he referred to as human before TP? Nearly all the denizens of Hyrule in TP were round-eared.

I am not sure. I

I was thinking on the matter of humans, in Majora’s Mask the story says Link traveled to one alternate demension, Termina, is it possible there is another with humans and might he not end up there one day?

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

To add to the conversation, the Kokiri also have pointed ears (Hylians have pointed ears to better hear the goddess) but seem to be quite different from "Hylians". Twili and

Spoiler: TotK SPOILERS

Zonai

also have big ears though but I wouldn't guess they would be considered Hylians...

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

Yeah the Zonai revelation that they procreated with the Hylians is very reminiscent of Genesis 6:4-11 when the sons of god had children with human women, who begat heroes of renown and giants.

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

Yeah the Zonai revelation that they procreated with the Hylians is very reminiscent of Genesis 6:4-11 when the sons of god had children with human women, who begat heroes of renown and giants.

Possible Inspiration?

I know it's a long shot but it actually fits pretty well. It would at least be ready to follow the train of thought down this path. Joshua 14:12 Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified...

www.zeldadungeon.net

If you have a passing knowledge, you'll get why what you said reminds me of this.

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

Possible Inspiration?

I know it's a long shot but it actually fits pretty well. It would at least be ready to follow the train of thought down this path. Joshua 14:12 Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified...

www.zeldadungeon.net

If you have a passing knowledge, you'll get why what you said reminds me of this.

Indeed, The Anakim (Anakin Skywalker’s name inspiration?), The Nephilim, very intriguing possible inspirations.

In species procreation is very at the heart of Zelda, since most of the races have human features including the Zora, I wonder if the Zora are offspring that carried much if features of the Zonai


Zonai


Zora

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

Indeed, The Anakim (Anakin Skywalker’s name inspiration?), The Nephilim, very intriguing possible inspirations.

In species procreation is very at the heart of Zelda, since most of the races have human features including the Zora, I wonder if the Zora are offspring that carried much if features of the Zonai

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Zonai

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Zora

I like that, totally plausible. I'm sticking with my og Zonai theory though. So far in my playthrough, the link is still possible. https://zeldadungeon.net/forum/threads/zuna.75147/

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

I like that, totally plausible. I'm sticking with my og Zonai theory though. So far in my playthrough, the link is still possible. https://zeldadungeon.net/forum/threads/zuna.75147/

Just read, well said!

I was wondering if Nintendo intended Atlantian themes with The Zonai, they and magic around them looks like Atlantis the Disney film:




The Gates in Tears remind me of gateways in Atlantis, and the arm tatooes:

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

Just read, well said!

I was wondering if Nintendo intended Atlantian themes with The Zonai, they and magic around them looks like Atlantis the Disney film:

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View attachment 71080

The Gates in Tears remind me of gateways in Atlantis, and the arm tatooes:

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That's a possibility, you have to imagine that animator's and designers for TotK grew up consuming some of the same media we did. It's funny because I was just talking to my wife about it today when she mentioned that Link's "tattoos" were cool (and were about to show up on nerd bodies everywhere) and I showed her what it reminded me of.

Spoiler: Where My Arm At?!

Anakin, my boy! And we're full circle.

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

That's a possibility, you have to imagine that animator's and designers for TotK grew up consuming some of the same media we did. It's funny because I was just talking to my wife about it today when she mentioned that Link's "tattoos" were cool (and were about to show up in nerd bodies everywhere) and I showed her what it reminded me of.

Spoiler: Where My Arm At?!

View attachment 71083Anakin, my boy! And we're full circle.

That is true and its not like Nintendo copied it, they did their own thing with it. All great storytellers take inspiration from everywhere, and I like the idea Nintendo’s team grew up on the films we did.

Haha The Clone Wars Microseries! I loved that show. Anakin’s arch was great and General Grevious was the true terror he should have been in Revenge of the Sith.

Back to the topic. I found it interesting that Gerudo women usually have daughters. Ganondorf being that one hundred year male, but is Ganondorf a body the Spirit of Ganon took? Because until Ocarina, Ganon was a Demon Pig, even called Demon Dragon in TotK. Is Ganondorf just a physical form of Ganon or did he possess the body of Gerudo male?

 

[GZ Zelda]

Isn't there also the thing about Gerudo having children with Hylians? It kinda seems to me like Sheikah, Hylians, Gerudo, etc are all human, just whatever versions of humans that exist in Hyrule.

Sheikah, Hylians, Gerudo,

Spoiler: totk

Zonai

, Kokiri (and therefore Koroks), Zora (and therefore Rito) are all seen to either produce offspring together, or cross-species marry. The Wind Tribe, Cobble, Ho Ho, Lokomo, and Loruleans also seem obviously human. I don't know what that says about, like, anything I guess, but it's weird that the only major race that's unrelated is the Gorons. The Minish and Twili also have vaguely humanoid forms, but I'm not sure they are "human."

 

[Fierce Deity Link]

The Hero of Tome was engaged to Ruto, a Zora. She freed him of the obligation because she became a Sage, but it does prove Zora do marry outside their species: