The Sheikah Are Hylians

[Ember Incubus]

People keep assuming that the Sheikah and the Hylians are different races, but there is no evidence to prove that, nor is there any reason to believe that. People in real life is an example. People re born humans, but become ninjas. Since Sheikahs are obviously based on Ninjas. Humans are to Ninjas, as Hylians are to Sheikahs. People may say to me, "Following your logic, Gerudo are the same race as Hylians". Those are Apples and Oranges. Gerudo were said ingame to be a separate race. Some may say, "Prove to me that Sheikah are the same as Hylians then." Well I say, "Prove to me that Sheikah are different than Hylians." Were in the game is there proof that Sheikahs are different? Both Ruaru and Zelda are Hylian sages, so don't go saying, "Sheikahs are a different race because they have Impa the sage." This is not to bring up debate, it is made so someone can find canonical proof that they are different, because I have yet to see one yet.

 

[(◕‿◕✿)]

You didn't put forth an empirical/canonical evidence for this.

People in real life is an example. People re born humans, but become ninjas

People in real life are not an example because Hylians are different than humans, they display different traits, and judging by appearance, different genetics.

Well I say, "Prove to me that Sheikah are different than Hylians." Were in the game is there proof that Sheikahs are different? Both Ruaru and Zelda are Hylian sages, so don't go saying, "Sheikahs are a different race because they have Impa the sage.

You're shifting the burden of proof, you assume because there is no evidence (that you are aware of), you're position is right, and is justified until you are proven wrong.

 

[Locke]

You're shifting the burden of proof, you assume because there is no evidence (that you are aware of), you're position is right, and is justified until you are proven wrong.

Actually I think he's assuming right. Two things are the same until proven otherwise (Occam's Razor). On the other hand, popular knowledge is right until proven wrong, so the burden could arguably go both ways. I have a quote though...h/o while I find it.
edit: ehhh I can't remember where it was.... I think I have it in a document at home, so I'll get back to you after work. (it's in one of the creation stories I thought, when it was stated that the goddesses created all the races, two of them being Hylians and Shiekah. forgot which game)
edit2: I found where I wrote it down, but I provided myself with no source, and hours of searching have yielded no results. I think I must have just made it up and no such quote exists, unless there's a developer quote that I'm not remembering.

 

[Wild Thing]

I agree with Ember Incubus because they look exactly the same as Hylians but they seem to have ninja like ability why would they protect the hylian royal family why would they have a different race i think Sheikah's are like the royal family they are a group of Hylians that you can't just become you have to be born in the family they are like nobles. They seem like an ancient tribe of Hylians to me.

 

[Valexi]

I just always took it for granted that they were a different race. I mean, if I recall correctly all of the Sheikah have red eyes, and I've never seen a Hylian with red eyes. And I just figured that ninja is to Sheikah as thievery is to Gerudo.
Plus, in Wind Waker the glass windows for the Sages showed the symbol of their race above them, and Impa had the Sheikah symbol above her.

And there was already a Hylian as a Sage as well

If the Sheikah are indeed Hylian, then why didn't Impa get a Hylian symbol above her like Rauru?
Just like we have to prove that the Sheikah are their own race, you have to provide proof that they aren't.
It is not a fact that the Sheikah are Hylian until you can provide evidence.
The lack of evident doesn't compensate for actual evidence nor proves your point.


And if it counts for anything, Zeldawiki refers to them as their own race as well, and doesn't show any argument or theroies about them being the same race as Hylian: [link]

 

[bbevington90]

In Ember Incubus' defense, he said he didn't want to strike debate, he was just hoping someone had some evidence. I feel like there must be some evidence out there supporting them being their own race though. I know Sheik says something about being the last Sheikah or something like that.

 

[Locke]

@Valexi: The symbol above Rauru is that of the Hylian Royal Family. It's possible that those who serve the family could have their own symbol, even if they're the same race.

@bbevington: She says "Survivor of the Sheikahs..." Sounds to me like she's referring to a dying race, but it could also be applied to a dying family or something too.

I took a quick look at the OoT text dump and found 15 instances of the word "Sheikah." None of them state whether they're a separate race or not, but the context of most of them gave me the impression that they were. Someone should check the Japanese version of these contexts, like the original meanings for "my people" and "shadow folk."

 

[bbevington90]

I took a quick look at the OoT text dump and found 15 instances of the word "Sheikah." None of them state whether they're a separate race or not, but the context of most of them gave me the impression that they were.

That's pretty much how it is. No one is ever like "HEY THE SHEIKAH ARE THEIR OWN RACE!!" But there are a lot of things implying they are. It's a pretty safe bet to assume they are their own race I'd say. I've always thought of it that way and haven't really questioned it myself haha

 

[athenian200]

I personally think that the Shiekah are probably humans, but not Hylians.

I think the humanoid races might all be related in some way, but that they're all their own sub-race. I do think that the Shiekah are more closely related to Hylians than the Gerudo are, though.

 

[PureLocke]

Athenian: They have pointy ears so they aren't human.

Ember: Yes people can become a "ninja" (learn ninjutsu) but that martial art and culture is Japanese. There are also real world examples of different races/cultures being contracted to be bodyguards for VIPs I.e. the Spanish guard of the Vatican (in Italy). Anyway, if the Sheikah are Hylians then why are they called Shiekah? The Shiekah, if they were genetically close to the Hylians, have become distinct (red eyes, different skin tone often-though that could be environmental) and culture is another difference/factor in them being considered a separate people. Shiekah are also never refered to as a "family" only a "people" or the "Shadow Folk"

 

[DuckNoises]

To be honest, I never thought of them as a separate race. In terms of biological classification, I'd say they have the same genus and species, but they are referred to as a different "race." I tend to think of the Sheikah as a faction rather than a separate race. This is because the differences between them are pretty much negligible. I'd argue that Gerudos fall under the same sort of thing; I think of all of these as different nationalities.
Now, to look at some in-game things, a lot of NPCs have hinted at the Hylians being closer to the gods. In Twilight Princess, not all the "ordinary" humanoid NPCs were Hylian. Honestly, I think that's just a hint at racial tension or eugenics in the world of Hyrule. The most prosperous faction automatically assumes that their prosperity is a direct result of biological superiority, and uses their prosperity as reasoning (faulty reasoning, though) to assume that they were chosen by deities to be superior. They can then use this kind of claim to justify their persecution of other factions (races, as they would refer to them in-game). This is a very similar sort of thought process that was adopted during the colonization of the New World; since the Europeans thought they were superior due to some biological difference (which was actually non-existent), they used it as moral justification because they thought it was their "right."
I apologize for diverting this on such a dark tangent.

 

[Shadsie]

I never actually took the Sheikah to be a seperate race and was always puzzled when reading people treating them as such. I always thought they were Hylians, but a special order who learned secret magic or were perhaps a certain ethnicity - but not a seperate species like most of the Zelda races seem to be. I don't see the Sheikah as being like the Zora or the Gorons, I see them as pretty much the same species as Hylians, but of a minority ethnic group.

I always took them to be like how Christians and Muslims are different religions but both are humans - they just belong to seperate "things" or how people can be of an ethnic minority but it doesn't mean that they're a whole sepreate *species* or, indeed, even race of those dominating their country/area.

 

[PureLocke]

Guys and ladies, race is a biologically distinct group of humans i.e. Black, White, Asian, Native Alaskan, Mediterranean, not a different species(maybe even genus or family) like Gorons or Zora. So as far as race in Zelda you have Gerudo, Hylian, Human, and we're debating Sheikah which may have just merged with the Hylians over time(around OoT) or retreated into the shadows during peace time, as a gossip stone pointed out(something like "since it's peace time people haven't seen the Shiekah around") though that may just mean that they had heavy casualties in the war.

 

[KickinBird]

I agree that the Sheikah, along with the Gerudo, or not a separate race from the Hylians like the Gorons, Deku, Zora, etc. are. They're just different ethnicities and nationalities. Biologically they are the same, but their individual cultures give them distinctive traits just like how us humans have Caucasian, Native American, Asian, etc. We're biologically the same, but there are distinctive differences between us that create the unique cultures we have.

 

[ComposerBrother]

People keep assuming that the Sheikah and the Hylians are different races, but there is no evidence to prove that, nor is there any reason to believe that. People in real life is an example. People re born humans, but become ninjas. Since Sheikahs are obviously based on Ninjas. Humans are to Ninjas, as Hylians are to Sheikahs. People may say to me, "Following your logic, Gerudo are the same race as Hylians". Those are Apples and Oranges. Gerudo were said ingame to be a separate race. Some may say, "Prove to me that Sheikah are the same as Hylians then." Well I say, "Prove to me that Sheikah are different than Hylians and that Sheikahs are different? Both Ruaru and Zelda are Hylian sages, so don't go saying, "Sheikahs are a different race because they have Impa the sage." This is not to bring up debate, it is made so someone can find canonical proof that they are different, because I have yet to see one yet.

Ember, what the heck?! Sheikah are a race. Otherwise, they wouldn't have their own race's medallion (Yes, it is cannonical because they are referred as "race's medallion" in game). That is proof. Enough said. Could you give us proof that the sheikah are not a separate race?