What were the Gossip Stones really used for?

[Link Floyd]

In OoT, there are various locations where Gossip stones can be found. Most of these locations can range from being out in the open to hidden in underground caves.

I was watching a YouTube video today (the title and user escapes me), but I remember the whole video discussed multiple theories about the real purpose of the Gossip stones across Hyrule. One of the theories that I thought was the most interesting and likely was that the Gossip stones were used to mark safe locations where Hylians could go and hide from the evils of Ganondorf.

I was also thinking that maybe the Gossip stones are graves, since they have the Sheikah emblem on them. This would also explain the lack of Sheikahs in the overworld. The only Sheikah we have seen is Impa, and it's possible that Bongo Bongo is also a Sheikah.

But why do Sheikah stones tell time, secrets, and fly off into the sky like a rocket when set off by explosives?

What do you think? Do you agree with these theories or would you like to share one of your own? Or maybe you have read about one somewhere else.

 

[Djinn]

I sort of viewed them as a form of communication tool among the Sheikah. It carried their symbol and could be used to hold phrases and secrets. So for an organization that might have existed as spies and possibly a secret police the stones littered all over the kingdom could be used to pass along information in plain sight but only to those that know how to speak to them.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

I sort of viewed them as a form of communication tool among the Sheikah. It carried their symbol and could be used to hold phrases and secrets. So for an organization that might have existed as spies and possibly a secret police the stones littered all over the kingdom could be used to pass along information in plain sight but only to those that know how to speak to them.

Yeah, the fact that you have to obtain the Mask of Truth to unlock the real secrets of the stones makes me think that they are used to transfer info secretly but in plain sight. Regular Hylians might view them as just random stones that tell time although they do much more.

 

[Jeffers]

Personally I doubt that they were meant to be markers for save havens from Ganondorf; in Ocarina of Time they're present in areas like Hyrule Castle and right outside the Temple of Time during the child Link era that are later taken over by Ganondorf while Link is asleep. This theory also doesn't explain the Gossip Stones' presence in Termina.
I think it's most likely that they're meant to be a method of communication, especially since Tetra's Pirate's Charm - a device used for the explicit purpose of communication - is said to be an enhanced version of the Gossip Stones.

 

[JGloverArtist]

I've always thought of them as a means of communication rather than safe havens, although admittedly in game all they have ever done for me is tell me the time.

 

[Devon Thurgood]

I think gossip stones are sentient life forms. Maybe sheikah stones are the same. The sheikah created life.

 

[TattooArtist]

In OoT, there are various locations where Gossip stones can be found. Most of these locations can range from being out in the open to hidden in underground caves.

I was watching a YouTube video today (the title and user escapes me), but I remember the whole video discussed multiple theories about the real purpose of the Gossip stones across Hyrule. One of the theories that I thought was the most interesting and likely was that the Gossip stones were used to mark safe locations where Hylians could go and hide from the evils of Ganondorf.

I was also thinking that maybe the Gossip stones are graves, since they have the Sheikah emblem on them. This would also explain the lack of Sheikahs in the overworld. The only Sheikah we have seen is Impa, and it's possible that Bongo Bongo is also a Sheikah.

But why do Sheikah stones tell time, secrets, and fly off into the sky like a rocket when set off by explosives?

What do you think? Do you agree with these theories or would you like to share one of your own? Or maybe you have read about one somewhere else.

I think they give messages which are hidden in the gossip stones which were left by the Goddess that only the Hero of Time can read.

 

[Spamomanospam]

Gossip Stones have the power to relay messages, that much is certain. The only problem is that some kind of magic is used to obtain that message... Or is it? If you remember, King Hyrule crafted the Pirate's Charm from a Gossip Stone. Perhaps they are a certain type of rock that contains magical properties and therefore can have many effects. If this is the case, the Shiekah may have had little knowledge about them at the time they made the Gossip Stones, but over the hundreds of years the King had, he was able to do even more. By the time Breath of the Wild happens, if it's in that timeline, maybe the Shiekah Slate is yet another advanced version of the Pirate's Charm.

 

[karu]

I think they have a mind of their own. Though the name Sheikah Stone implies and it is stated that they are Sheikah, they seem too wise to take orders from anyone. But that's just my over active imagination speaking.....or is it???.........

 

[Dr. Plague]

For myself, the Gossip stones seem to bring a panoptic element into Hyrule.

The Sheikah were the king's guard - a tribe of people that would protect him and watch over the land for him. So, they placed these stones as a deployment of power relations in an effort to exert control over the people of Hyrule and keep them in check. The stones see everything that goes on around them, and so the people, aware of being watched, self-police their bodies, thoughts, and actions. Of course, I would place this active function of the stones earlier in the timeline, when the Sheikah tribe was not all dead.

 

[Castle]

I think they were a secret communication network for the Sheikah. Spycraft makes use of information dead drops- ways for spies to pass along information in places only they would know where to go looking for it. The stones possess magical properties most people would think are just rather fun and novel - but only the Sheikah mask reveals hidden messages other than the time. The stones are part toy part timepiece part hidden message board. The best place to hide secrets is in plain sight. People are likely to disregard toys as frivolous and not give them a second thought (hiding contraband in toys is a common smugglers tactic) and when most people check for the time they do it quickly and go about their merry. Any Sheikah seeking whatever information's been placed in the stone could do so under the guise of checking the time or just playing around without anyone noticing they're receiving hidden messages.

 

[Neil Almack]

What if the BotW is after OoT and the sheikah aren't really gone, they are just in hiding, making and working on tech for the Guardians. And what if the Gossip Stones are markers for where the Sheikah buried these Guardians whose purpose is to rise up if ever the Hero is defeated to stop Ganon (or Demise or any bad guy really) from taking over the world. So when Link is defeated, the Guardians rise up and take him to the also burried/hidden shrine of Resurrection to be revived until he is better.

Also what if the Guardians are just Sheikah who have learned to transfer their consciousness into machines so that they can truly help the royal family forever. Silly but just s thought.

 

[Terminalprp]

I thought it was less for the Sheikah to communicate with each other and more to communicate with the Hero of Time. There's also the possibility of them being a weird form of Hyrulean entertainment given the inane comments they may have at times.

Stupid idea, but at least for OoT there's no clocks in the over world right? Could that be their function, and passing along the stuff people talked about while they checked the time is just an added feature? Could explain why of all comments for the one near the Spirit Temple to give, it's about how the Ice Arrows in the training ground are useless.

 

[Octorokkilla]

I think it served purpose to the sheika and whoever the sheika allowed it to be seen by. Think special agent stuff, super secretive and mysterious. But I wouldn't know what kind of secrets they would put up, I guess mostly game tips and time a day?

 

[Chill Fruit]

I personally think the Gossip Stones were made, or at least have some timeshift stone in them. It'd explain the time telling abilities and having the mask of truth (or possibly other methods) as a key to "access words said on the past". It also helps that timeshift stone most likely has some kind of connection to the Sheikah, but that's extrapolation, so take that with a grain of salt.

I thought it was less for the Sheikah to communicate with each other and more to communicate with the Hero of Time.

Considering there are Gossip Stones before there was even a curse to have a Hero of Time that seems unlikely ... Unless you mean the hero in general. It could explain why you need to have the Goddess Harp to find them in Skyward Sword.

There's also the possibility of them being a weird form of Hyrulean entertainment given the inane comments they may have at times

I'd consider it unlikely given you need an item to even interact with them besides basic time telling (and even for basic time telling depending on your interpretation fo whether it's a sword or just any blade / small impact that gives that answer), the only game where you don't need to know a certain song or have a certain item is PH but that's a dream-ish, so.

Stupid idea, but at least for OoT there's no clocks in the over world right? Could that be their function, and passing along the stuff people talked about while they checked the time is just an added feature? Could explain why of all comments for the one near the Spirit Temple to give, it's about how the Ice Arrows in the training ground are useless.

I guess that's more likely. I'd ascribe the lack of clocks in OoT due to it being literally medieval and people in medieval times generally didn't care about time. There's usually more emphasis on time as given by natural markers (e.g.: the sun, so sunrise, noon and sunset are usually more meaningful to people in this kind of setting), still it might be it. Who knows.