Breath Of The Wild: 7 Things You Didn't Know About The Gerudo
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild adds a number of races to the inhabitants of Hyrule, but it also brings back familiar faces from previous entries in the revered series. Gorons and Zora are two that come back from Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, and the Rito return to the series from The Wind Waker.
Another familiar face to the most recent Zelda game is the Gerudo. The Gerudo made their debut back in Ocarina of Time and have been a mainstay of the series since, appearing again in games like Oracle of Seasons/Ages and Twilight Princess. Breath of the Wild elaborates on some of the details of Gerudo society, and even adds new lore to the long-established race.
7 The Last Male Gerudo, in Breath of the Wild, was Ganondorf...
Ganondorf, in every game he appeared in alongside other Gerudo, has always been the only male Gerudo encounterable in-game. The "default" gender of the Gerudo is female, so much so that a male is only born every hundred years, and he is destined to rule over the race. When there is no male to rule, a female will rule instead.
While Ganondorf technically still lives in the Breath of the Wild universe, his transformation into the Calamity forced the Gerudo people to appoint a female ruler. The Gerudo don't consider Ganondorf to be amongst their ranks anymore due to his betrayal of Hyrule.
6 ...And It's Mostly His Fault Males Aren't Allowed In Gerudo Town
While males are extremely rare in Gerudo society, the people weren't opposed to men quite at all before Ganondorf betrayed them. When he turned into Calamity Ganon, the Gerudo elected to disallow all men from entering Gerudo Town, ever, and establish the city as a haven for Hyrule's females. The Gerudo still date men, but always from other races and outside of the city.
Interestingly enough, in Breath of the Wild the Gerudo will allow Gorons into Gerudo Town. This is because the Gerudo don't really know what to call Gorons, as they are all quite literally the same gender, with no designation of men or women. Sure, the race takes on traditionally male traits, but the Gerudo perhaps consider them to be closer to nonbinary.
5 All Gerudo In Hyrule Probably Have Hylian Ancestry
In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the Gerudo people all have rounded ears. However, in Breath of the Wild, all Gerudo have pointed ears, just like Link, Zelda, and other Hylians. Breath of the Wild canonically takes place long, long after the events of Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, so this can be explained in two likely ways.
Number one, it's a retcon. This explanation is the easiest to assume, but it doesn't explain why the race's ears are still rounded in the remakes of both of the N64 Zelda titles and in Twilight Princess. So the second explanation, then, is that the Gerudo have slowly taken on Hylian traits over the years as the two races... mingled. There is a third possibility, that the Gerudo were chosen by the Gods, but that seems a little convoluted and has little in-game basis.
4 You Can Buy Gerudo Voe (Male) Armor At GSC
The Gerudo Secret Club, located of course in Gerudo Town, sells some things that are technically illegal within the town limits. Among these wares is a full set of Gerudo Voe armor – a Gerudo Vai is a female, whereas a Voe is a male. The full set will set you back a few Luminous Stones and lots of Rupees, but it's well worth picking up.
While Gerudo Town is indeed a female-only area, that doesn't mean the females want to wear typically Vai clothing. The Gerudo Secret Club is a widely-known secret, where a Vai can buy fashionable and rare Voe armor, although you can't wear Voe clothes in Gerudo Town unless you want to alert the guards.
3 There Aren't Any Zora In Gerudo Town
While Gerudo Town is a haven for Hyrule's females, it curiously doesn't appear that any Zora have made it there. The Zora, of course, are an aquatic race in Hyrule and take on many forms ranging from fishy to sharky to squid-like. Despite its many waterways, you can't find any in Gerudo Town, though.
There are lots of theories why they aren't there, number one being that the desert heat is simply too much for the fragile, aquatic race. If Link needs special clothing just to survive the desert heat, the Zora, who typically don't wear much in the way of clothes, would be absolutely fried in the sun – perhaps, afterward, served with a twist of lemon and dill seasoning.
2 They Aren't Religious But Have Worshipped Gods In The Past
The Gerudo traditionally revere the only living male as both their destined king and living God, at least according to a gossip stone in Ocarina of Time. If the timeline presented in the historical account of the Zelda series Hyrule Historia is correct, then that means the Gerudo in Gerudo Town once worshipped Ganondorf too.
However, they stopped revering their destined king at some point and even turned away from the Hylian Gods themselves. The Gerudo don't subscribe to any particular belief system, but they do still revere heroes of the past, such as the Seven Heroines who each embody a different Gerudo virtue, and in the past, the Sage of Spirit Nabooru.
1 Link Still Isn't "Allowed" To Be In Gerudo Town, Even After Everything
That's right – even after aiding Gerudo Town to take back Vah Naboris, even after obtaining the Master Sword, even after stopping Calamity Ganon, and even after completely and totally freeing Hyrule from Calamity Ganon's unfathomable power, Link isn't allowed into Gerudo Town because he's a male.
Even after everything, Link still has to don female armor and sneak past the guards, who at the end of the game probably recognize him as the Hero of Time himself no matter how much he covers his true gender. It's a bit silly they wouldn't make an exception for a living legend, but then again, they are strong, independent people who don't need any males.
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