#hyrule culture

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Cultural Patterns

I'm trying to collect a bunch of Hyrule's different cultural patterns & so far, I've focused mainly on the Gerudo & Sheikah.

Now, some of these were created by other artists, so I don't claim them & if the original artist wishes for me to remove them from the list, then I will do so.

The floral design beneath the coin-like design obviously comes in a bunch of different colors & designs with the only consistent part of it being the gold outline. I just wanted to acknowledge that real quick.

I added the symbols of the 7 Heroines. Though, I wish I could figure out if the 8th had a symbol too.

And I did a bunch of floral recolors as well.

Then, I went into specifics about the Gerudo symbols.

Then there's the Sheikah.

I really need more for the Sheikah one. There just wasn't that many that I could see.

Admittedly, most of the patterns are canon, but at least 7 of them are made by fan artists.

A couple of them, I made myself.

Here are also some of the theological symbols of Hyrule.

A couple of them are just my hc, but still.

Also, I like this one the best!

And here are some ideas for Lurelin/Faron patterns.

Just so everyone knows, these are free to use for their own stuff. I know how difficult it can be to find a decent worksheet or reference with patterns on them. But also keep in mind that this isn't finished by a longshot. So, remember to check back every once in a while to see if anything has been added.

LoZ Cultural Masterlist

[wind-sage-serin]

Once I properly gather my old resources, I fully intend on reviving an old Kokiri conlang I had meditated over in my youth. I also have to focus on consulting with our resident Rito Champion on his memories to reconstruct the Rito language and draw on my own experience to best construct Calamity-Era Picori Speech which, despite all my searching, has so far being very different from how it has been (admittedly rather lazily) depicted in canon.

As for Rito speech, it has a few quirks. Since the bird-folk are rather man-shaped, their vocal cords are not located in the area normal birds have them (which by the way is after their lungs branch so they have multiple sets which allow them to make more complex noises). Making bilabial sounds (involving two lips pressed together) doesn’t work because… well, they don’t have lips. I make exceptions for labiodentals like f and v as I’ve both heard those sounds from his native language speaking (weed loosens his beak a little, I swear) as well as there are Earth languages that use those sounds without touching teeth to lip.

My Old Kokiri has its own phonetic alphabet (which is personally more easy for me to follow than whatever the hell English has going on) but I wrote it when I was young during this cycle (like age 12-13) so needless to say I’d like to revise that.

The more I meditate and dig up old knowledge the easier it’ll be to fulfill my role.

[zeldadiscussions]

The repeated use of the specific word imperialism in fandom discussions of TotK really bugs me because like… we know what imperialism looks like, right?

Genocide either by murder or assimilation, leadership that is either of the conquering race or loyal to it generally for personal gain, control of the conquered’s resources, and a social climate where the conquerors are considered superior.

But in this Hyrule none of the other races had their cultures erased, they aren’t governed by Hylian leaders and the local leaders’ first priority is taking care of their people, they manage their own trade affairs, and Hylians don’t constantly subject others to put downs about their race.

If a Hylian man dares enter Gerudo Town without the Chief’s permission, they kick him out or put him in jail. That’s how much control the Gerudo have over their own territory and how little being a Hylian matters if you mess with them.

Rauru is accused of hoarding power but he literally gave his secret stones out to the other races and they remain in possession of them to this day.

Basically the only time the other nations seem to actually follow Hyrule’s lead at all is when facing common threats or working towards common goals. Hyrule only ever meddles in other lands affairs either to lend them aid (Link and Zelda fighting for everyone, the folks at Tabantha Bridge Stable providing disaster releif to the Rito, etc.) or requesting aid from them (Rauru and Zelda asking the Sages and Champions to help them fight Ganon[dorf].) They lead like a team leader leads.

Sonia and Rauru didn’t found an empire.

They founded an alliance.

I know I’m beating a dead horse here but to my eyes at least (for now) there is zero solid evidence of Hyrule exerting control over the daily lives of non-Hylians or stealing their resources, two major defining traits of imperialistic rule. Hyrule is at the head of the alliance, yes, but an empire isn’t the only system of governance that has one group or individual at the helm of a coalition. The difference is in the details and the details here are that Hyrule leads the others but it does not dominate them, and that is key.

The only empire in the game would have been the one Ganondorf was trying to force on everyone and that was pretty bluntly depicted as being a bad thing. How can we say it’s pro-imperialistic if the main conflict is preventing the rise of an evil empire?

You can’t effectively analyze a narrative by completely ignoring everything about it and its meta that contradicts a knee-jerk viewpoint. What is even the point of analyzing it at all at that point?

[knightofhylia-sageofthetriforce]

For those of us in the US, the current election results are incredibly stressful. For those of us who are pagans, especially of the pop-culture variety, these results are likely disappointing, disgusting, and terrifying.

Many of us are neurodivergent, queer, or both. We are other. We are likely in danger. Grieve, be angry, whatever you need. Reach out for help if you need support. All of you are loved. Every single one. Once you have felt your feelings, try to turn back to hope and fighting like hell to keep yourselves safe and change this mess we’re in.

The goddesses are with you, loving you, holding you close. Trust them to heal your heart and grant you stability in these trying times.

Art by @estmorzel on Twitter

May the Goddess Smile Upon You

-Florian Knight

[phoenixcatch7]

Reading loz/lu fics and it's just so interesting how wide the spectrum is of their personalities.

Sometimes it's got an in universe reason (different past (usually gender or species change), recent or ongoing traumatic events, a spectacularly bad first meeting), but sometimes (often) the characters are just... Weirdly angsty or peppy, there's no in between!

And I'm beginning to think less people have played more than one game than I thought XD.

Not that it's anyone's fault! One game is more than enough to be part of it all, and loz is exclusive to Nintendo consoles - and all the older stuff is frustratingly hard to get hold of. Heck, I'm still looking for wind waker, and that was really popular! And then you have to play it! They're not small games!!

But could people writing wild please ease off just a tiiiiiny bit so he can be a semi functional member of society pretty please XD? He's just as much a polite boy as any other member of the chain! He won't even run in shops! He can't attack npcs! He talks to every single person he's ever seen and remembers every single name. Yes, he's three quarters woodland creature with a hefty amount of trauma but he's also a fashionista who managed to avoid accidentally taking sides in a mayoral election and that's not easy!

[scopophobia-polaris]

im so excited to see how zelda and the gerudo interact, plus how long has it been since we got a 2d zelda with gerudo in it

Anon I gotta disagree, with all current ANYTHING nintendo says about the Gerudo I will be pleasantly surprised if they dropped any of the shit they made up in totk. I mean its cool that they now keep including them in games again but going from oot which was a bad portrayal to a worse one was .......

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I can't help but wonder if the Gdorf that was transported to a new land. I think Golden Mercy?

I wonder if he realizes that the entire reason that OoT Link even came after him was because he essentially killed the closest thing the boy had to a dad? And then he went on to kill OoT Zelda's dad, too. So, now he has 2 children after him.

Like, does he even recognize how much his actions upturned the lives of those 2 children?

Not only that, but he went to his neighboring kingdom, put on this show, & attacked the King's allies to steal 3 sacred relics, even killing one of them in the process! He threatened them, invaded a holy site, & stole what amounted to the holy grail.

Isn't that tantamount to destruction of cultural property? You know, a war crime??

Like, how does that man rationalize all this?

He really doesn’t, because he’s a selfish piece of garbage. That’s what happens with selfish people, they do not care about the impact they make on others, only what benefits them. To Ganondorf, it’s all just things that need to be done because he will get what he wants, and he does not care who burns to accomplish that. He’s king, it’s his right to take what he wants. That’s how he grew up.

Ganondorf hasn’t learned his lesson. The main reason he doesn’t cause a bunch of problems any earlier than he did was simply because he was kind of satisfied with what he had for a little while, until he learned that the Triforce existed in this Hyrule. Having children has helped him a little, making him gentler at times, trying to make him more rational and reasonable, but at the end of the day he never addressed the issues that led to his actions in his own original Hyrule, and therefore he hasn’t learned from it. As decent as he becomes in his new home, when the temptation strikes he doesn’t fight it, and giving in to that urge makes him completely reprehensible as time goes along. He starts a war, he eventually kills his wife when she turns on him, and he tries to kill his daughter when she teams up with Link. And by heaven did he completely upturn their lives, the Gerudo people, and all of Hyrule.

But worry not, my dear lovely, a few thousand years in agonizing captivity will make him far more contemplative. :)

I mean, I love writing the guy, but that doesn’t make him a good person. The reason I use the good Ganondorf tag is not because of his actions prior to Hyrule Warriors, it’s because Golden Mercy gives him a chance at redemption.

[thefaeriecreek]

Continuing my series of botw redesigns, I'm working on my boyfriend Revali!

[aikoiya]

Thank you very much, I appreciate it!

I'm basically just making a list of holidays & festivals that I think Hyrule would have.

Here it is if you wanna use some of them yourself.

Hyrule's Festivals & Holidays

“Sav’otta! Welcome to the Gerudo Textile and craft festival- This is the festival where we share our creations from the year, sell and trade amongst one another.”

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Alright I think I’ve sent a ask in before and you answered it, I’m not sure if I’m just repeating myself but if I am feel free to ignore!

Alright I wanted to talk about changes in the gerudo culture, now naturally culture norms will change and fade as time goes on. But with the gerudo I can’t help but feel that they were forced to change much of their culture just to appease the other races.

Like why did they stop training Molduga? Why did they change their style to be more feminine etc.

Personally I feel like they were forced to change their culture so they wouldn’t get attacked. Why? Well example the sheikah, the sheikah are a tribe very close to the royal family. They will take out anyone who is a threat to the royal family, correct? Well who used to actively oppose the royal family, the gerudo.

I believe the sheikah still have a prejudiced against the gerudo because, you cannot find a single gerudo in kakariko village. You can find gerudo npcs outside the village thought, on the dangerous rode. Wouldn’t it be easier and safer for them to just cut through kakariko village? Unless there was still bad blood

I’m sorry to bother with my my insane ramblings I just wanted to share and I felt this place appropriate to share my thoughts.

Thank you for reading and thank you and have a nice night/morning/afternoon

Hey, thanks for the ask!

I mean, regardless of what actually did happen in canon, if anything did, I have to say that BotW, and then TotK's internal narrative regarding the gerudos feels rather worrying to me --for several reasons, some of which you do mention here.

The gerudos, by virtue of having the strongest culture that differs from hylians, is the one that is also the most dynamic in these games' shared reality (so TotK's mythical past, BotW, and then TotK modern era), the one that is the most malleable and ongoing internal change.

The first time we see the gerudos, historically, they have a certain political structure that seems to rely on kinghood, have certain skills related to war (the molduga situation), and even have fashion sensitivities that are relatively different to modern era's gerudos (the mohawk, etc, and I Will Not mention the ear situation for the inconsistent mess that it is). Then, the whole shenanigans with Rauru happen, we see the Sage of Lightning having a fashion sense that feels closer to what we know, and we get to see active collaboration happening.

Fast-forward hundreds-to-thousands of years later: not only are gerudos vassal to Hyrule pre-Calamity, but, while their town is still closed behind walls, the gerudos have a strong cultural focus on seeking (mostly) hylian husbands. We get to hear about the younger generations pushing against the strong rules keeping the city closed, and that the walls aren't as closed as they used to be.

In TotK, not only is the actual language evolving (so even if old hylian seems to have been a thing, the speed of language evolving is to be noted imo), but we see clear examples of the ancestral rules being challenged to the point of near annihilation. By the time we leave the gerudos behind, two hylian men have snuck inside the walls/forced their presence upon them, and we have heard of at least another group who have been working for years to make them bend the rules for their sake. Zelda came around and influenced their war techniques, and even their ancient legends get recontextualized as involving hylian men with the Eight Heroin, or as monstrously evil and something to seek forgiveness for in the case of Ganondorf. Subtextually, I'd argue we are assisting to a culture being assimilated in real time. It might be portrayed as a good thing, as old, useless or even arguably bigoted traditions being cast aside, but I still have to insist that while gerudos are yielding their cultural identity under (mostly) hylian pressures, hylians spend the *entire game* rediscovering and reinforcing their own culture and pushing forward a cultural heritage that is thousand of years old --even reinjecting lost elements of its roots into its prosperous future.

And, yeah. It's kind of worth noting at least.

[aikoiya]

Ya'll, I'm trying to compile a list of Hyrulean sayings, both canonical ones & made up ones.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I already have a handful.

One is "peahat parent" meaning helicopter parent.

[1000emotions]

where (some of) the LU boys got their green link tunic

sky: school uniform😔

time: forest child outfit :)

twilight: shapeshifted into it, based on the clothes of a hero who never had to exist in his world (the child timeline) which brings up a cool theory ive seen online: that the hero that people reference in TP is actually sky or four

wind: birthday present :)

wild: we dont know if he has ever worn it in canon but i have a headcanon that he had one and wore it when he was younger and pulled the master sword :) but then he got a job and a uniform lol

warriors: oh man, this random soldier kid is the legendary hero we have to give him the outfit

also fun thing to consider: sky learning about how important his school uniform is to hyrule’s history and culture!! like imagine sky hearing about the tradition of the birthday present in wind’s era. like that must have blown his mind

[zeldadiscussions]

One of the greatest ironies of going “I don’t like that Ganondorf is a foreign poc coded man blamed for Hyrule’s problems” and then bending over backwards trying to rationalize Ganondorf’s violent and manipulative actions by blaming everything on Rauru is the fact that Rauru is also a foreign poc coded man

[knightofhylia]

woo hoo some actual progress! some of the stuff got cut off but I am very slowly filling out the hyrule herbology. 80 more plants to go lol

[asterionstarryeyed]

link building devices that work for about a minute and can't be reproduced with hyrule's current technological capabilities: broke

traysi non-anachronistically innovating and bringing about the advent of mass print media in hyrule: bespoke

[twin-chains]

Just found out about Cadence of Hyrule, kinda in love with this game and I could totally envision a hero from it (probably won't be added to this au but fun to think about)

Cade? Rhythm? Sere? would be very rhythmic in battle and never wastes a move or step, nor a swing of their breakable items. They'd always walk/march on beat, even when they're sitting down they have a habit of tapping their fingers or foot to their own internal rhythm. They like to hum and repeat pretty sounds they hear, everything sounds like music to them (the buzz of cicadas, the whistle in the wind, etc). Even their voice would have a slight sing-songy accent around the other Links, accidentally singing a word or syllable while speaking.

Their world itself thrives on a music-based culture. Everyone has a song in their heart and family members have similar songs while close friends and partners have songs that harmonize and compliment each others well. Clans or villages could perform similar music genres or styles. People would sing to express respect, love, or joy in their words, the stronger someone sings their words or speech the stronger they feel these emotions. On the other hand, yelling, arguing, and screeching holds greater weight in conversations due to being strong, loud negative noises (heavy metal is frowned upon unfortunately).

It's common for rituals and ceremonies to be performed through song: wedding vows, birthday celebrations, festivals, even funeral dirges, etc. Even one of a child's milestones are their first tune or instrument (along their first word and step). When Princess Zelda (Lyre? Ballad? Harmony? Melody?) was coronated, one of the requirements was for her to write and perform a song to her people to portray her good and honest intentions to serve the kingdom.

Someone's vocal register (soprano, alto, tenor, bass, etc) is commonly shared with others and treated in a similar way as astrological signs (gemini, cancer, leo, etc).

If one chooses not to sing, they typically dedicated themselves to an instrument or two instead. Multi-instrumentalists are often admired and seen as gifted.

Music and rhythm is all around them in nature. Everyone is typically expected to learn to sing or play an instrument of some kind (it's an unspoken thing). To these citizens, song is seen as something that makes them hylian. It's said that their pointed ears let them hear song better and be closer to the music of the heavens. It separates them from monsters and animals that follow a beat but can't produce decent song of their own, mostly due to a lack of the proper vocal chords. Many birds are highly valued and respected in their culture due to their ability to produce melodious bird calls, even common as pets. Because of this, many in Cade's world often depict religious figures like the golden goddesses with great bird-like angel wings and bright plumage in their respective colors (Farore=green, Din=red, Nayru=blue). Maybe even feathers are common in royal or high fashion, I could definitely see Lyre wearing cute feathers in her hair or accessories.

Sunny or clear weather sounds like calm and relaxing music while heavy rain or stormy weather sounds discordant and loud with the claps of thunder.