r/truezelda • u/LapisLazuliisthebest • 11d ago
Open Discussion [All] Religions of Hyrule Part 1: Humans
This is a post about the religions of Hyrule. This is going to be multiple parts. I don't know how many yet.
The Three Goddesses
Bit of an introduction.
The three most important deities of Hyrule are the Three Golden Goddess. Din, Nayru and Farore.
These three are the creators of the Zelda universe. And, along with the Triforce, appear to be worshiped by every race in some shape or form. Although, different races may place different levels of enthesis on a certain Goddess.
Hylia, Hylians and the Shiekah
Other then the Golden Goddesses, the main deity of the Hylians is the unseen goddess, Hylia, in which the Hylians get their name.
In addition to the statues and springs, Hylia is also worshiped through her decendents, the Hyrulian Royal Family. The most famous members being the various Princesses Zelda, all named after the mortal reincarnation of Hylia. (I'm NOT saying "All Zeldas are Hylia". I'm only saying they are named after her). This was already a tradition as confirmed by King Rhoam. Although a Prince in AoL briefly made it "law". The Princessess Zelda also seem to be priestesses.
The Shiekah are a subset of Hylians, who guard the Royal Family. This tradition presumably coming from SS Impa being Hylia's servant.
Trees and Leviathans
Although the Deku Tree is known for being the guardian of the Kokiri/Koroks (who I'll get to in another part), he is an important figure in Hylian culture, something made more clear in later games. In BotW he guards the Master Sword, and in EoW he guards the Triforce.
The Maku Trees I may discuss in the future.
We also have Levias, the Guardian of Skyloft. A figure revered by the Hylians (at the time, simply called "humans") who would be offered against bowl of Pumpkin Soup.
Leviathans would loose relevance amongst Hylians in the future. Ignoring the Wind Fish, who's significance to Hyrule, if any, is unknown and the Ocean King, who is the god of is own world, most Leviathan worship would be practiced by the Zora.
A possible exception by be Jabun in the WW. Whilst not confirmed, is assumed to have been worshiped by Hylians on Greatfish Isle. This would make sense, due to the flood making sea travel more important.
Gerudo
Unlike other humans in Hyrule, the Gerudo don't worship Hylia (maybe except briefly in the past) or the Royal Family. Instead, the main focus of their religion is "Ancestor worship".
The Goddess of Sand is often assumed to be an aspect of Din, but other theories suggest it may be a personification of the Gerudo ancestor. It's possible this figure might represent the founding member of Hyrule's Gerudo settlement.
The Hylians once believed the Goddess of the Sand to be "evil", but only because they were still enemies with the Gerudo at the time.
Part 2 is here: [All] Religions of Hyrule Part 2: Zora and Rito : r/truezelda
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u/Britannicus_Sherwood 7d ago
I am glad to have found this & that someone else is also sufficiently interested in the particulars of Hyrulean religion. I have some in-put.
First, a minor grammatical correction:
When referring to titled persons with a shared name, especially monarchs, you pluralise the title. For example, the period of British history which is called the Georgian Era is so-named as it encompassing the reigns of four successive kings whom were all named George; Georges I-IV. Thus, when referring to them we say the Kings George, not King Georges. In this same way, the multiple Zeldas in The Legend of Zelda continuity are the Princesses Zelda or Queens Zelda, not Princess Zeldas. This same logic applies to hyphenated titles as well. For example, national government which include a Governor-General pluralise the title as Governors-General, not Governor-Generals. This is not an absolute rule however, as seen with the title Priest-King, pluralised as Priest-Kings, not Priests-King. I bring this up as it is relevant to my next point.
Priestess-Princesses:
It is obvious that religion & especially the worship of the Golden Triad & also Hylia is a vital pillar of human Hyrulean culture & society. And as you've pointed out, it is also obvious that the Royal Family are a feature of this religion, though what little evidence we have does not suggest that the monarchs themselves are receivers of worship like OTL's Pharaohs. This also would not neatly align with the generally Western European sort of civilisation that Hyrule is. I posit that the pure-blooded members of the Royal Family are generally regarded as worthy of higher honour being children of the Goddess Blood & that by virtue of that many of them are members of the priesthood or clergy of the Hyrulean religion venerating Din, Nayru, Faroré & Hylia. Many of the Princesses Zelda we know of would most hold a prominent position in this arrangement, perhaps being considered senior priestesses either of a particular sub-cult or of the religion in general. This would mean that some of the Princesses Zelda we meet in the games are Priestess-Princess Zelda. Some of them may have even been a Priestess-Queen. This I think adds another layer of cultural & social depth to Hyrule.
I also have an idea concerning the Gerudo's Lady of Sand:
In the ancient Near East many lands got their names from the first person to whom its settlement was attributed, or from the name of the man who was the patriarchal ancestor of the people who settled the land. Here are some examples:
- The Iranian province of Khuzestan was known as Elam in ancient times, named after Elam, a grandson of Noah, said to have settled there after the Great Flood.
- The name Assyria derives from Asshur, which is what the Ancient Assyrians called their homeland, itself named after another grandson of Noah named Asshur, brother of Elam.
- The Hebrew name for Syria is & always has been Aram, which the is also what the Anciant Syriacs called their homeland, named for another grandson of Noah named Aram, brother of Asshur & Elam. Aram is also the origin of the Aramaic language which much of the Bible was written in.
- The region of modern Israel & southern Lebanon was once called Canaan in very ancient times, named after yet another grandson of Noah by that name.
- The Hebrew name for Egypt is & always has been Mizraim, named for yet another grandson of Noah by that name, brother of Canaan.
Now Asshur not only gave his name to the land, but his descendants the Assyrians deified his memory & worshipped him as the chief god of their pantheon & ironically as the personification of the land itself. The Assyrians & their kingdom were intrinsically tied to their founder god Asshur & vice-versa. I posit that the Gerudo's Lady of Sand is the same. This goddess is unique to Gerudo people & (in the earlier forms of their culture) the axis of their religion. That her titles directly associate her with sand & thus the desert suggest that she may also be tied to the land of Gerudo itself. It might be that the Sand Goddess or Lady of Sand is the deified memory of a very ancient ancestress of the Gerudo people. That we don't know her name is because our knowledge comes from a Hylian or Hylian-adjacent perspective & thus her name has been more easily forgotten that if our knowledge came directly from the Gerudo. A people with an active & proud religion would be unlikely to want to remember the name of the matron goddess of their enemies. Indeed, they may even seek to destroy that name for religious reasons or political symbolism.I hope this made sense dear reader. Thank you for your attention.