[ALL] Religions of Hyrule Part 4: The forest folk.

[u/LapisLazuliisthebest]

Part 3 is here: [ALL] Religions of Hyrule Part 3: The Gorons (Also includes New Hyrule) : r/truezelda

This is going to be the final part, unless somebody thinks I missed anything.

The Kokiri and Koroks

There's much not to say about the Koroks. As opposed to being a race of people who worship a god, the Koroks themselves appear to be spirits themselves, and BotW implies their the same species as the Deku Tree, effectively making them a hive of some kind.

The Kokiri seem to be different. They seem to be a race, also produced by the Deku Tree, created specifically in preparation for the Hero of Time. The have a village, which by both WW and TP is abandoned, presumably because they are no longer needed.

There's a theory that the oracle Farore by be a Kokiri, although, in her case, her progenitor would be one of, or both the Maku Trees, where she makes her home. This would imply the Kokiri's existence is tied strictly to grooming the Hero of Time. If this is true, this would mean the Kokiri, as a whole, as created to interact with Hylians.

In Oot, Saria mentions "Forest Spirits", with the context that they are separate to the Kokiri. I already covered this in another post, but the short version is that these "Forest spirits" are actually the spirits of deceased Humans, like the Stalfos, Skull Kids and Poe Sisters. The irony being that, the forest Spirits (Koroks) became people (Kokiri), whereas the people (humans) became the Forest spirits (various undead).

Deku Scrubs

The Deku have an interesting out-of-universe history. The were clearly envisioned as a type of "monster". Ones that are capable of being non-antagonistic. MM would make them a race akin to the Goron and Zora, albeit still antagonistic to some extent.

In terms of religion, the Deku appear to be your typical false idol worshipers. In OoT, they consider Ghoma their "Queen" and in FSA worship Ganon (actually, Phantom Ganon) as their "god".

In OoT, they mention a "Forest Totem", who apparently resembles the Skull Mask. I came up with a theory that Ganondorf may have posed as a god, using a Skull Mask in order to trick un Deku Scrub into doing his bidding. Phantom Ganon of the Forest Temple may be based on Ganondorf's disguise.

In Eow, this gets modernized as a fad. Whilst they don't worship Ghoma, they do get hooked on the webs it produces, which they use to make "cotton candy". It becomes so bad they even arrest Zelda when she gets rid of one of the rifts producing it, despite saving a Deku's home.

Whilst there isn't much evidence for it, it's believed that Odowla may have been the MM Deku god at one point. It's unlikely Odowla was ever a real god. If you;re going to say Odowla is a god, you might as well say the same for the other bosses.

That bign said, knowing what we know about the Deku in Hyrule, there's still a chance Odowla may have posed as a god to trick the Deku, before being defeated in the past. The Temple does have a lot of insect imagery, after all.

Bonus here: [ALL][OOX] Religions of Hyrule Bonus Part: Holodrum and Labrynna : r/truezelda

[u/Kid-Punch]

Love the take on the Kokiri.
As for the forest folk in general. It could go back to Skyward Sword, with the Kikwis being another form that the Koroks and Kokiri once assumed. If not, they are technically another race, which has seemingly vanished throughout the many eras.

[u/LapisLazuliisthebest → u/Kid-Punch]

Yeah. I made a post about the Kikwi being the ancestors of the Koroks/Kokiri.

[ALL] Evolution of the Deku Tree, Kokiri, Koroks and Kikwi. : r/truezelda

[u/Kid-Punch → u/LapisLazuliisthebest]

Awesome. I'll check it out then.