Sheikah

Sheikah
Type	Shadow folk
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Sheikah (alternately spelled Shiekah) is a mysterious race of shadow folk that was introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. There have so far only been two characters who are explicitly known to be Sheikah, and both of them are incarnations of Impa.

Information

The Sheikah are known as mysterious shadow folk and are closely connected to Hyrule's history. In Skyward Sword, it was shown that they proceeded the formation of Hyrule's kingdom and were originally loyal servants of the goddess Hylia, who was later reincarnated as Zelda. The Impa of this time was shown to play a vital role in protecting the original Zelda as well as maintaining the seal on Demise and watching over both the Master Sword and the Triforce. It would seem that their service of the goddess Hylia transferred to the bloodline of Zelda. In later years, they were referred to as "the shadows of the Hylians" because of the way that they swore allegiance to the King of Hyrule and have served the royal family as attendants for generations. They passed down valuable lore regarding the sages and the Triforce. The Sheikah were also known as the founders of Kakariko Village, which initially was only a Sheikah village. They seemed to be connected to the Shadow Temple and Kakariko's other supernatural events. The Sheikah also developed the Mask of Truth, which seemed to be capable of peering into people's minds, as well as the Gossip Stones, which collected and revealed various types of information. They also seem to have been involved in the creation of the Lens of Truth.

It is implied that Sheikah people were more active when Hyrule was at war, particularly during the "fierce war" which raged in the decades prior to Ocarina of Time. Ever since Hyrule entered a period of peace, the Sheikah were seen less and were believed to have died out. At least one survived, known as Impa. She acted as a caretaker of the Hyrule Royal Family and Princess Zelda, sealed the shadow beast Bongo-Bongo beneath Kakariko's Well, and she also opened Kakariko Village to the public. Impa acted as a strong ally of Zelda's during her attempts to prevent Ganondorf from entering the Sacred Realm and later helped Zelda to escape Hyrule when Ganondorf staged his coup. When Princess Zelda emerged from hiding, she disguised herself off as a man named Sheik and claimed to be the "survivor of the Sheikah". She even played a traditional Sheikah lyre. As for Impa, she was awakened as the Shadow Sage, serving as the Sheikah representative amongst the sages.

The Sheikah were later indirectly referred to in Twilight Princess in which they were said to have "dwindled in the prolonged wars" and lived in the Hidden Village, which was referred to as their secret home and "a lonely, forgotten place", during the time when they served the Royal Family in secret. In the time of Twilight Princess, the Hidden Village's only inhabitant was Impaz, who did not seem to be of actual Sheikah descent but was named after the village's founder (in reference to Impa). It was shown that they even passed down legends from the Ooccaa relating to the "messenger from the skies" and passed on the Ancient Sky Book that had been passed down from her ancestors for the wielder of the Dominion Rod.

Sheikah Symbol

The Sheikahs are associated with a symbol that resembles an eye with what appears to be a teardrop drooping down with it. This symbol has notably appeared in various games even when there is no Sheikah presence.

• A Link to the Past - Aganhim's robes bear an eye symbol that looks fairly similar to the Sheikah symbol but without the teadrop.
• Ocarina of Time - The eye symbol appears on the clothes of Impa and Sheik, and it is inscribed in various areas of Kakariko Village as well as on the Lens of Truth, the Mask of Truth and the Gossip Stones.
• Majora's Mask - The eye symbol once more appears on the Lens of Truth, the Mask of Truth and the Gossip Stone, and the Sheikah are even mentioned in the Mask of Truth's item description. As these items are found in Termina, this raises the questions of whether or not Sheikah exist in Termina (or could have crossed over from Hyrule).
• Oracle of Ages - Veran's robes bear a symbol which resembles the Sheikah eye symbol, and she also has Gerudo symbols on her shoulder pads.
• The Wind Waker - A scroll with the eye symbol appears at the Forsaken Fortress, which used to be inhabited by rival pirates of Tetra's crew. It is uncertain whether or not this is supposed to imply that those pirates were connected with the Sheikah. Baito also has a tattoo on his back which resembles the symbol.
• Twilight Princess - Zelda's cloak has a Sheikah eye symbol on them, and Madame Fanadi actually has the eye symbol imprinted on her forehead. The eye symbols are also found on the game's Howling Stones, and Luda's clothes have designs resembling the eye symbol.
• Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks - The eye symbols appear on Gossip Stones within the game.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Ocarina of Time manga adaptation, Impa appears, and the manga explores the Sheikah's history a bit further. It is said that the Sheikah symbol originally was just an eye, until an incident in which a betrayal resulted in the Sheikah being exiled from Hyrule for a time. This caused them to add the tear to their symbol in order to symbolize the sorrow they felt. Some of the Sheikah's other customs were revealed, such as that young males had their ears pierced.

Trivia

• The name seems to be derived from "sheikh", which is an honorific term in Arabic that is usually used to refer to elders.
• As Impa is the only confirmed Sheikah, it is hard to identify other potential Sheikahs. It is also uncertain whether or not the other incarnations of Impa are of Sheikah blood or even possibly of a mixed ancestry.