Gerudo

Nabooru, a member of the Gerudo Tribe.
Gerudo
Type	Human variation
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Gerudo are a race of women (who only birth men once a century) that appear in several installments of the Zelda series. The series' main villain, Ganondorf, is known to be of Gerudo descent.

Information

Gerudo are a race of purely women, all of whom have red hair and tan skin. It is said that one Gerudo male is born every hundred years. He is appointed king and revered by other Gerudo. Because they are all women, Gerudo are known to travel into towns in search of men to reproduce with. Even though they worship their king, the Gerudo seem to look down upon other men and reject most outsiders. Most Gerudo are experienced warriors who can skillfully wield scimitars or other bladed weapons in battle. The Gerudo have been known to work primarily as thieves. This may be due to the harsh life that they seem to live in the desert. Some Gerudo also have powerful magical talent: in particular Ganondorf and the two elderly witches who raised him, Twinrova.

Appearances

Ocarina of Time

In Ocarina of Time, they lived in a part of the desert called the Gerudo Valley. There they had their own fortress, training ground and horseback archery range, as the Gerudo people respected those who were skilled at horseback riding and archery. They offered Ice Arrows to those who could pass the trials of the Gerudo Training Grounds. The Gerudos also worshipped at the Spirit Temple located in the Desert Colossus. Their king was Ganondorf, whom had been raised by Twinrova and who led the Gerudos to perform more cruel acts. While Gerudos usually stole primarily from men, Ganondorf targeted women and children as well. Nabooru refused to bow to him and attempted a rebellion, but Twinrova captured her and brainwashed her to serve as an Iron Knuckle enfrocer. It is implied through their models (as zooming into Iron Knuckles' masks from the right angle revealed unique Gerudo faces underneath) that the same fate befell other Gerudos. After Nabooru was saved by Link, she was awakened as the Sage of Spirit and thus became the Gerudo representative among the sages.

Ganondorf conquered Hyrule and ruled it for seven years, and the brainwashed Nabooru was his puppet second-in-command. During this time, the Gerudos eventually destroyed the bridge back to Hyrule. Four of Mutoh's carpenters came to their fortress and wanted to join the thieves, but the Gerudo did not want to even humor them and locked them away. Link managed to sneak in and save them all (fighting a few Gerudos in the process), and the Gerudo in charge there was impressed enough with his skills that she gave him a membership card, emphasizing that she never had expected to be impressed with any man who was not Ganondorf. Link was also able to rescue Nabooru at the Spirit Temple, at which point she was awakened as the Spirit Sage and became the Gerudo representative among the sages. Following Ganondorf's downfall, several Gerudo were seen attending the festivities at Lon Lon Ranch, despite their prior support of Ganondorf.

Majora's Mask

In Termina, the Gerudos instead lived as pirates operating out of a fortress located at the Great Bay. Little is known about their culture and how it compares with Hyrule's Gerudos, and they seem more straightforwardly ruthless. Within the game, the Skull Kid manipulates the Gerudos into stealing the Zora eggs from Lulu and promises that they can find great treasure. After stealing the eggs, three of them wind up being dropped at Pinnacle Rock. Their leader, Aveil, sent out some pirates to retrieve them. Link once more was able to sneak around the Gerudos and battle some of them to retrieve the Zora eggs. A group of Gerudos tried sailing to the Great Bay Temple, but they were swept away by a small storm. The ending showed them to be alive (or a different boat of Gerudo), and the Gerudo pirates seemed to be continuing their operations.

Four Swords Adventures

The Gerudo tribe lived in a village within the Desert of Doubt and were very unlike the earlier portrayal. They were described as trustworthy and pure of heart, and they did not seem to work as thieves. These Gerudos considered the Pyramid to be sacred and protected it. It was implied that they also built the Desert Temple to keep people from reaching the Pyramid. Ganondorf was born to these Gerudos. Even though their laws said that the one male born to them would become "the mighty guardian of the Gerudo and the desert", the Gerudos seemed to be aware from the beginning that this Ganondorf was no good. He betrayed their law by leaving to visit the pyramid, so the Gerudos considered him a criminal and spoke bitterly about him. The Gerudo village had a female elder who told the Links about Ganondorf and allowed them to pass onwards.

Other Games

The Gerudo are oddly absent from other games, aside from appearances by Ganondorf and Twinrova, vague references to Ganondorf's people and some other possible inferences. In Twilight Princess, the desert was called the Gerudo Desert, despite the distinct lack of a Gerudo presence. Telma's physical appearance also implied that she was of Gerudo heritage, but it remains unconfirmed. The Gerudo symbol is also worn by Ganondorf in most of his later appearances, and some enemies such as General Onox and Zant have versions of the symbol on their costumes, either due to their allegiance with Ganon or possible ties with the Gerudos.

Trivia

• The phrasing "gerudo" had been used in the name of other creatures prior to Ocarina of Time, particularly in the Japanese names for the Geldman and Geldarm. This seems to indicate that within the context of this series, "gerudo" means some connection to the desert, as it is the one thing they have in common.
• In Ocarina of Time, a Gerudo Mask is among the masks that Link can borrow from the Happy Mask shop. It fools a variety of weak-minded people who are either horrified or excited to meet a Gerudo, but the actual Gerudo are too sharp to fall for it.
• The Gerudo's symbol originally had a type of star and sickle design. However, Islamic groups complained due to its resemblance to a real life symbol, so it was changed to a new design in Majora's Mask and all future versions of Ocarina of Time.
• Ganondorf and Twinrova notably have long lifespans that have lasted centuries. It is uncertain how normal this is for the Gerudo people, as as those particular people were enhanced by the Triforce of Power and magical powers respectively.