Let’s start with a general history of the Sheikah.  Five thousand years before the Hylians pulled together to form a nation out of scattered farming villages and nomadic tribes, the Sheikahs had their own civilization started and going strong.  Judging from the Shadow Temple, their culture was heavily influenced by violence, torture, and sacrifice, presumably human sacrifice.  During this time, their emblem was just a stylized eye, and it would have been the most horrible thing to come home to, as it was a guarantee that whoever was in the house had been kidnapped for sacrifice (after all, the Sheikahs aren’t going to sacrifice themselves).  Of course, reigns of terror can’t last forever, and around a thousand years after the Hylians banded together as a nation, the Sheikah began thinking that they needed to end the butchery.  However, things are rarely that simple and easy; civil war broke out among the Sheikah, with the victors being those who attached themselves to the Hyrulean Royal Family as protectors.  Those who wished to cling to the old ways were forced into hiding in a dark realm known as the Underworld (alternatively, one could say that they were the Dark Interlopers from whom the Twili are descended).  Ever since then, the teardrop has been added to the Sheikah Eye to symbolize their remorse, and the Shadow Temple locked and made inaccessible.  The Sheikah began to die out when they took heavy casualties in the Hyrulean Civil War, or perhaps in Ganondorf’s undoubtedly brutal takeover of Hyrule.

 

As I’d rather not leave you with such a short article, let’s go over some other aspects of the Sheikah race.  Such as the Gossip Stones scattered throughout Hyrule.  After the Sheikah Civil War, these stones were erected to act as magical telephones, allowing Sheikahs to quickly communicate with each other to better detect and neutralize any threats to those they swore to protect.  Still a secretive race, anyone who was not a Sheikah and found a way to use the stones would hear nothing but gossip and rumors the stones picked up.  As with all things, time has a way of slowly eroding away natural and manmade features, and the Gossip Stones were no exception.  As they broke apart, the pieces could be used as a personal means of communication between people who held pieces of the same Gossip Stone.  However, being created by the Sheikah, other pieces could be used to imitate or amplify the Sheikah’s magic, which centers on shadows and illusions.

 

With only Impa and Sheik to judge by, and not even really Sheik, we have a bit of freedom with deciding on physical features of the Sheikah race.  Tall, pale skinned, pointed ears, and red eyes are a given.  If it is to be believed that Kafei, from Majora’s Mask, is a Sheikah, then it’s a safe bet that Sheikah hair color can include various shades of purple.  For good measure, I throw in shades of grey for hair color.  Their eyes can also vary in greys and purples, perhaps even black.  For a race of people with an emphasis on stealth, it makes sense for them to be lean and naturally agile.

 

To wrap up, quick theory on Bongo Bongo, though it certainly isn’t the only one.  Perhaps the monster is a god of sorts.  The room you fight it in could very well the room where ritualistic sacrifices to it were carried out.  And asides from connections to the Evil Eye, it could explain why the Sheikah’s symbol was a single eye; their god only had one eye itself.

 

Over the next two months, we will once again return to the biology of Hyrule, starting with the Zoras, so prepare for some squickiness.

by kasei @ 17 Feb 2010 07:58 pm

YAY! An update!