Are the Gerudo the Twili?
Written by: The King of Hyrule

This whole topic was the result of a theory created by one of our forum mods, Zeypherlink. His post suggested the idea that the magical Twili race, the race of interlopers, are the descendents of the Gerudo tribe, out of which Ganondorf Dragmire arose. He supported his theory by referencing the mystic Gerudo symbol, which can be found on Zant’s cloak in Twilight Princess. He also told of Minda’s reaction when she and Link reached the Gerudo Desert.

Here is some history on the two tribes:

-- According to legend, the Gerudo tribe was an all-female tribe, except for one male who was born every 100 years. That male was then made ruler of the entire tribe. Ganondorf was the first of those men born to the tribe.
-- The Twili was a race of magical beings who chose to oppose the gods with the power of their Fused Shadows, a relic created by the elders of the race. The gods banned the race to the Twilight Realm, and they were to remain sealed there forevermore.

Despite the evidence that Zeypherlink has backing his theory, I still disagree. There are tons of different ways I could use to explain my reasons, but I feel it would be best to just go through and give a history of the races in chronological order, followed by all of the reasons that this theory cannot be possible.

The history:

In the beginning, the goddesses created only two races: the Oocca and the Twili, both in their own likeness, meaning both races possessed magical powers. The Oocca devoted their lives to protecting the Triforce and honoring the gods, whereas the Twili decided to spend their time developing their magic and teaching witchcraft. The land occupied by the Oocca became known as the Sacred Realm and the land occupied by the Twili became known as Hyrule.

One day, the Twili attacked the gods, at which point the gods created the Twilight Realm and banished the Twili to it. The Oocca then created new races to inhabit the land, this time with no magical powers. The created the races seen in Ocarina of Time, as well as a few animal races. They then separated the Sacred Realm from the rest of Hyrule, and entrusted the Hylians with the safekeeping of the Triforce. They did not want to leave the Twilight Realm unbeknownst, so they created a magical link between that realm and Hyrule, as well as links to the Sacred Realm.

When all this was completed, the entire race moved to a new city they had created on the clouds above Hyrule. The King then used the Triforce to set up the Kingdom of Hyrule, and then entrusted certain people with magical powers to watch over the Triforce and everything that came along with it.

It was not long before the people of Hyrule found out about the Triforce and its great powers, and they began a large battle of accusations that lead to the Great War. The Gerudo tribe was lead into battle by their only male inhabitant: Ganondorf.

The events of Ocarina of Time then take place, which end in the attempted execution of Ganondorf by the Sages. When the execution did not go as planned, the Sages were forced to think fast and banish Ganondorf to the Twilight Realm.

As time went on, renovations were made to Hyrule (which explains the different look of Hyrule in Twilight Princess as opposed to Ocarina of Time). The Gerudo tribe, a tribe of all women, knew that in order to continue on their tribe’s existence, they had to intermarry with Hylian men. So the tribe relocated to Hyrule, but eventually disappeared because too much Hylian blood was forced into the tribe, turning it into a Hylian tribe.

Years later, the events of Twilight Princess occur, ending with the sealing away of the Twili race once again and the destruction of the only link between the two worlds.

The reasons:

So as you can see by my little history lesson, I do not think that the Twili race are in any way related to the Gerudo tribe. However, many of you may not agree with my timeline theory, so I have come up with valid reasons that any theorist could believe, no matter what timeline you follow.

I’ll start with the most obvious reasons: the Twili and the Gerudo look absolutely nothing alike. Though Midna does tell Link that Zant had transformed her people (view the video here), you do get a chance to see not only Midna, but other Twili in their true form (when you enter the Twilight Palace through the Twilight Mirror). They look nothing like the Gerudo tribe in any way, shape, or form. However, I know that the Ruto, the evolved form of the Zora, look nothing like their predecessors, so I view this reason as a possible one.

Another rather obvious reason is the fact that there is absolutely NO evidence of the Gerudo tribe possessing magical powers before, in, or after Ocarina of Time. The Twili were a magical race of interlopers who challenged the gods. When could the Gerudo have become a magical race? Also, the Fused Shadow is described as an “ancient relic.” When did they have time to create an “ancient relic”? And with what magic did they create the relic with? They did not let on to having any magical power in Ocarina of Time or later.

You may ask why the Gerudo were not in Twilight Princess, and the answer is quite simple. The entire Gerudo race died out in a rather short time. The reason being that the Gerudo, being a race of all women, needed men to continue on their race. So after Ocarina of Time, they moved into Hyrule Field and began to intermarry with Hylian men. (This move accounts for the barrenness and emptiness of the Gerudo desert in Twilight Princess.) Over time though, the Gerudo blood became less and less in the children, and eventually they were near 100% Hylian. The tribe dispersed and disappeared, with only the memory remaining of the Gerudo people.

My final proof is probably the most crushing one. We have proof that the Gerudo existed in Ocarina of Time, so it is obvious that they could not have challenged the gods and been sealed away before Ocarina of Time. This means that the challenge must have taken place after Ocarina of Time. However, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE. The only time that Ganondorf could have been sealed away was after Ocarina of Time (when else could they have captured him?), which means that the Twilight Realm MUST have been created before Ocarina of Time, which shows that the Gerudo were never the Twili and were never sealed away in the Twilight Realm.

So if you made it this far in the article, I’m hoping that I have convinced you that the Gerudo are in no way related to the Twili. However, there are still some random obscurities that I have to touch on before I finish. Zeypherlink, the originator (as far as I know) of this theory, brought up the fact that three known enemies in the Zelda series bear the mark of the Gerudo somewhere on their clothing. These three are Zant, from Twilight Princess, Onyx from Oracle of Seasons, and Veran, from Oracle of Ages.

The first, Zant, has the Gerudo symbol on his cloak. But this is easily explained. In Twilight Princess, Zant is given powers beyond those of the Twili from Ganondorf. We know that for a fact. So obviously, Zant supports Ganondorf. Well what do you do to support something? You advertise it. How do you advertise something? By bearing its symbol; like wearing it on your clothing. Zant is supporting Ganondorf by wearing Ganondorf’s native symbol on his cloak.

The second and the third, Onyx and Veran, will both be covered here. If you have played all the way through both Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, you had to have noticed the strong references to Twinrova, a Gerudo boss from Ocarina of Time. Both Onyx and Veran were both empowered by Twinrova, who, in turn, was empowered by Ganondorf back in Ocarina of Time. So as I stated before, when you support something, you represent it. Both Onyx and Veran are NOT Gerudos, but are just followers of Twinrova, wearing the mark of the Gerudo.

To conclude my article, let me just say again that, no matter what timeline you follow, it is easy to see that it is impossible for the Gerudo to be related to the Twili.