Gerudo

The Gerudo are a recurring race in the The Legend of Zelda series. They are a tribe of thieves that consists entirely of women, save for one man that, according to legend, is born every hundred years, who is destined to become the king of the Gerudo. They have dark tanned skin, golden eyes and red hair. In the manga, they appear mostly as Arab harem-style figures. They are known to have relations with Hylian men, with whom they form relationships or simply use for procreation.

Culture
From the many appearances by the Gerudo race throughout the games, many aspects of their culture and society can be deduced from their behavior. Their culture is extremely different from Hyrulean culture, and it is likely that their societies developed very independently of each other. Gerudo society has little respect for Hylian men, and the only men they ever truly revere are the males born every 100 years into their tribe, who are destined to be their kings. They usually seem to show distaste for Hyrulean culture, as in their eyes living in separate, wooden houses, worshipping Din, Nayru, and Farore, and having differing gender roles between men and women are all blasphemous. In Gerudo culture, the tribe is usually seen all living together in large forts and blockhouses (sometimes in tents), the Goddess of the Sand is worshipped, and women are seen as being able to fulfill any role in society from architect to warrior. It appears that the Gerudo are devout worshippers of the Sand Goddess, as they have constructed a huge monument to her at the Spirit Temple in the middle of the Gerudo Desert. Due to the lack of men, it is possible that in one of the realities, the Gerudos eventually learned to accept Hyrulean culture, and intermingled until they were fully assimilated.

The Gerudo Symbol
The Gerudo Symbol is a symbol used to represent the Gerudo tribe. Originally it looked like a crescent moon and star similar to an Islamic symbol, but was changed due to the controversy it caused.

It first appeared in Ocarina of Time and could be found on many objects throughout the game, such as blocks that can be pushed, Foot Switches, Link's Mirror Shield and Ganondorf's cloak, in addition to being a regular fixture of the Gerudo Fortress and Spirit Temple. This is the only game to feature the original Gerudo symbol; in subsequent releases of the game, such as the Collector's Edition and Master Quest, the symbol is replaced with the one seen in Aveil's chamber in Majora's Mask.

It also appears on several antagonists who follow orders from Gerudo such as Veran, General Onox and Zant.

The Gerudo Symbol appears along with a picture of Nabooru in the chamber of Hyrule Castle where the Master Sword rests in The Wind Waker.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Link first encounters the Gerudo when he is a child. Princess Zelda tells him to look through the window to her father's chambers, and he sees Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudo Thieves and soon to be "Dark Lord." He later confronts Ganondorf outside of Hyrule Castle and is promptly defeated. However, this encounter results in Link receiving the Ocarina of Time from Princess Zelda. Link receives knowledge of the Song of Time from Princess Zelda in a telepathic vision, and she instructs him to get to the Sacred Realm and protect the Triforce from Ganondorf. He travels to the Temple of Time and uses the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time to reach the Chamber of the Master Sword. He grabs the sword, hoping it will enable him to get the Triforce first and use both the Master Sword and the Triforce against the Gerudo King, but he is sent into a suspended sleep for seven years in the Temple of Light so that he may mature enough to properly handle the Master Sword. Meanwhile, Ganondorf enters the Sacred Realm through the portal the Master Sword opened, stealing the Triforce of Power and becoming the Usurper King of Hyrule. Seven years later, Link wakes up and continues on his quest to stop the King of Evil. The last overworld area Link encounters as an adult is Gerudo Valley, home of the Gerudo Fortress, the desert stronghold the Gerudos call home. Link sneaks into the Gerudos' tightly guarded compound and frees four unjustly captured prisoners inside. Aveil, who has been following him, comes out of the shadows and praises his abilities. She then gives him the Gerudo Membership Card, a proof of ID letting all Gerudos know that he is a friend. From this day forward, Link becomes an honorary Gerudo.

The Gerudo happily help Link train with his bow on their Horseback Archery Range and let him test his skills in their Training Ground. Once Link has completed the challenge, he receives the fabled Ice Arrows. The Gerudo tell him that he must cross the Haunted Wasteland to reach the Spirit Temple.

When Link crosses the Haunted Wasteland at the edge of the Gerudo Fortress, he finds the Spirit Temple. According to Sheik, he must return to the Temple of Time and become a child again to finish his work in the area and gain full access to the next sage. Link does so, and returns to the temple where he meets the second significant Gerudo character: Nabooru, the second in command of the Gerudo tribe. Nabooru is a celebrated thief who hates Ganondorf and his evil ways, stating that Ganondorf killed people, something she would never do. When she finds out that Link agrees, she enlists his help in finding the Silver Gauntlets. These are the only way to access the body of the Spirit Temple, and they are also great treasures that Nabooru plans to steal and return it to their rightful owner.

Link retrieves the Gauntlets, but witnesses Nabooru being captured by Koume and Kotake, two old Gerudo witches who are Ganondorf's surrogate mothers and his most loyal servants. Once Nabooru disappears, Link keeps the gauntlets for himself so he can use them as an adult to gain access to the Spirit Temple and try to save Nabooru. He returns to adulthood and sets on his way.

Once Link has braved the trials of the Spirit Temple, he fights an Iron Knuckle, who turns out to be Nabooru under the spell of the Twinrova sisters. The two return to re-imprison Nabooru and subsequently start a fight with Link. They use their powers of ice and fire to try to destroy the young hero, but to no avail. Link has already found the Mirror Shield and uses it to reflect their powers back on them. The witches countered by merging into Twinrova, but were still defeated. Link finds Nabooru in the Chamber of Sages. She is the sixth sage, the Sage of Spirit.

Link, having awakened the sages, travels to Ganondorf's dark castle (where Nabooru breaks the Spirit Barrier for him) and faces him in battle. Ganondorf, being brought up by accomplished sorceresses, tries to destroy Link with magic power, but fails and is defeated. With his "final breath," he knocks down the castle. Link escapes with Princess Zelda and faces Ganondorf in a final battle. Ganondorf unleashes the true force of the Triforce of Power and turns into Ganon, the true King of Evil. This form resembles his pig-like appearance from the old games. Once felled, the former Gerudo King is imprisoned until further games in the Sacred Realm.

It's implied in the ending that most, if not all, of the Gerudo weren't entirely loyal to Ganondorf, as they were seen celebrating Ganondorf's defeat in the Lon Lon Ranch celebration.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Gerudo Pirates are the Gerudo inhabitants of Termina. Little is known about the history of the Pirates, but it appears that, like the Hyrulean Gerudos, the race is either primarily or entirely female. The Pirates inhabit a large fortress in the Great Bay, and it is possible that this is the original home of the Hyrulean Gerudo, who were said to have sailed to Hyrule from a land far in the west, possibly Termina. Link first encounters the Gerudo after they steal Lulu's (lead singer of The Indigo-Go's) eggs. Mikau dies trying to save the eggs, and Link has to use his newly acquired Zora Mask to save the eggs, and return them to the Marine Research Lab. Not much is known about the Pirates' dealings, but it is apparent that they are technologically advanced with things such as motorboats and cannons, and have an interest in marine research, as seen from the myriad of specimens they house in tanks. Link, while spying through a vent, encounters a Gerudo leader named Aveil. Unlike their Hylian counterparts, the Gerudo of Majora's Mask seem to be more evil, going as far as hurting women and children, like Lulu and her seven unborn children, whereas the Gerudo in Ocarina of Time mention the only person evil enough to commit such acts would be Ganondorf.

Koume and Kotake also appear in the Southern Swamp. Unlike the Gerudo Pirates, they are not hostile towards Link. Instead they run the Magic Hags' Potion Shop and Old Koume's Boat Cruise.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
The only members of the Gerudo race in the Oracle games are Koume and Kotake, known as Twinrova. Using General Onox, Veran, and Princess Zelda, they are able to light the Flames of the Dark Rites, thus resurrecting Ganon. When Twinrova light the Flames of the Dark Rites, they refer to Ganon as King of the Gerudo.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
The Gerudo are guardians of the desert. Unlike previous incarnations, they are not thieves and are described as honorable, trustworthy and pure of heart. They live in the Gerudo Village in the Desert of Doubt. Ganondorf, one of their own, broke Gerudo law through his evil deeds, and headed for their sacred Pyramid. A Gerudo elder speculated that Ganondorf would perish there, but Link later discovers Ganondorf to be alive, transformed into Ganon through the power of the Trident.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Gerudo (outside of Ganondorf himself) do not physically appear in Twilight Princess; however, the name of their tribe lives on in the name of the desert in which they lived, the Gerudo Desert. However, the Ancient Sages state that Ganondorf led them in an invasion of Hyrule in order to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm, in order to claim the Ocarina of Time, as depicted in Ocarina of Time. This further supports the idea that the Arbiter's Grounds are perhaps the former Spirit Temple, as it was likely seized following the defeat of the Gerudo in Ganondorf's invasion and transformed into a prison for all enemies of the Royal Family of Hyrule. With this information, it is implied that they were mostly wiped out in Ganondorf's failed invasion, except for a few that either got away, were captured, or refused to assist Ganondorf in his invasion of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
According to The Wind Waker, the Gerudo are believed to have been wiped out by the Great Flood that sank Hyrule. While there may still be Gerudo elsewhere in the world, or in the alternate world of Termina, it appears that Ganon is the last of the true Gerudo. Still, it is very possible that the Gerudo bred-in with the Hylians after Ganondorf's defeat, as peace seemingly united all the people of Hyrule as one in the ending.

Theory
The Gerudo are nowhere to be found in Twilight Princess, with the exception of Ganondorf himself, yet evidence that they once existed is plentiful. Their name lives on in the name of the Gerudo Desert where they lived, and a set of ruins near the entrance to the Gerudo Desert appear to have once been a structure built by human hands. These ruins are right about where the Gerudo Fortress should have been and appear to have been destroyed by invasion, time, or both. The Arbiter's Grounds bear many striking similarities to the Spirit Temple and share an identical location with it. The Spirit Temple is also theorized to have been the original home of the Mirror of Twilight before becoming the Arbiter's Grounds and before the rediscovery of the mirror within its depths (the large round mirror seen inside the Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time). Exactly what happened to the Gerudo is unknown, but certain clues given in the game can lead one to deduce what possibly happened.

The Ancient Sages appear atop the Mirror Chamber after Link and Midna clear the Arbiter's Grounds, and they then show a flashback of the Dark Lord Ganondorf, the former Gerudo King of Thieves. This flashback reveals he led the Gerudo in an invasion of Hyrule that was meant to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm. Many fans believe this refers to Ganondorf's attack on Hyrule Castle seen in Ocarina of Time, in which Ganondorf and the Gerudo invaded Hyrule Castle Town, the Hyrulean capital, in hopes of seizing the Ocarina of Time and breaking into the Sacred Realm. The Hero of Time was shown to have returned to the castle at the end of Ocarina of Time to warn Princess Zelda and her father, the King of Hyrule, of the coming attack. Thus, one can deduce that the attack failed the second time around and that Ganondorf was captured and put on trial for his treason against the Royal Family of Hyrule, as the Ancient Sages show immediately afterward.

It is possible that after their leader was captured and their attack failed that the Gerudo became outlaws to the government of Hyrule and were forced to flee and disappear as a race. The Hylian Army may possibly have pursued them into the desert, where they raided the Gerudo Fortress and destroyed it (as evidenced by the ruins near the entrance of the Gerudo Desert). They may then have pursued them across the desert, where the Hylian Army then seized the Gerudo's temple, the Spirit Temple, and decided to renovate the temple and turn it into the main prison for all of Hyrule as punishment for the Gerudo's actions. This would be fitting, imprisoning the Gerudo within their own temple and transforming it into a prison for all criminals of Hyrule. The Mirror of Twilight may then have been rediscovered within the temple's depths and put to use banishing criminals to the Twilight Realm. The Arbiter's Grounds were shown to be completed by the time of Ganondorf's execution (which was noted to occur only a few years after Ocarina of Time). This would explain several things, such as the Gerudo's disappearance, how the Mirror of Twilight came to public knowledge, and how the Arbiter's Grounds came into being. Also, there are many ghost and zombie like enemies, it could be possible they were former inmates, and therefore presumably the Gerudo.

In Twilight Princess, Telma, the barkeeper in Hyrule Castle Town, bears resemblance to the Gerudo. Therefore, she is often theorized to be a descendant of the Gerudo.

Jolene, who appears in Phantom Hourglass, appears to be of Gerudo descent, though according to her sister, Joanne, they both like dressing up, Joanne in her mermaid costume and Jolene in her pirate costume.