Kokiri

The Kokiri (コキリ Kokiri) are a recurring race from the Legend of Zelda series. The Kokiri are a cautious, child-like, and secretive race, native to Kokiri Forest. The Kokiri believe that they will die if they leave the Kokiri Forest, and therefore, they never leave the forest and know nothing about the outside world, only the safe haven that is the Kokiri Forest. In the end credits of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time however, it is revealed that the Kokiri had nothing to fear about leaving the forest. After Ganondorf's defeat, a number of Kokiri, including Mido, are present at the celebration in Lon Lon Ranch and do not appear to have suffered any ill effect.

Though they appear to be children, the Kokiri are actually ageless, and never grow old. Each Kokiri has a guardian fairy that functions as a friend, parent, and teacher. They are watched over by the Great Deku Tree and later Saria the Sage of Forest. Mido is their self-appointed boss. The Kokiri are known as "the spirits of the forest" and were possibly created by the Great Deku Tree, although according to the official nintendo strategy guide they were originally Hylian children that wandered into the forest and were changed by the forest powers.

Appearance
Kokiri appear to be Hylian children, having "natural" colored eyes and pointed ears. Males dress in green shirts, shorts, caps, and wear green lowtop shoes. Females usually dress in green tunic--like short dresses, wear brown hightop boots, and green hair bands.

It is possible that the green-clad Twin Lumberjacks from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past inspired the race. This is likely due to the fact that the Japanese word for "lumberjack" is pronounced "Kikori". This, combined with the overall appearance of the Lumberjacks highly resembling the Kokiri, supports this possibility. It is interesting to point out though the Lumberjacks are effectivley 'hurting' trees, something the Kokiri would have a deep aversion to doing.



Sages
There have been two records of Kokiri sages known to have aided the legendary hero Link. The first is Saria, the Sage of Forest, whom was awakened by the Hero of Time in the Forest Temple at the end of the Sacred Forest Meadow.

The other is Fado, the Wind Sage, known for his excellent skill with the fiddle. He stayed in the Wind Temple and prayed for the Master Sword, until he was killed when the evil Ganondorf removed his soul.

An interesting note is that all named Kokiri, except for Saria, have their names created from the concatenation of two words from the Solfége musical scale "do re mi fa so la ti do." For example, Mido is made up of mi and do, and Fado is made up of fa and do. A rare known fact is that there actually was a Kokiri the Ocarina of Time designers named Fado, but never mentioned her name in the game itself. It is likely they recycled this "unspoken" name when naming Fado, the sage from The Wind Waker, and Fado, the rancher from Twilight Princess.

Altered Kokiri
After the gods sealed Hyrule under an ocean, the Kokiri took on a different form above the sea. They took on the form of leaf like creatures known as Koroks, and are still the Great Deku Tree's cherished children. This is highly likely, since the Great Deku Tree actually says that they once took human form, but no more. Also, the sage Fado is shown to look very much like the Kokiri of Ocarina of Time and he in fact stated that he was of the Kokiri tribe.

In the Faron Woods in Twilight Princess, the monkeys seem to inhabit (and protect) the Forest Temple and help Link make his way to the monster that infests the temple. Also, a female monkey seems like the only one who knows the way to the Sacred Grove (much like Saria in Ocarina of Time), suggesting that the monkeys are actually the Kokiri taking on a different form (like in The Wind Waker) to better adjust to the environment. It is possible that the Kokiri did grow up by leaving the forest (it was said that if they left the forest that they would die, but they were seen at the party in Lon Lon Ranch). By dying, it could be of old age since they do not age in the forest. The villagers of Ordon could in fact be the descendants of the "grown-up" Kokiri. However, the people of Ordon appear to be round-eared humans, while the Kokiri are more like their Hylian neighbors, with pointed ears, so this remains subject to speculation.

Niños Kokiri