Gerudo

Gerudo's tend to often visit Market and Kakariko Village to not only steal from the villagers but to fine boyfriends and husbands. . . {{- Gossip Stone

Quick witted, aggressive, fiery tempered and highly attractive, the Gerudo are a tribe of thieves that first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, living in the Gerudo Desert. Their race consists entirely of women, but legend has it that a man is born every hundred years, and this man is destined to become the King of the Gerudo. They have dark, tanned skin, red hair, and some say they have a rather bird-like appearance, causing some to link them to the Rito from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker; in the manga, they appear most as arab harem-style figures. They are known to have relations with Hylian men, with whom they form relationships or simply use for procreation.

In  Majora's Mask, which is set in Termina, they appear as Gerudo Pirates rather than thieves, and not as much is known about them. However, it is assumed that the same rules apply because, as with the Hyrulean Gerudo, the tribe consists entirely of females, and they dress and look the same. {{Spoil}}

History
The Gerudo say that they reached the desert and Hyrule by sailing across a vast ocean from a land far in the west (possibly Termina), meaning they are not native to Hyrule.

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, 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 his 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 Gerudo Fortress, the desert stronghold the Gerudos call home. Link sneaks into the Gerudos' tightly-guarded compound and frees several unjustly-captured prisoners inside. A Gerudo 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 archery range and let him test 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, which is a dungeon.

When Link crosses the Haunted Wasteland at the edge of Gerudo's Fortress, sure enough, he finds the Spirit Temple. According to the owl, Kaepora Gaebora, 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 his childhood. He then returns to the temple where he meets the second significant Gerudo character.

The woman he meets is Nabooru, the second in command of the Gerudo tribe. Nabooru is a celebrated thief who hates Ganondorf and his evil ways. When she finds out that Link agrees, she enlists his help in finding the Silver Gauntlets, the only way into the body of the Spirit Temple (and a fine piece of treasure).

Link retrieves the Gauntlets, but meets up with Nabooru too late. She is 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 killed. 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 and faces him in battle. Ganondorf, being brought up by accomplished sorceresses, tries to destroy Link with magic power, but fails and is killed. With his "final breath," he knocks down the castle. Link escapes with 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. Once felled, the former Gerudo King is imprisoned until further games in the Sacred Realm (Golden Land).

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
"The pirate found you! Use Z targeting and look for your chance. You're caught if you don't win."

- Tatl

The Gerudo Pirates were Gerudo inhabitants of Termina. Little was known about the history of the Pirates, but it appeared that, like the Hyrulean Gerudos, the race was either primarily or entirely female. The Pirates inhabited a large fortress in the Great Bay, and it is likely this was the original home of the Hyrulean Gerudo, who were said to have sailed to Hyrule from a land far in the west, likely to be Termina. The Hero of Time, Link, came across the Gerudo after they stole the "Indigo-Gos'" lead singer's, Lulu, eggs. Mikau died trying to save the eggs, and Link had use his newly acquired Zora Mask to save the eggs, and return them to the Marine Research Laboratory. Not much known was about the Pirates' dealings, but it was apparent that they were technologically advanced with things such as motorboats and cannons, and had an interest in marine research, as seen from the myriad of specimens they housed in tanks. Link (while spying through a vent) encountered a Gerudo Queen figure named Aveil.

Oracle games
The only member of the Gerudo race in the Oracle games is Twinrova, who is out to resurrect Ganon.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
According to The Wind Waker, the Gerudo were 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. However, 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. 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. This could explain the tan skin and round ears (both key Gerudo characteristics) exhibited by many people in the Great Sea.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures
In Four Sword Adventures, the Gerudo are again thieves living in the desert, though they live in tents rather than a fortress. They dislike evil, along with Ganon.

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 (attacking Hyrule Castle 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, combined with the transformation of their temple (the Spirit Temple) into the main Hyrulean Prison as well as their absence in the present, 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 (such as Nabooru, who was one of the only known members of the Gerudo tribe that did not have a favorable view of Ganondorf). Nabooru also states in Ocarina of Time that Ganondorf killed people, something she would never do, implying that she would never take part in such a scheme. Bearing this in mind and the fact that Telma appears to be of Gerudo descent, it is possible that Telma could be a descendant of Nabooru, the Gerudo leader that went on in the adult timeline to become the Sage of Spirit.

Notable Gerudos:

 * Ganondorf
 * Nabooru
 * Twinrova
 * Admiral Aveil