Template:Species Human is a term sparsely mentioned in the Zelda series, but is nonetheless a part of the universe surrounding it. According to dialog in Twilight Princess, the term at least applies to Hylians, but would seem to be a wider umbrella term that includes others outside their group as well.
Confirmed Human Races
Hylians
A people with long and pointed ears who seem usually to be fair-skinned,[1] that are mentioned to have a penchant for magic.[2] They are the predominant and most common people of Hyrule. It appears that Hylians are common in lands beyond Hyrule as well, though its possible at least some of these people may be of a different group and are just similiar to Hylians. Hylians are the most encountered race in most of the Zelda games.
Gerudo
The Gerudo are a race of dark-skinned, red-haired humans who live in the desert.[3] Most Gerudo are female, and most of them are thieves and warriors. When a Gerudo male is born, it is a rare and celebrated event, as it only occurs once every 100 years, and the male Gerudo usually becomes their revered leader.[4] Gerudo live in the Gerudo Desert of Hyrule, but in the alternate reality Link enters in Majora's Mask, they live as sea pirates on the coasts of Termina.
Gerudo women have been rumored to take Hylian males as boyfriends according to one of the Gossip Stones.[5]
"Round-eared Humans"
There are a number of humans that are round-eared but are otherwise similar to the Hylians in appearance and culture, and often live with them in the same towns, it is unknown as to whether or not these humans belong to a distinct race. Round-eared humans do not tend to possess magical powers, unlike Hylians. These particular humans are the majority on the islands of the Great Sea, the lands of Holodrum and Labrynna, and Hytopia, as well as the province of Hyrule, Ordona.
To some extent, it is unclear as to which of the earlier games round-eared humans did appear in and which ones they didn't. The reason for this is due to more simple graphics that made it difficult to distinguish small details on a character that didn't have artwork, such as his or her ears. With the improvement of technology, this lessened by the time of The Wind Waker and Four Swords Adventures. They did appear in Link's Awakening and were heavily featured in the Oracle games.
Unconfirmed Humans
Any of the following races could be speculated to be tribes of humans due to various similarities, most notably physical ones, however considerable differences as well as a lack of conclusive proof that they are or aren't human makes it unclear as to whether or not certain races fall into the category.
Ho Ho Tribe
A tribe of seven that come from Wayaway and seek treasure in Phantom Hourglass. They are based on the Old Man Ho Ho that appeared in The Wind Waker.
Though the Ho Ho Tribe has not explicitly been referred to as "human", due to their physical appearance and a lack of supernatural qualities, they likely are.
Lokomo
A Hylian-looking people who are servants to the Spirits of Good and charged with protecting the land in Spirit Tracks.[6][7]
There is some considerable evidence the Lokomo are not human. The most important example is that the Lokomo Byrne at one point expresses his shock that "human children" have defeated him, implying that his race are separate from humans.[8] They may look like other Hylians, but because of their special magical connections to Spirits and the land, as well as the nature of their afterlives may qualify them as something closer to supernatural beings.
Sheikah
A mysterious red-eyed people who are similar to Hylians in appearance, and have a special role in acting as servants and guardians to the Goddesses and to the Royal Family of Hyrule.[9][10] They are associated with the element of shadow,[11] appear to favor tactics of stealth and misdirection, and have magical abilities and tools that deal with illusion and secret information.
Sheikah look human, but have magical qualities and powers and a close connection with the Goddesses, and these supernatural qualities may make them a race that is beyond regular humans.
Wind Tribe
The rose-haired Wind Tribe are a people who mastered "wind magic" and live in the Cloud Tops through their use of it.[12] They distinguish themselves from surface-dwellers, but this may not mean that they are non-human but rather they distinguish themselves by being people whom live in the sky.[13]. Nonetheless, they seem to be very magically powerful people, so whether or not they are considered humans is questionable.
References
- ↑ "It was also said that their long, pointed ears enabled them to hear special messages from the gods." (A Link to the Past manual, pg. 4)
- ↑ "With their magic infused blood, the Hylian people were endowed with psychic powers and skill in wizardry." (A Link to the Past manual, pg. 4)
- ↑ "Ganon...This beast was once of the Gerudo...Once human. He was called Ganondorf! King of Darkness, ancient demon reborn. The wielder of the trident!!" — Princess Zelda (Four Swords Adventures)
- ↑ "A kid like you may not know this, but the Gerudo race consists only of women. Only one man is born every hundred years. [...] [Our] laws say that lone male Gerudo must become King of the Gerudo. . ." — Nabooru (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ "They say that Gerudos sometimes come to Hyrule Castle Town to look for boyfriends." — [[Gossip Stone]] (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ "We are called the Lokomos. We are servants of the spirits." — [[Anjean]] (Spirit Tracks)
- ↑ "You see, as Lokomos... We weren't only meant to protect the Spirit Tracks. We were also meant to watch over mankind." — [[Anjean]] (Spirit Tracks)
- ↑ ""Impossible...I've trained for longer than you can even imagine. How could a pair of human children defeat me?"" — Byrne (Spirit Tracks)
- ↑ "R.I.P. Here lie the souls of those who swore fealty to the Royal Family of Hyrule: The Sheikah, guardians of the Royal Family and founders of Kakariko, watch over these spirits in their eternal slumber." — Grave (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ "As a member of the Sheikah, the goddess's chosen guardians, I gladly welcome this duty." — Impa (Skyward Sword)
- ↑ "Have you heard the legend of the "Shadow Folk"? They are the Sheikah...the shadows of the Hylians. They say they swore allegiance to the King of Hyrule and guarded the Royal Family..." — Old Man (Ocarina of Time)
- ↑ "The people who built the Wind Ruins. They now live above the clouds, suspended by their own magic ability to control the wind." — [[Wind Tribe Figurine]] (The Minish Cap)
- ↑ "Although we are of the Wind Tribe, we, too, once lived on the surface. Once, the place you call the Wind Ruins was, to us, a home." — Caprice (The Minish Cap)
 Names in Other Regions 
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|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | |
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Japanese | 人間 (Ningen) |
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French | Humain |
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German | Mensch |
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Italian | Umano |
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Spanish | Humano |
Template:Races