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The Wind Tribe,[1] also known as the Tribe of the Winds,[2] is a group of people in The Minish Cap who built and lived in the Wind Ruins.[3][4]

History[]

After living with the wind for a long time, the tribe gained mastery over it.[2] They eventually abandoned the Wind Ruins and used their wind magic to move their palace to the Cloud Tops and keep it suspended there.[3][5] They took the Wind Element with them and placed it in the Palace of Winds, guarding its entrance ever since.[6][7][8][9] The Tribe constructed Mazaal to repel intruders and guard a stone tablet on top of the Fortress of Winds.[10] The tablet tells those seeking the Wind Element that the Tribe moved to the sky and instructs adventurers to use the Ocarina of Wind given to them by Zeffa.[2][11]

Early in Link's adventure, he can Fuse Kinstones with Strato in Hyrule Town to reach the Cloud Tops via a warp portal in South Hyrule Field. He is warped to a small section of Home of the Wind Tribe where the ailing Gregal resides; Link cannot venture further until he eventually accesses the Cloud Tops from Veil Falls.

Society[]

Members of the Wind Tribe are very skilled at finding Kinstone Pieces, storing what they can manage in Chests around their Home.[12] This skill may be necessary, as they seem to depend on Kinstone Fusions to call winds.[13] Link may Fuse Kinstones with some of their members, including Gale and Strato on the bottom floor, Caprice on the second floor, Flurris on the third floor, and Hailey on the fourth floor.

The Wind Tribe seemed to be on good terms with many of the races in Hyrule before leaving for the sky. They were a favored people of Gustaf,[14] an ancient king of Hyrule, and the Minish built Armos statues for them long ago.[15]

The Wind Tribe's leader, Siroc, learns everything that happens on the surface by listening to the winds.[16][17]

Physiology[]

Though they resemble typical Humans, all members of the Wind Tribe have an innate ability to walk on clouds, though Hailey implies this may be a result of having pure hearts.[18] In addition, each of them has red-colored hair.

The Wind Tribe (Figurine from The Minish Cap)
TMC The Wind Tribe Figurine Sprite
The Wind Tribe
The people who built the Wind Ruins.
They now live above the clouds,
suspended by their own magic ability
to control the wind.

Trivia[]

  • Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword and Tears of the Kingdom also feature races that live in the sky: the Oocca in the City in the Sky, the Hylians in Skyloft and the Zonai in the Sky Islands respectively. Much like the people of Skyloft, the Wind Tribe also sometimes refers to Kingdom of Hyrule as "the Surface".[18][19]
  • The members of the Wind Tribe all have red hair, a trait they share with the Gerudo. Groose is another resident of the Sky with red hair. The Ancient Hero's Aspect -a Zonai- is also red-haired.
  • Like many other races in The Legend of Zelda series, the names of many of the Wind Tribe members fit a theme. In this case, the members of the Wind Tribe are related to weather:
    • A siroc is a cold Mediterranean wind.
    • Gregal comes from Gregale, a hot Mediterranean wind.
    • A caprice is a sudden, unexpected change. A caprice can occur in weather.
    • A gale is a very strong wind.
    • Hailey comes from hail, which is precipitated lumps of ice.
    • Flurris comes from snow flurry, which is a brief snow shower.
    • Strato is a shortened form of stratosphere, the layer of the Earth's atmosphere just above the troposphere. The troposphere contains the majority of clouds, so Strato's name may literally mean "above the clouds."

Nomenclature[]

TMC Forest Minish Artwork Names in Other Regions TMC Jabber Nut Sprite
Language Name Meaning
Japan Japanese 風の民 (Kaze no min) People of the Wind
French-speaking countries French les Eoliens, le peuple du vent The Eoliens, the people of the wind
Federal Republic of Germany German Volk des Windes People of the Winds
Italian Republic Italian Popolo del Vento People of the Wind

References

  1. Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 52
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "We are the Tribe of the Winds. Long have we lived with the winds. We have mastered them. Now, we join them. Those who come seeking our power must play the notes Zeffa teaches." — Stone Tablet (The Minish Cap)
  3. 3.0 3.1 "The people who built the Wind Ruins. They now live above the clouds, suspended by their own magic ability to control the wind." — Figurine (The Minish Cap)
  4. "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)
  5. "Our tribe abandoned the place you call the Wind Ruins... With our magic, we moved our palace up into the skies. We are the Wind Tribe." — Siroc (The Minish Cap)
  6. "I do believe this is where the Tribe of the Winds once lived. Hm... So they've left for the heavens, and taken their element with them." — Ezlo (The Minish Cap)
  7. "In this tower dwell the people of the Wind Tribe. We left your surface world long ago to serve a greater duty. We now protect the gate to the Palace of Winds, where the Wind Element lies." — Strato (The Minish Cap)
  8. "The Wind Tribe lives here! They protect the path to the Palace of Winds, where the Wind Element lies!" — Strato (The Minish Cap)
  9. "This is the home of the Wind Tribe. We left the surface long ago. Now, we guard the entrance to the Palace of Winds... ...In this palace, the Wind Element resides." — N/A (The Minish Cap)
  10. "Constructed by the Wind Tribe to repel intruders, this sturdy machine cannot be destroyed by any external force." — Figurine (The Minish Cap)
  11. "Those who come seeking our power must play the notes Zeffa teaches. May they lead you onward to the power that you seek." — Stone Tablet (The Minish Cap)
  12. "We of the Wind Tribe are very skilled at finding Kinstone pieces. So skilled in fact, that we have more of them than we can manage! We can't even store them all. I wish someone would take a few from us." — Flurris (The Minish Cap)
  13. "I bet if I could just fuse a Kinstone, I could call a good homeward wind..." — Gale (The Minish Cap)
  14. "He was very fond of the people of the Wind Tribe." — Figurine (The Minish Cap)
  15. "Built by the Minish for the Wind Tribe long ago. They look like stone statues, but if you get too close, they move!" — Figurine (The Minish Cap)
  16. "The leader of the Wind Tribe knows everything happening on the surface by listening to rumors carried by the wind." (Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 52)
  17. "We have been watching, and we know all that happens on your surface world. We know a small boy collects elements to lift the curse from a princess. We know of Vaati and his evil acts... The winds tell us these things." — Siroc (The Minish Cap)
  18. 18.0 18.1 "I've never seen a surface dweller walk on clouds before! You must be quite pure of heart!" — Hailey (The Minish Cap)
  19. "Some of Father's old texts talks about a place called the surface. The old tales describe a whole world under there, far more vast than Skyloft!" — Zelda (Skyward Sword)
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