Zelda: A Compendium of Sheikah: Theories and History

Please note that the below section are just theories and speculation. None of them are to be taken as absolute fact. While there may be some evidence to support the claim for some of these theories, they are still speculative. While some, for instance Bongo-Bongo are based on mythology and may have nothing to do with the Sheikah himself, it will be left up to the individual to assume and speculate. Note however that until it is either confirmed or deconfirmed by Nintendo or Aonuma/Miyamoto, it will just be headcanon/theories at this point in time.

This section will also not include BotW info much like the other sections or Hyrule Warriors info. Hyrule Warriors is mostly a spin-off game made for fanservice all around and likely doesn’t have much in connection with the Sheikah beyond Impa. Such as Cia, while she has white hair, purple-red eyes, dark skin, purple clothes, likely a time-shift stone on her scepter, and uses Shadow Magic, that isn’t what she originally looked like at all beyond the hair color (which had a more lavender hue to it) and the purple-red eyes and such. The same goes for BotW in that, while we know the Sheikah are an advanced technological race, or was at some point which may coincide with the holograms and types of technology seen in the Palace of Twilight, there is a large gap of info in regards to BotW. Not only in terms of the Sheikah and the base info we got from the Monks and their servitude to Hylia and stasis shrines, but as to the placement of the timeline, the technology itself (despite having similar lines to say Gohdan, Fused Shadow, etc.), etc.

SHEIKAH THEORIES/SPECULATION/ETC.

This section will be detailing all potential Sheikah Theories and their general relative history based on events of the games in a short and concise manner.

INTERLOPERS/TWILI AND MAJORA – THE ANCIENT TRIBE THEORY – TWILIGHT PRINCESS/MAJORA’S MASK

Within the Zelda Series are a group known as The Interlopers. They are first mentioned in Twilight Princess during Lanayru’s Cutscene Pre-Water Temple. An Ancient Tribe that once attempted to attack The Sacred Realm with an artifact known as the Fused Shadow. The Interlopers ultimately losing the war and being banished through the Twilight Realm where they would later become the Twili, that are composed of Midna and Zant, among other unnamed Twili.

The theory begins on the history of Zelda and it’s relation to the Interlopers themselves. The Unification War is taking place 10 years prior to Ocarina of Time, where Hyrule is in a Civil War over the Triforce. This theory asserts that the Interlopers attack was sometime shortly before the Unification War, and word of the Triforce spread throughout the Kingdom, leading the Royal Family to try and get all the races under control. A few things can be taken from the assumption that the Interlopers were once in fact the Sheikah.

-They both possess Red Eyes
-They both deal in Shadow Magic
-They both had knowledge of the Triforce seemingly before the Unification War
-They both possess certain amounts of technology
-They both possess eye symbols

Certain variables exist that do denounce this theory as the Twili have red hair, this could either be a by-product of the white hair the Sheikah possess and the ultimate banishing to the Twilight Realm, or some type of splintered cross-faction of Gerudo and Sheikah. It is generally assumed that there are two factions of Sheikah within the Zelda series to base this, and another theory on. With one splintered faction ultimately becoming the Interlopers and the other faction staying loyal to the Royal Family. Within this theory it is also assumed that the Bottom of the Well and Shadow Temple were part of the Interlopers ultimate cruel designs.

Majora’s Mask plays an interesting role as it was also created by an Ancient Tribe for dark hexing rituals. Typically associated with Shadow. Majora’s Mask as we know is not native to Termina, but rather Hyrule, or one of the countries within the Light Worlds. It also shares very similar designs to that of the Fused Shadow, but was ultimately sealed away due its catastrophic and intelligent nature. Within Majora’s Mask it was sealed within Shadow, potentially very similarly to that of Bongo-Bongo, possibly even within an unexplored section of the Bottom of the Well or Shadow Temple as the two do seemingly connect at some point, somewhere. There is a theory that ascertains that Majora was created before the Fused Shadow. This leads to the Fused Shadow bearing a similar design, but without the intelligence and being close to the same level of pure destructive power. The Fused Shadow has the same exact eye design that Majora’s Mask does, and the square pegs on the side match up exactly with those of the spikes on the mask. Based on these theories, it is highly possible that the splintered faction occurred due to Majora’s Mask. One faction sealed Majora and continued to loyally serve the Royal Family of Hyrule while the other worked in secret to perfect their design with the Fused Shadow and ultimately attempt to acquire the Triforce.  This theory also holds a lot of wait when the Sheikah are considered an Outcast Race within Ocarina of Time and feared primarily by Hylians.

BONGO-BONGO – OCARINA OF TIME

Bongo-Bongo is an interesting boss. He comes from Kakariko Village, once a Sheikah Village. Whether he was there prior to Impa opening the village up to the poor is a different story, but under this theory, he was there all along, making him a Sheikah. A few things support this. An NPC talks of a man/thief that could see the truth, a man. One of the things sealed along with Bongo-Bongo is the Lens of Truth, a Sheikah Device that allows one to see things otherwise unseen. It’s possible that this device is actually technological in some aspect and that Bongo-Bongo was its creator and it sealed along with him.

Bongo-Bongo’s design also supports that he was once the thief, as his hands have been clearly severed from his body and he possesses a large eye in which to see things, and he himself is invisible. A very useful tool for thieves. When taking into account the possibility that the Interlopers and the Sheikah are one, it is possible that Bongo-Bongo was also an Interloper as well, part of a rogue faction. This helps the Interlopers/Sheikah Theory as if Bongo-Bongo was a Sheikah, then not all are clearly loyal to the Royal Family. It is possible that not all Interlopers were banished to the Twilight Realm and certain stronger individuals or leaders themselves were bound with stronger magic by the Sheikah themselves in certain places to keep a possible better hold and eye on them.

COMPOSER BROTHERS – OCARINA OF TIME

The Composer Brothers in Ocarina of Time mention that they once lived in Kakariko Village when they are met at Kakariko Graveyard as Poes/Ghosts. The same exists for Bongo-Bongo, whether they were there before or after the village was opened up depends. They do mention that all inhabitants of the village had to serve the Royal Family, which would imply that they were there during the time of the Sheikah and are Sheikah themselves. They also conveniently know music, something that the Sage of Shadow Impa herself knows as well with Zelda’s Lullaby. It’s possible that they may have been very closely related to the Royal Family more so than other Sheikah during their lives. Sharp will conveniently teach you the Sun’s Song too, a stark contrast to the Shadow Temple’s Nocturne of Shadow, but a useful tool for something like the Sheikah, a race of Shadow Folk that move by the night like Ninja.

RICH SKULLTULA FAMILY – OCARINA OF TIME

Within Ocarina of Time is a lone run down house in Kakariko Village with a family that has all been cursed by Skulltulas and transformed. Their eyes appear to be naturally red, however they do not have white hair like most Sheikah and their eyes do revert to blue when transformed back. But considering the state of the House and how long they’ve seemingly been transformed due to their greed that they too were a defunct group of Sheikah, very similarly to the Interlopers that were cursed and left to rot in their abandoned house. It seems no one truly knows they’re even in that house and have been largely left alone, a strange occurrence for a village opened up to the poor that would need Houses. Perhaps Impa said to never venture into the house when opening the village. It is a curious thing to note that they do possess orange hair however, much like the Twili.

HAPPY MASK SALESMAN – OCARINA OF TIME/MAJORA’S MASK

While not much can be gathered from the Happy Mask Salesman being a Sheikah, he does have knowledge of Majora’s Mask on an odd level, and is in possession of the Mask of Truth. He too oddly has orange hair and resembles the Rich Family in Ocarina of Time. There is a consistent theory that due to his nature with Transformation Masks and the Song of Healing that he is the God of the Dead, which fits in line with the Shadow Temple being The House of the Dead and the Sheikah dealing with Shadow and Death, perhaps he is their racial God similar to the Goddess of the Sand, Great Deku Tree, etc.

AGAHNIM – A LINK TO THE PAST

While the Sheikah aren’t formerly introduced until Ocarina of Time, Agahnim shares a lot of similarities with them and the Twili themselves. We’ll start with the Sheikah however. He is able to get strikingly close to the Royal Family, so much so that he advises the King himself, and he does possess a very Sheikah like symbol, only this one does not house the teardrop. Though not canon, the Ocarina of Time manga mentions that the teardrop is due to a faction of the Sheikah being traitors, which fits in line with the Interloper theory as well, and we’ll use it for this theory as well. On the back of the Fused Shadow, the Twilight Throne, and a lot of Interloper/Twili devices, is a very similar Eye Symbol to the one Agahnim has on his robe, an eye with six eyelashes, but no teardrop. It’s possibly that this was the original Sheikah Symbol and the teardrop added after the Interlopers betrayed.

Agahnim while being an alter ego of Ganon, could have taken the form of a Sheikah in order to get closer to the royal family. While he does not have red eyes (this doesn’t come until Ocarina of Time) and his hair cannot be seen, he does have a strange blue toned skin just the same as the Twili, potential Sheikah traitors and has a heavy use of Shadow Magic, among other types. But these magics are likely due to Ganon himself.

VERAN – ORACLE OF AGES

Two theories actually exist regarding the Sorceress. The first being that she herself is a Sheikah/Interloper and the second being that she is a Shapeshifter that has taken their form. Like the Twili she too has blue tone skin and orange hair, while also possessing red eyes and being rather tall and skinny, much like Midna. The two have a very similar style of dress, Veran’s consisting of blues and purples much like the Sheikah colors. It also has a sideways Sheikah Symbol with a teardrop going upwards, but no eyelashes. This contradicts the theory of two different Sheikah Symbols as described in the Agahnim section. However an interesting note is that her original concept art did possess the actual Sheikah Symbol itself on her mask, but was seemingly later removed or changed, it could be that Nintendo recognizes her as a Sheikah or once was. She too uses Shadow Magic quite heavily and within the Dark Tower where she is fought are pillars and turrets with the symbol or one very strikingly similar as well.

Veran also possesses the ability to take on a monstrous fairy like form, very similar in color to the monstrous form that Midna takes when using the Fused Shadow. This also fits in line with Bongo-Bongo’s monstrous Shadow Form and Majora possessing even further forms as well. It’s possible that Interlopers and their creations allowed the gift of Shadow Forms or even Shapeshifting due to Sheikah Magic itself, for whatever reason. Possibly to infiltrate areas for the Royal Family or just straight Interloper Dark Magic.
Veran however due to her role as being a Shapeshifter could have just potentially taken the form of an Interloper or Sheikah as opposed to actually being one. This is backed up by the fact that she can exist within the Light World unlike other Twili, such as Midna. It can be argued however that due to the Gerudo Symbol on her shoulder pads, that she is channeling Twinrova and Ganon’s magic to exist within the Light World the same as Zant was able to do.

VAATI – MINISH CAP/FOUR SWORD/FOUR SWORDS ADVENTURE

A Minish with striking similarities to the Sheikah. He possesses white hair and red eyes, an oddity among the Minish. There is also the fact that he is able to be the same size as most other Hylians unlike the Minish who are too miniscule to see. He too uses types of Shadow Magic along with his Wind Magic and status as a Wind Mage.

Within this theory there is the assumption that he is actually a Sheikah found by the Minish and raised as one of them, potentially shrinking him down to similar height to them in order to take care of him. Vaati like many other potential Sheikah or their artifacts/items has a monstrous form as well, this one conveniently taking a Shadow Form with a large red eye, very similarly to the Sheikah. It is possible that Vaati is the man/thief who could see the truth talked of in Ocarina of Time and that Bongo-Bongo simply adopted a similar monstrous form due to his reverence of the ancient Sheikah.

DARK MIRROR AND DARK WORLD – FOUR SWORDS ADVENTURE

Due now to the Hyrule Historia and the placement of the games among a timeline, Four Swords Adventure is placed oddly after Twilight Princess. In this theory we’ll discuss the history of the timeline a bit and it’s natural assumptions. Within the Child Timeline, Ganondorf never acquired the entirety of the Triforce and was never sealed inside the Sacred Realm, in which for it to later become the Dark World. However in Four Swords Adventure we see both a Dark World and a Dark Mirror. While this is due in part that Four Swords Adventure was originally an A Link to the Past remake, they opted to continue to use these things and still place it after Twilight Princess.

This theory holds that the Dark Mirror might actually be a fragment or the entirety of the Twilight Mirror itself, one that has since been restored since the end of Twilight Princess and that Dark World itself is actually the Twilight Realm, oddly enough where Vaati and Ganon reside. This would fit in with the Vaati Sheikah theory and Ganon still having an odd connection with Zant from the end of Twilight Princess. The Dark Mirror is a curious device that reveals the evil within a person, sort of a Twilight Shade of that person and stands in line with the Lanayru Cutscene that even Twilight Princess Link is susceptible to evil if he stays around and uses the Fused Shadows too much, conveniently showing a Dark Link, the evil within Link’s heart that is typically extracted and used for him to conquer. It’s possible that the Dark Mirror is the Twilight Mirror or is based off of it allowing for one to see their Twilight/Dark self.

In order to access the Dark World in Four Swords Adventure, one must typically have a Moon Pearl and a Moon Gate. The Moon Pearl exists within A Link to the Past, but it ultimately functions vastly differently. The Moon Pearl in A Link to the Past only allows that Link to remain in his Hylian Form instead of being transformed into a Bunny (a reflection of his soul). Whereas in Four Swords Adventure they are used to power the Moon Gates. The Moon Gates themselves while not being identical to the Twilight Mirror are similar enough in color, function (outside of needing the Moon Pearls), and a slight similar design. Within this theory it is possible that they are mini-Twilight Mirrors or some type of equivalency around Hyrule. The Moon names also being an oddity due to the Moons connection with Twilight and the oncoming of Sunrise.

SHEIKAH HISTORY – WITHOUT THEORIES

-SS Impa travels with SS Zelda
-SS Impa time travels with SS Zelda watching over her for 100 years
-Sheikah serves the Royal Family and the Goddess Hylia/Zelda for centuries/Live in Kakariko Village
-OoT Impa is the nursemaid to OoT Zelda/Unification War/Kakariko Village opened to poor
-OoT Impa flees with OoT Zelda when Ganondorf sacks Hyrule Castle
-OoT Impa raises OoT Zelda and teaches her Sheikah Ways and Magic
-OoT Impa is awakened as The Sage of Shadow
-Sheikah assumedly drown with Hyrule (Adult Timeline)
-Impaz (TP) awaits the Messenger of the Heavens in the Hidden Village (Child Timeline)
-OoA/S Impa travels with ALttP/OoA/S Zelda to Holodrum/Labrynna (Downfall Timeline)
-AoL Impa tells LoZ/AoL Link of Zelda 1’s plight and eternal sleep (Downfall Timeline)

SHEIKAH HISTORY - WITH THEORIES

-SS Impa travels with SS Zelda
-SS Impa time travels with SS Zelda watching over her for 100 years
-Sheikah serves the Royal Family and the Goddess Hylia/Zelda for centuries/Live in Kakariko Village
-The Sheikah create Majora’s Mask
-The Sheikah seal Majora’s Mask away in shadow
-The Sheikah become a splintered faction – Sheikah/Royal Family and Interlopers
-The Interlopers create the Fused Shadow
-The Interlopers assault Hyrule Castle and the Temple of Time/Sacred Realm
-The Interlopers are defeated and banished to the Twilight Realm to become the Twili
-Bongo-Bongo is sealed underneath the well by OoT Impa
-Rich Family is cursed by Skulltulas
-Composer Brothers die after having served the Royal Family loyally
-OoT Impa is the nursemaid of OoT Zelda/Unification War/Kakariko Village opened to poor
-OoT Impa flees with OoT Zelda when Ganondorf sacks Hyrule Castle
-OoT Impa raises OoT Zelda and teachers her Sheikah Ways and Magic
-OoT Impa is awakened as The Sage of Shadow
-Sheikah assumedly drown with Hyrule (Adult Timeline)
-Happy Mask Salesman acquires Majora’s Mask (Child Timeline)
-Happy Mask Salesman loses Majora’s Mask (Child Timeline)
-Majora Rampages before being stopped by The Hero of Time (Child Timeline)
-Midna wins the crown over Zant (Child Timeline)
-Sometime after Ganondorf’s execution he stumbles across Zant and grants him power (Child Timeline)
-Midna is usurped by Zant and transformed into an Imp/Her Child Form before her coronation to Queen (Child Timeline)
-Zant assaults Hyrule with Twilight and Twili Shadow Beasts (Child Timeline)
-Zant is killed by The Chosen Hero of the Gods/Hero of Twilight (Child Timeline)
-Twilight Realm no longer invades Hyrule (Child Timeline)
-Midna shatters the Twilight Mirror (Child Timeline)
-Mirror is reconstructed or many Gates/Mirrors are based off of it (Child Timeline)
-Ganon and Vaati try to assault Hyrule from the Dark World/Twilight Realm (Child Timeline)
-Ganon assumes the form of a Sheikah/Agahnim to get close to the Royal Family (Downfall Timeline)
-Twinrova frees Veran from the Twilight Realm and allows her to exist within the Light World (Downfall Timeline)
-Veran assaults Labrynna and captures Nayru (Downfall Timeline)
-Veran is killed by the Hero of the Essences of Time and Nature (ALttP/OoA/S/LA Link) (Downfall Timeline)
-OoA/S Impa travels to Holodrum with ALttP/OoA/S Zelda (Downfall Timeline)
-AoL Impa tells LoZ/AoL Link of Zelda 1’s plight and eternal sleep (Downfall Timeline