Summary
The Wind Tribe is a group that finds its origins in the humans from Skyloft, sent there on Hylia’s orders during the conflict with Demise. After Demise is defeated, the humans settle Hyrule’s surface. A group of people with a collective affinity for the wind settle in the Tabantha region and build structures out of stone. These people have close relations with the Royal Family of Hyrule and were involved in many of the early days of Hyrule’s development. The Wind Tribe’s magical prowess advances and they lift their capital into the Sky, leaving abandoned ruins in their wake.
Sometime after the events of the Minish Cap, the Wind Tribe descend back to Hyrule into the Faron region, becoming dwellers of the forest and building their homes into the trees around them. Their civilization soon stabilizes after the sudden migration and they begin rebuilding a capital city.
Soon after, the events that trigger the Interloper War begin and a faction of the forest dwelling sorcerers attempt to conquer Hyrule. Through unknown internal conflict, two branches of this tribe form: The Interlopers who include all who join in the endeavor to conquer Hyrule and the Forest Dwellers who wish to remain peaceful and avoid conflict with the Hylians.
The Interlopers are nearly successful in conquering Hyrule but are ultimately driven to the Gerudo Desert and stopped by the Light Spirits. Those the Light Spirits found guilty of gravely evil deeds were banished to the Twilight Realm, forever being unable to return to their original world and doomed to live in the shadow of the land they sought after. Those of the Interlopers the Light Spirits did not banish were forced to live in exile in the Gerudo Desert becoming the Gerudo Tribe.
The Forest Dwellers assist Hyrule in cleaning up the aftermath of the conflict and the tribe splits up yet again. The ancestors of the Sky People/Oocca raise their capital into the sky when they are finished to live in relative isolation. The folk that stayed out of the conflict and remained as forest dwellers in Faron continue to live among nature becoming skilled sailors and fishermen on the coast. These people mingled with local Hylians and became the people from Lurelin Village. Another group wishing to remain in the forest find themselves under the protection of the Great Deku Tree and become known as Kokiri.
What does this accomplish?
The Zelda games have a lot of tribes that appear to be one-off and unrelated at a surface look and it results in multiple tribes sometimes fitting similar roles in ways that seem contradictory. Two of the most obvious examples of this are the Dark Tribe & Interlopers and the Wind Tribe & Oocca. The Dark Tribe and the Interlopers are tribes of dark sorcerers being sealed away in a magic mirror for their deeds involving switching between the two realms. The Wind Tribe and the Oocca both fit the role of being a skybound tribe with powerful magic and technology closely cooperating with the Hyrulean monarchy, performing sacred duties for the Hylians.
Skyward Sword introduced Groose as a third member to Link and Zelda’s pair. With his appearance and powerful body he is a clear ancestor to the eventual Ganondorf. However, narratively it does not make sense for Groose to settle in the desert and he also fits as the red haired ancestor to the Wind Tribe. However, even the Gerudo and the Wind Tribe have their similarities. They both have universal red hair and both have their fair share of powerful sorcerers. While not common in the Gerudo we see, both Ganondorf and Twinrova are proficient in sorcery.
This model also gives an origin of the Gerudo and their unique trait of giving birth to only female Gerudo.
In an effort to create a cohesive narrative history with fewer gaps, tribes that are parallels are considered to be the same and their histories considered as a collective. Instead of having two invasions of dark sorcerers being sealed in two different magic mirrors, there are two accounts of the same event. And instead of two different tribes that ascended to the sky and remained close with the royal family, we see two different points in time of the same tribe. Instead of a tribe of all-female Gerudo existing with no explanation for this phenomenon, we have an event that could reasonably serve as the cause.
Step by Step
Skyloft
We are told in Skyward Sword that all the surviving humans on the surface were gathered onto Skyloft then it was sent above the Cloud Barrier.
To prevent this great power from falling into the hands of the evil swarming the lands... the goddess gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth. She sent it skyward, beyond the reach of the demonic hordes. Beyond even the clouds. With the humans safe, the goddess joined forces with the land dwellers and fought the evil forces, sealing them away.
This event serves as an anchor for the common ancestry of all the tribes that populate Hyrule’s surface in the future.
Settling in Tabantha
We know from The Minish Cap that the Wind Tribe once lived on the surface in what is called the Wind Ruins, located in Castor Wilds (Tabantha). Their stone ruins are still visible ages later.
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. It looks like the Wind Element is beyond our reach for the time being. We have no choice but to press on. Let's get out of here.
Ascending to the sky
Before the events of The Minish Cap, the Wind Tribe leaves their home in Castor Wilds behind and ascends to the Cloud Tops in the sky.
Welcome, welcome. Long, long ago, and then an age before that... 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. 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. The Wind Element that you seek lies deep in the Palace of Winds above me. When the blade has been infused with the four elements, the way to the light force shall open. So it is told in the legends of the Wind Tribe. Vaati himself may already know this. Surface dwellers are not permitted to enter our palace, but you are special. You may continue to the roof.
The powerful magic of the Wind Tribe enables them to suspend their home in the air above even the clouds. From this vantage point, they monitor the surface but live in relative isolation.
Descending Back to the Surface (Again)
After the events of The Minish Cap and before the events of Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures, the Wind Tribe “disappear” from their palace in the sky as it is seen full of monsters and corrupted by Vaati’s magic. Vaati’s eye symbol can even be seen replacing the original symbols once on those walls.
Considering the structures are still floating and didn’t crash to the surface, this rules out the possibility of the missing Wind Element being responsible for their disappearance. The two most reasonable possibilities to explain their disappearance are that either they died (as a result of Vaati) or they migrated to the surface before or as a result of Vaati's taking over of their capital.
It is entirely possible the Wind Tribe perished here at this point in history as a result of Vaati’s actions.
Assuming they were able to avoid destruction, Faron is the most likely candidate for their destination on the surface for a few reasons.
Examining where the Sky Cannon is aiming both when Link is shot to the City in the Sky and back to the surface on the return trip, the angle consistency is shown to be above the Faron region. From Lake Hylia, the Sky Cannon is aiming south towards Faron and in the City in the Sky, the Sky Cannon is aimed down and north back to Lake Hylia.
Many enemies are found in the City in the Sky that are also found in the Faron region and nowhere else.
Baba Serpent (Forest Temple, Sacred Grove, City in the Sky, Cave of Ordeals, Hyrule Field) Big Baba (Forest Temple, City in the Sky) Deku Baba (Faron Woods, Forest Temple, Hyrule Field, City in the Sky) Deku Like (Forest Temple, Hyrule Castle) Keese (Faron Woods, Forest Temple, Hyrule Field, Hyrule Castle, City in the Sky) Tile Worm (Forest Temple, City in the Sky) Walltula (Forest Temple, City in the Sky)
There are a few enemies there not found in Faron like the Peahat (Gerudo Desert, City in the Sky) and Kargorok (Hyrule Field, Hyrule Castle, City in the Sky), but overwhelmingly the common denominator among City in the Sky enemies is the Faron region with all the Deku enemies.
The Forest Temple is also always associated with the Wind element given that the element associated with the Forest Sage is Wind.
In the Forest Temple in Twilight Princess, you receive the Gale Boomerang which contains the Fairy of Winds within. Such a boomerang would have been used to operate the wind-based propeller mechanisms around the Forest Temple.
In addition, while not an absolute rarity in Hyrule, there are bottomless ravines in Faron that would be consistent with a chunk of land being lifted away.
The Interlopers
The group known as the Interlopers emerge from the forest dwellers. The reason for their intentions is unclear. Influence from Vaati as part of a potential corruption from earlier could be possible. The inevitable greed of humans may be the cause as well. Still powerful sorcerers despite their recent history and having the desire to conquer Hyrule, they used their magic and crude technology to begin their conquest. However, they were overpowered and driven across Hyrule to the Gerudo Desert where they were banished to the Twilight Realm.
They were banished. They were chased across the sacred lands of Hyrule and driven into another realm by the goddesses.
At the time of Twilight Princess, the Interlopers are known as the Twili and live on sky islands in the Twilight Realm.
The Forest Dwellers
The Forest Dwellers can be used to refer to these people before the divergence of the tribes after descending back to Hyrule and after the divergence as the group who did not join the Interlopers. They may or may not have aided Hyrule in the war, but they did not join the Interlopers in their conquest. Their structures were built for people skilled with the wind as the bridge systems require the use of artifacts like the Gale Boomerang or magic itself to traverse.
The Twili
These people are the direct descendents of the Interlopers who were once banished into the Twilight Realm. Midna states that her people are quite pure and gentle, not like her ancestors once were.
The twilight there holds a serene beauty... You have seen it yourself as the sun sets on this world. Bathed in that light, all people were pure and gentle... - Midna
This language does remind one of what Hailey the Wind Triber says to Link in the Minish Cap:
I've never seen a surface dweller walk on clouds before! You must be quite pure of heart!
Regardless of the motivations for banishing the Interlopers into the Twilight Realm, the effect of this imprisonment was a cleansing of their hearts, removing the negative feelings and restoring them to their pure selves.
There are seven generic Twili that can be seen of which all appear to be male. Including Zant and Midna, there are eight male Twili and one female being Midna. A quirk similar to the Gerudo is not mentioned by anybody or anything, but considering the context it is something worth keeping in mind.
The Gerudo
From the Interlopers, some managed to be spared banishment into the Twilight Realm, potentially the women and children. A curious detail is that while the Gerudo is all-female except for a rare male, of all the Twili we see in Twilight Princess, all are male except for Midna being the only female. In this way, the Twili and the Gerudo are like opposite tribes or two halves of a whole.
These people settled in the very place they were chased to during the War, the Gerudo Desert. The Gerudo maintain the same crest they used to have which can be seen on Zant’s clothes as well.
A trait that hasn’t been talked about but appears to be a common trait is the red hair and/or red eyes of the Wind Tribe. Every Wind Tribe member in the Minish Cap was shown to have red hair and red eyes.
The physical appearance of the Twili have been skewed over time in the Twilight Realm, but red hair and red eyes are mostly preserved. The hair of the Twili can be characterized as red or a reddish-blonde.
By the time of Four Swords Adventures, we no longer see the Wind Tribe and we do see the Gerudo Tribe. Four Swords Adventures also includes the Dark Tribe being banished within a mirror just like in Twilight Princess.
The King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf, carries the strongest Gerudo traits of his height, red hair, and yellow eyes. These traits are seen in the Gerudo of Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild. These traits also likely stem from Groose from Skyward Sword.
The crest seen on Ganondorf’s clothes in the Wind Waker also uses the same color scheme as Groose’s necklace.
The Kokiri
For unknown reasons, a population of Forest Dwellers found themselves under the protection of the Great Deku Tree. Being that they all take the appearance of children, it may be that the Kokiri were children estranged from their tribe leading to their protection.
This crest can also be found on the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, also known as the Kokiri’s Emerald. Given that this crest is particularly related to the forest and that the Oocca and Interlopers use variants of that same crest, the Kokiri crest most closely resembles what symbol would represent the original Forest Dwellers.
The Sky People/Oocca
Like the Wind Tribe during the era of the Minish Cap, the Oocca still maintain some communication with the Hyrulean Royal Family. At the time of the Interloper War, the Oocca would have been either abstaining from the conflict or aiding the Hylians in some way although they likely were not nearly as powerful as the Interlopers. After the banishment of the Interlopers, the Oocca assisted Hyrule in rebuilding as well as the construction of the Temple of Time to protect the entrance to the Sacred Realm. After completion of their penance, they ascend their capital City in the Sky into the sky above the clouds, leaving the Dominion Rod and a Sky Cannon as a way for the Hylians to contact them.
At some point as early as the division in the Wind Tribe or Forest Dwellers and before the events of Twilight Princess, the Oocca physically regress to a strange form. Their bodies have gained the ability to fly as well as walk on walls as if defying gravity.
The Lurelin Tribe
Following the relatively peaceful history of the Forest Dwellers who stayed out of the Interloper War, these folk congregated around the sea in the Faron region and became skilled fishermen. Other Hylians would find themselves in this rural section of Hyrule and mix into their bloodline forming the eventual tribe in Lurelin Village.
Some people of this tribe still know how to read the script of their ancestors as Garini is able to decipher the riddle on the stone monument outside the Kah Yah shrine.
