Gerudo

The Gerudo are a race in. They are warriors by reputation, feared and respected in the countries they inhabit. Due to an unique biological quirk, the race consists almost solely of females. A single male Gerudo is born into the tribe every hundred years. This male is destined by Gerudo law to become their king. Ganondorf is the only Gerudo male to have appeared in the series.

The Gerudo as a race have appeared in a few titles, appearing only in, , and. In other games, Ganondorf is the only confirmed Gerudo, with the exception of Twinrova, who also appear in the.

Characteristics
The Gerudo are a desert-dwelling folk, being indigenous to the Gerudo Valley where they congregate in the Gerudo's Fortress in, and appear to lead nomadic lives in the Desert of Doubt in. The exception to this is, where the Gerudo live along the coastal Great Bay. A rather peculiar aspect of the Gerudo is that the race consists almost entirely of women, with a male being born only once every hundred years. This male is destined to become their king. The exact nature of this phenomenon is never explained. It is known, however, that at least during the Ocarina of Time era, the lack of males among the Gerudo is countered by them taking boyfriends from other human races.

Gerudo are known to have the following traits: dark skin, amber eyes, red hair, and a sharp bird-like nose. Their skin color, however, has been shown to come in two tones: a common light brown and an olive-greenish variation seen on Twinrova and Ganondorf. All Gerudo have round ears, though Nabooru and other common Gerudo were shown with pointed ears in the Nintendo 64 versions of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. This was changed with the Nintendo 3DS re-releases, matching their depiction in their artwork. Curiously, in and  as well as his non-canon iterations in the  and, Ganondorf's ears are pointed. Whether this is a retcon for the race as a whole is unknown.

Generally, the Gerudo have been shown to be a reclusive race that does not take well to outsiders on their territory, which in Hyrule constitutes the whole desert area. In spite of this, the Gerudo appreciate talent when they see it and do accept non-Gerudo among their ranks if they manage to prove themselves. Being a warrior race, they are well apt at combat, and have been shown to use weapons such as s and dual swords. Archery and skilled horseback riding are highly regarded in Gerudo society. Some members of the race have also been shown to possess magic, namely Ganondorf and the Gerudo witch Twinrova.

The Gerudo have their own writing script, referred to as Gerudo Typography. This writing is found extensively on the architecture of the Gerudo's Training Ground and Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time.

Ocarina of Time
In, the Gerudo live in the Gerudo Desert, specifically within the Gerudo Valley, which is located in the northwest of Hyrule. The Gerudo are well known for their reputation as a band of thieves, and many express fear of them. In spite of this, they are known to visit Hyrule Castle Town to seek boyfriends there. The Gerudo keep a tight security of their domain. In order to reach the Valley, Link must first cross a bridge over a deep river gorge flowing to Lake Hylia. In the past, it is heavily guarded by several Gerudo and a gate. In the future seven years later, these defenses are gone; instead, the Gerudo have decided to simply destroy the bridge to prevent outsiders from reaching their domain.

After the bridge lies Gerudo's Fortress, the stronghold that the Gerudo inhabit. Gerudo Guards patrol the area throughout the large stone structure, which inside contains several cells used for imprisoning anyone who attempts to trespass on their territory. Gerudo Valley ends with a huge gate that the Gerudo use to ensure no one enters the Desert without their approval. They had also created themselves two training courses; the Horseback Archery Range and the Gerudo's Training Ground. Despite this hostile outset, they do accept outsiders within their ranks, provided that they first prove themselves worthy.

Ganondorf, being the lone male at that time, is their king and "god". His second-in-command is Nabooru, who is highly respected by the other Gerudo, but rebels against Ganondorf because she does not approve of his ways. Nabooru herself also has an unnamed vice commander, who keeps watch over the Gerudo's Fortress while Ganondorf and Nabooru are gone. The Gerudo witches, Koume and Kotake, together known as Twinrova, are said to also rule the tribe from afar.

Link first encounters the Gerudo tribe during his younger years, when the Gerudo's tight security at the bridge took away any chance of proceeding into their domain. Seven years later however, the broken bridge becomes an obstacle easily passed with the Hookshot (Or optionally, with Epona). On the other side, he meets the Carpenters' Boss, who informs Link that his workers have gone missing after they had left to join the ranks of the Gerudo and requests that he look for them. Accepting his request, Link heads into the Gerudo's Fortress. There he manages to bypass the Gerudo Guards and finds the first Carpenter, now a prisoner in their Fortress. Before he could set him free, a Gerudo Thief appears and challenges Link to a battle. Link manages to defeat her and went on saving the remaining three Carpenters, battling another Gerudo Thief each time. After saving all of the Carpenters, he is then approached by Nabooru's appointed leader, who compliments him on his success and gives him the Gerudo Token, which allows him to freely move within the Gerudo territory. This also allows Link to participate in the Gerudo training courses.

Link's membership also gives him access to the Gerudo Desert, allowing him to finally reach the Spirit Temple. Playing the "Requiem of Spirit" learned from Sheik, Link returns to the Temple as a child, where he meets Nabooru. Her plan is to infiltrate the Spirit Temple, which acts as a hideout for Ganondorf and his minions, and do whatever she could to sabotage their plans. To do that she needs the Silver Gauntlets, a treasure kept in a part of the Temple that she is too big to enter. Impressed with Link's attitude, she requests he help her by retrieving the Gauntlets for her. However, Link never manages to hand them to Nabooru, as she is spotted by Twinrova and taken away. Link travels through time again and returns to the Temple with the Silver Gauntlets as an adult. Deep inside the Temple, he encounters Twinrova again and an Iron Knuckle. Link defeats the Iron Knuckle and reveals that it is in fact Nabooru, brainwashed into servitude of Ganondorf for the past seven years. Her regained freedom is cut short when Twinrova decide to abduct her again, to which Link follows the two and battles. Though strong and utilizing their "Double Dynamite Attack", the Gerudo witches lose to Link. As such, Nabooru could awaken as the Sage of Spirit.

After Ganondorf's defeat, some Gerudo can be seen celebrating with the rest of Hyrule at Lon Lon Ranch.

Majora's Mask
in, a tribe of Gerudo known as the Gerudo Pirates live in the Great Bay of Termina, specifically in Pirates' Cove, in a stronghold called the Pirates' Fortress which they keep heavily guarded. They are reputed to be fierce and frightening. They do not appear to have a male king nor is one ever mentioned; instead they are commanded by the Gerudo Aveil.

Prior to Link's arrival to Termina, they had stolen Lulu's Zora Eggs while she had slept. The Pirates had stolen her Eggs as they were informed by the Skull Kid that they are a clue to reaching the Great Bay Temple, which is said to house a treasure. But the Pirates had lost three of the seven Eggs to the Deep Pythons of Pinnacle Rock, leaving them with only four while they frantically try to recover them before the Zoras can. When Lulu's friend, Mikau, came to get the Eggs back, the Pirates beat him up such that he dies of his injuries. When Link found the dying Zora, Mikau begged him to finish what he started and return the Eggs to the Marine Research Laboratory. Link accepts and heads to the Pirates' Fortress. Using his newly acquired Zora Mask, he manages to infiltrate the Fortress and bypass the first group of guards. Deep within the Fortress, Link overhears a conversation between Aveil and one of her underlings about how they discovered the Eggs and lost three of them. Link scares Aveil and her underlings away by shooting a Giant Bee hive hanging from the ceiling, allowing him to retrieve one of the Eggs and the Hookshot the Pirates stole from the Fisherman at the Coast a long time ago. Making use of his new tool, Link explores the rest of the Fortress in search of the remaining three Eggs. In doing so, he comes face to face with three Pirate swordswomen, each of which guards another Egg.

After Link retrieves the Eggs and takes them to the Marine Research Laboratory, the Gerudo begin to search for the Zora in green responsible. However, they never find him. Later, as Link enters the Great Bay Temple, the Gerudo Pirates attempt to follow suit on a boat, only to get capsized by the cyclone surrounding the Temple.

Koume and Kotake also appear in Majora's Mask, though they are not explicitly referred to as Gerudo in this game. They live in the Southern Swamp, where they respectively host the Swamp Tour and own a Potion Shop.

During the game's ending, the Gerudo Pirates are last seen heading off somewhere on a boat, only to head back immediately afterward.

Four Swords Adventures
In, a tribe of Gerudo live in a desert village within the Desert of Doubt in the southwest corner of Hyrule. Unlike previous appearances, they are not hostile to outsiders, and have a good reputation in Hyrule. They appear to lead nomadic lives, as they live in tents. The Desert's Pyramid is a sacred and holy place to the Gerudo, as it houses the Trident, a relic containing enormous power. It is forbidden in Gerudo law for anyone to enter the Pyramid.

Ganondorf was the Gerudo's guardian. However, he hungered for power, and had entered the Desert in search of the fabled Pyramid, and in doing so had violated his people's laws. Though the Gerudo were aware of his lust for power, they assumed he would not make it far and would perish along the way. Following his departure, the Gerudo had closed the passage to the Desert to prevent others from also seeking the Pyramid. Against their belief, Ganondorf had successfully reached the Pyramid. When he had touched the Trident, he was transformed into Ganon, the King of Darkness. Ganon became directly responsible for all of the events that would transpire thereafter, as his theft of the Dark Mirror had spawned the Shadow Links, one of which had tricked Link into releasing Vaati. While Ganondorf is frequently mentioned by the Gerudo, he is never seen in his Gerudo form in-game.

When the Links enter the Gerudo village in search of the Purple Maiden, they are initially denied access to the Desert due to Ganondorf's violation. However, upon learning of their quest, the Gerudo reopen the gateway so they could pass.

Etymology
The names of the Gerudo and Gerudo Desert were likely chosen based on the enemies introduced in and, the sand-dwilling Geldarm (ゲルドアーム, Gerudoāmu) and Geldman (ゲルドマン, Gerudoman). One page in Hyrule Historia, showing the Gerudo Typography, implies that Nintendo originally intended for the Gerudo to be translated as Geldo.