Gerudo

The Gerudo are a race of humans introduced in Ocarina of Time. Their most prominent trait is that, through some odd quirk of biology, the race consists almost solely of females, with one male born every hundred years. They are warriors of reputation, feared and respected in the countries they inhabit.

The Gerudo as a race/tribe currently have been featured in three games, but since the main villain of the series, Ganondorf, is a Gerudo, it is possible to say they appeared in nearly every game. Twinrova also made an appearance outside Gerudo context in the Oracle games.

Physiology
The Gerudo as they've thus far appeared held the following looks: round ears, a prominent nose, tanned skin and red hair. Which of these are actually unmistakable Gerudo traits is unknown due to their small established role throughout the series. A few characters have appeared in otherwise Gerudo-less games who at minimum seem to reference the race, but who lack various elements shown on established Gerudo. As such, any variations to their appearance can not be considered of value to pinpointing the Gerudo race.

The tanned skin has been shown to come in two variants: a common light brown and an olive-greenish version seen on Twinrova and Ganondorf. Though the latter are special cases, their specific skin colour didn't cause any remarks, suggesting it is not something something out of the ordinary among the Gerudo. Additionally, Twinrova had white hair rather than red, which seems to be the result of old age. Recent games have made some adjustments to Ganondorf's look, changing his nose from "long" to "big" while his ears have become slightly pointy - far from Hylian-like, but still less round than what they have once been. Whether this has any significance for the Gerudo race as a whole is unknown.

The most known aspect of Gerudo physiology is that the race consists of almost solely women, with a male being born only once every hundred years. The exact nature of this phenomenon is never explained, leaving many questions unfortunately unanswered. For instance, there exist at least two tribes of Gerudo: is a male born in each tribe, or does each tribe have to wait their turn before it gets to bear the male child? Regardless, 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.

Some members of the race have been shown to possess magical skills. Given the focus the Gerudo put on physical training, this seems to be either a rare or otherwise unused ability. Furthermore, Gerudo might be able to reach a very high age, though the only suggestion to this was related to Twinrova, not exactly a most standard example of a Gerudo.

Culture
The Gerudo have an Arabic theme to them and seem to be based on the Amazons, a "real world" tribe of warrior women. Being a warrior race, they have been shown to use weapons such as glaives, dual scimitar swords and bow and arrows. In Ocarina of Time, they are capable equestrians, while they prefer the use of boats in Majora's Mask due to their role as pirates.

Generally, they have been shown to be a somewhat reclusive race that does not take well to outsiders on their territory, which in Hyrule constitutes the whole desert area. Though not without nobility, they've mostly been depicted as thieves to the other races. The Gerudo appreciate talent when they see it and do accept non-Gerudo among their ranks if they manage to prove themselves.

Ocarina of Time
The Gerudo live in the Gerudo Desert, specifically Gerudo Valley, which is located in the northwest of Hyrule. The Gerudo pay a lot of attention to the security of their domain. In order to reach the valley, one first has to cross a bridge over a deep canyon and stream flowing to Lake Hylia. Pre-Master Sword, it is heavily guarded by several Gerudo and a gate. Post-Master Sword, those defences are gone; instead, the Gerudo had decided to simply destroy the bridge to prevent outsiders from reaching their domain. Presumably they themselves used horses to cross the gap, like Link did.

After the bridge comes Gerudo Fortress, in which the Gerudo supposedly live. Guards are everywhere throughout the large stone structure, which contains a lot of cells used for imprisoning anyone who dares to enter Gerudo territory without permission. Gerudo Valley ends with a huge gate that the Gerudo use to make sure no one enters Gerudo Desert without their approval. As it is home to a warrior race, they've also created themselves two training courses, one for horseback and archery training and one for an allround test of skill. 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 second-in-command, who keeps watch over Gerudo Fortress while Ganondorf and Nabooru are gone.

Link's first encounter with a member of the Gerudo tribe was when Princess Zelda asked him to look through one of the windows of Hyrule Castle. It was then he and Ganondorf saw each other for the first time and Link's quest to stop Ganondorf started. The rest of the tribe he met later during his quest, at first during his younger years when the Gerudo's tight security at the bridge takes away any chance of proceeding into their domain. In Link's older years however, the broken bridge was an obstacle easily passed with Epona's aid. Oddly on the other side, he met Mutoh, the head of the carpenters, who informed Link that his workers had gone missing after they had taken up the plan to join the ranks of the Gerudo. To that, he added a request that Link would look for them. Accepting Mutoh's request, Link headed into Gerudo territory. There, he managed to bypass the guards and find the first carpenter, now a prisoner in Gerudo Fortress. Before he could set him free, a Gerudo guard, armed with dual scimitar swords, challenged Link to a battle. Link managed to defeat her and went on saving the remaining three carpenters, battling another Gerudo guard each time. When he saved all carpenters, he was approached by Nabooru's second-in-command, who complimented him on his success and gave him the Gerudo Membership Card.

From then on, Link didn't need to sneak through Gerudo Valley anymore and could participate in the Gerudo training courses. In addition, Link was also allowed entrance to the Gerudo Desert and was finally able to reach the temple of the sixth Sage: the Spirit Temple, guarded by the Desert Colossus. There, he met Sheik again, who taught him the final song and gave him a hint how to use it. After going back to his younger years, Link used the song to warp back to the Spirit Temple, where he met Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo, who asked him to help her stop Ganondorf's evil plans. Link managed to get the treasure she asked for, but was unable to give them to her because she was spotted by Koume and Kotake and taken away. Again, Link traveled through time, now able to enter the Spirit Temple with the Silver Gauntlets from the past. Deep inside the temple, he fought an Iron Knuckle, who turned out to be a brainwashed Nabooru. The temple's boss turned out to be a Gerudo as well, namely Twinrova. By defeating the two witches, Link awakened the Sage of Spirit: Nabooru, who was more than thrilled about the possibility of revenge this position offered.

Majora's Mask
The Gerudo reappeared in Majora's Mask, now taking on the role of pirates. Interestingly, they kept the name "Gerudo", even though this tribe did not live in Gerudo Desert or anything with a similar name. Instead, they live in Great Bay in a fortress called Pirates' Fortress. Like in Ocarina of Time, their territory is heavily guarded. Their leader is named Aveil, who seems to be the Terminan counterpart of Nabooru's second-in-command.

Unlike their Hyrulean counterparts, Link never is able to win their respect or trust and as such, they only serve as enemies (although comical ones). When Link is able to travel to Great Bay, he meets a dying Zora named Mikau. The latter tells Link that he was on a mission to retrieve the eggs of a Zora named Lulu, which were stolen by the Gerudo. Now dying, he begs Link to finish what he had started and return the eggs to the Marine Research Laboratory. Link accepted and headed to the Pirates' Fortress. Using his newly acquired Zora Mask, he found an underwater entrance into the fortress and managed to bypass the first group of guards. Making use of the - unguarded, but filled with traps - sewer system, he found his way deep into the fortress. After bypassing some more guards, Link managed to overhear a conversation between Aveil and one of her underlings. It was revealed that the Skull Kid had told them that the Zora eggs were a key element in obtaining a treasure that would be lying in the Great Bay Temple. It was also stated that they had lost three of the eggs when they were attacked by sea snakes. By shooting a beehive hanging from the ceiling, Link scared Aveil and her underlings away and stole a Zora egg and the Hookshot from them (which they had stolen from the fisherman near the entrance of Great Bay earlier). Making use of his new tool, Link explored the rest of the fortress in search for the remaining three eggs. Link came face to face with three guards similar to the ones he had to fight in order to free the carpenters in Ocarina of Time. Each of them turned out to guard a Zora egg, similar to how each of them guarded one of the carpenters in the previous game.

Link was later informed that the Gerudo were looking for a Zora in green clothing During the end of the game, they were also seen heading somewhere (possibly the sea snakes' lair) on a boat, only to be heading the other way immediately thereafter.

Apart from the Gerudo pirates, Koume and Kotake made an appearance as well. They are more commonly thought to be the Terminan counterparts from the ones met in Ocarina of Time and do not seem to be connected to the Gerudo pirates of Great Bay. They live in Southern Swamp, where they have a potion shop.

Four Swords Adventures
The Gerudo tribe made an unexpected return in Four Swords Adventures. Unlike in the other two games, they are not hostile to outsiders. They live in the Desert of Doubt in the southwest corner of Hyrule. This time however, they do not live in a fortress, but rather in tents. Together with a quote that specifically calls the nomads, it seems that the Gerudo in Four Swords Adventures have no set territory. However, like in Ocarina of Time, they guard the entrance to the desert, which suggests that they do live in a set territory. They have a good reputation in Hyrule, not being thieves or pirates this time.

Ganondorf assumes the role of king/guardian of the Gerudo once more. While he is referred to by the Gerudo, he is not seen in his Gerudo form within the game. The leader of the Gerudo is unnamed. When Link enters their territory, he is denied access to the desert. Ganondorf had entered the desert prior to the events of Four Swords Adventures in search of the fabled pyramid, which is a violation of the laws of the Gerudo. This pyramid, which is located in the desert, is sacred to the Gerudo and is rumored to contain enormous power. The Gerudo are aware of Ganondorf's lust for power and realize what his intentions are. However, they assume that he will not make it that far and will perish in the desert. Because of Ganondorf's actions, they had blocked the road to the desert. Upon learning of Link's quest though, they reopen the gate again so that he can pass.

Others

 * The barmaid Telma from Twilight Princess is speculated to be of Gerudo descent because of her red hair and her dark skin. She appears to be Hylian herself though, due to sporting the characteristic pointy ears and lacking a prominent nose.
 * The pirate Jolene from Phantom Hourglass evokes the Gerudo in the way she dresses, the way she fights and her tanned skin. She does not have red hair however, or the arguably more mandatory long nose. Like Telma, she may be of Gerudo descent, but doesn't quite appear one herself. If so, then the same is the case for her sister Joanne.

Trivia

 * In the real world, the Gerudo and Gerudo Desert presumably gained their name from the A Link to the Past-introduced desert enemies Geldman (ゲルドマン, Gerudoman) and Geldarm (ゲルドアーム, Gerudoaamu). Within the Zelda universe, the name-connection should likely be explained the other way around: the Gerudo named the desert after themselves (implied by the Majora's Mask Gerudo who are called "Gerudo" even though they don't live in area with such a name), after which some of the desert's fauna was named after the desert.