Majora's Mask (Object)

Role in the game
The mask is first introduced after the Happy Mask Salesman removes the curse that was placed on Link by Skull Kid. The salesman explains that the mask is an ancient artifact that was used by an ancient tribe for its bewitching rituals, but the mask's wicked power became so great that it was sealed away to prevent a great catastrophe. However, since the ancient tribe vanished, no one accurately knows the true nature of its power. The salesman fears of the great devastation that could befall Termina if the mask is not taken back from the Skull Kid.

For a majority of the game, the mask is worn by Skull Kid on the Clock Tower, drawing the Moon to Termina. Although the Skull Kid was unaware, Majora's Mask gradually began to take complete control of his mind, turning his harmless pranks on people to acts with malicious intents. Due to this, prior to the game's events, Skull Kid used the power of the mask to prank and curse others around him, such as Kafei.

On the Clock Tower after the Four Giants are called, the Mask abandons Skull Kid and enters the moon so that it can push it through the Giants' blockade and complete its destructive path. It is there that Link follows Majora's Mask into the moon to fight the evil menace behind all of this. After the young hero and Tatl defeat the malevolent mask, they return back down to the land of Termina where the Happy Mask Salesman informs them that the evil inside Majora's Mask has disappeared once and for all. The mask is last seen as the salesman departs with it in his hands.

Fierce Deity and the Moon Dungeons


Majora's Mask is encountered when Link talks to the lonely child under the tree inside the Moon. Using the Fierce Deity's Mask, Majora's Mask can easily be defeated; however, some fans think this takes some of the fun out of the battle.

To obtain the Fierce Deity's Mask, Link must obtain all twenty-three other masks and use them to enter the four moon dungeons. While on the moon, the young hero will notice five children, four of which are running around wearing each of the Boss Remains. Each will allow Link entrance to their dungeon, for a specific fee of masks. If he gives a total of twenty masks to the four children, (excluding the three transformation masks) at the entrance and exit of each dungeon, the child wearing Majora's Mask will give him the Fierce Deity's Mask for a game of "Good vs. Bad", although this has no effect on the boss battle.

Separate Entity
Majora (ムジュラ, Mujura) was an evil being plaguing Termina in ancient times. Though the game doesn't give much specific history on the origins of Majora's Mask, it does state that in ancient times, the mask was worshiped by an ancient tribe who used it in rituals involving the casting of hexes and curses, until they finally sealed it away from the world in the hopes that its evil power would never be unleashed again.

Hundreds of years later, it was sought out and found by the Happy Mask Salesman. Soon afterwards, the Skull Kid scared the salesman unconscious and stole the mask from him and began to access its power, awakening the consciousness of the mask.

The Skull Kid, wearing Majora's Mask, still doesn't take on Majora's mind or personality; he is simply possessed by the Mask. At the end of the game, inside the Moon, Majora manifests out of the mask into Majora's Mask, then Majora's Incarnation, an insane being that dances around the boss chamber. After the Incarnation is defeated, Majora's transformation is completed, and the Incarnation becomes Majora's Wrath. Majora is eventually defeated, and the being itself disintegrates. The mask is left behind, cleansed of the evil inhabiting it.

The Twili
It has also been suggested by some that the "ancient and evil" tribe is perhaps referring to the ancestors of the Twili, the Dark Interlopers, a race whose existence was revealed in Twilight Princess. This is due to similarities between an ancient object created by the Twili dubbed the Fused Shadow and Majora's Mask, as they share similar powers and they have a similar design. Also, Zant's fighting style in the eighth dungeon of Twilight Princess is similar to that of Majora's Mask, in fluidity, style, and spontaneity.

Majora's Mask takes place in an alternate universe. However, Majora's Mask could be a parallel version of the Fused Shadow.

The "ancient and evil" tribe, however, could also be the Sheikah, due to their symbol being an eye similar to the eyes of the Majora's Mask. This, however, leaves a gap of information on why they would hex and curse others, as they were devoted to the goddesses. On the other hand, it could explain why the Sheikah were called the "shadows of Hylians," and additionally why the mask is marked in the manner it is. This opinion is, yet again, left to fan speculation.

The Sheikah
Another theory suggests that the Sheikah may be the creators of the Fused Shadow and the ancestors of the Twili, given their affinity with shadow. This means that the Sheikah's Terminan counterparts, who were physically absent from Majora's Mask, very much like many of the Sheikah were absent from Ocarina of Time, were the creators of Majora's Mask; given, of course, that it is the Terminan counterpart to the Hylian Fused Shadow. With this established, their counterparts may very well be the Ikana, with Ikana Canyon being the obvious Terminan counterpart to Kakariko Village, sporting similar geographical features, a graveyard, and other similar landmarks.

Despite these similarities, however, there has been no confirmation of a connection between the two by Nintendo, and any perceived connection is merely fan speculation.

Majora's Mask creation (manga version)
In an extra chapter of the Majora's Mask manga, the story explains that before the time setting of Majora's Mask, there lived an evil creature which fed on the desires of the countless numbers of humans who had come before it to try and claim its armor and be granted their wishes. A traveler, similar in appearance to the Fierce Deity, comes forward to the place where the monster lived. The traveler starts talking with the man-eating creature, where he finds that the monster itself wanted to die, being so miserable. The hero pulled out his bongo and started playing. The monster went into a trance and started dancing. The hero played for three days straight (probably why Majora wants to finish off the world in three days). On the third day, the beast dropped dead from dancing his heart out. The hero took its magical armor, but instead of wishing upon it, he carved it into a mask in an attempt to seal the beast's power inside the mask forever. The mask was named Majora after the beast. The mask had a spirit because Majora's evil power lingered on inside the mask seeking a host, not resting until its wish was granted.

Triva

 * Majora's Mask is one of the smallest bosses in terms of height within The Legend of Zelda series
 * The eyes of both Bellum and Malladus (when possessing Princess Zelda) strongly resemble the eyes of Majora's Mask, possibly implying a similarity between the three entities.