Ancient Gerudo Tribe

The Ancient Gerudo Tribe was the Gerudo sovereignty from before the first Calamity over 10,000 years ago. While it existed long before, Ganondorf Dragmire was its most famous king, back when the Tribe used to be known as the "Tribe of Thieves".

Before the Great Flood nearly wiped them out, the Ancient Gerudo Tribe was isolationist and kept confined to the Gerudo Desert. Their history was punctuated by many droughts and famines, and they dealt with their lot with thievery and seduction. As with their modern counterparts, the Ancient Gerudo Tribe was made up entirely of women, the lone exception being whatever king was born to them every 100 to several thousand years. When in between kings, the Gerudo received guidance from their chieftain, as well as a council of gifted women who were known as "seers".

Structure

Just as in modern times, the Ancient Tribe recognized a chieftain, as well as a king whenever a male Gerudo was born into the tribe. Every so often in the Tribe's history, a Gerudo was able to make the claim that while she as born female, she was actually male, which allowed her to take the throne. However, political infighting almost always assured that this type of king never reigned for long.
Unlike the modern Gerudo, the Tribe also recognized a political and spiritual body that was known as the "Council of Seers". The Seers were Gerudo women who claimed to be clairvoyant and received visions and guidance directly from the Divine. Anyone could become a Seer if they had the charisma and ability to lie. As long as one took the knowledge of their lack of true spiritual power to the grave, they would be considered a true Seer, even if it came out that they were a fraud, for it was said that a Seer is the truest of Gerudo, able to steal knowledge from the Divine Themselves.
Seers were important members of the community and were trusted and consulted by kings and chieftains throughout the ages on every topic imaginable, from what food shortages to what to name children. The Council of Seers could seat as little as five members to as many as 15, but not all seers were consulted for every issue; each had a specialty that they were known for, and unanimous decisions were only sought in the most important of matters. An individual Seer was allowed to be wrong up to five times in their lifelong career. If they failed a sixth time, they were promptly executed, and their family line was cursed.

History

While the history of the Ancient Tribe is conflicting, even among the Gerudo themselves, its most famous myth explains that the Ancient Gerudo are direct descendants of the Goddess Din, just as how the Hylians are descended from the Goddess Hylia. In ancient times before history was written down, Din, Goddess of Power fell in lust with a mortal man and forced him to lay with Her, which resulted in a child that the legend labels "Gerudiin", the ancient Gerudo word for "agony". Gerudiin went on to establish the "Tribe of Gerudiin", now known as "Gerudo" which is apparently a Hylian corruption of the original tribe name.

Resilient, beautiful, never outdone; like a desert flower, brilliant in the sun.

Type

Geopolitical, Tribe

Alternative Names

Tribe of Thieves

Demonym

Gerudo

Leader

Ganondorf Dragmire

Government System

Tribalism

Economic System

Traditional

Related Ethnicities

• Hylian-born Gerudo