earthsong9405:

Hmmm….

It isn’t uncommon for more than one culture in Hyrule to follow and/or worship the same divine entity (for example, the Golden Goddesses) but there are some divine that are particularly specific to that culture/race.

Hylians- Hylia/Zelda; despite Hylia originally being one of the Golden Goddesses (therefore, worshiped by almost all races of Hyrule), she’s often treated as the Hylian’s patron goddess. Given Zelda herself is Hylia in a mortal form, I’d imagine she receives a good deal of this worship from her people. That does bring up the question though: how is Zelda treated by her people due to her status? Is she treated as a god, or as a princess? Both? Are people treating her respect because they believe her to be a higher being, be it divine or status wise, (thus treated with respect out of a mandatory feeling and not because she’s earned it) or do her people love her because of who she is, not what she is? It’s a complicated feeling, one Zelda might struggle with.

Twili- The Twili are unique in that they didn’t necessarily have any patron deities to worship, with the closest being the Mother of Wolves (a giant, ancient Twili wolf said to be the first of its kind, but this creature isn’t divine) though while they revered the creature, they didn’t necessarily worship it. However, that changed once the Twili kinda accidentally appointed Midna as their patron deity, which originally came about due to her apparent immortality, immunity to light, and her association with Hylia thanks to the events in Twilight Princess. It isn’t a role Midna fully appreciates having, feeling uncomfortable to being worshiped, but it’s a role she remains in regardless.

Gorons- The Gorons generally follow the same religion as the Hylians, however they do have a patron deity of their own… sort of. They call it the Heart of Death Mountain, an artifact given to them a time ago by the Golden Goddesses themselves as a gift. The object isn’t alive, but it is an artifact of divine make, and the Gorons have come to believe it to be the literal heart of the largest and most active volcano in Hyrule. They believe that, because they protect it and keep it well, Death Mountain remains “dormant” despite it oozing and producing lava. Whether or not this is true is honestly up to debate: there’s evidence supporting both claims for and against the theory, but no one truly knows. The Gorons believe though, and no one can truly fault them that.

Gerudo- The Gerudo acknowledge the existence of the Golden Goddesses but they don’t actually worship them. In the past they believed the Goddesses had abandoned them, allowing one of their own to taken by the Demon King so that he may continue to wreck havoc on the world for as long as it exists, and while that particular belief has changed some over the years the core belief remains the same: they are gone, and there is no reason to worship an absent god. Ironically, their own patron deity is the Goddess of the Sands, of which isn’t necessarily… well. Physically present. No one has truly seen her but they believe anyway, particularly because they found an ancient temple under the burning sands of their desert that seems to be dedicated to this goddess. Unbeknownst to them though, the Goddess of the Sand does exist, and the temple they found was an ancient temple dedicated to Din (one of the Golden Goddesses). So… double ironic. Din herself actually lives among the Gerudo, unbeknownst to them.

Zora- Originally, the Zora had a patron deity in the likes of Jabu Jabu, an ancient fish that was the last of his kind. He spoke in old tongues and was said to be tended to a time ago by Ruto, the legendary Sage of Water, but has since passed on peacefully due to old age. He wasn’t divine, but he was revered as if a god, and he in turn protected the Zora to the best of his ability. Before his death, I’d imagine that he thanked the Zora for some of the best years of his life, them having given him company when he felt utterly alone. His last words were to look to the sky should they feel any doubt, for through the clouds of doubt comes the clarity of certainty. What he meant was to keep pushing forward no matter the qualms, but the Zora sorta… took that literally?

This eventually took into effect as the Zora once faced a terrible drought that threatened to wipe them all out. The other races of Hyrule fought to aid them in their time of need, but there was only so much they could do against it. So, due to a promise Ruto (otherwise known as Faron, Guardian Dragon of Water) kept to Jabu Jabu to keep watch over the Zora, she went to the skies and brought rain down to the drying lands. But this eventually triggered the Zora into worshiping her instead, claiming that Jabu Jabu’s prophesy has come true and that a new deity would rise to protect them once again. Ever since, Faron has been their patron deity, with Ruto acting as the head priestess to tend to her temple. Unbeknownst to them though, is their patron deity and their beloved head priestess being one and the same.

Rito- The Rito, of course, have already been talked about! I know you based your question from the post in question but for anyone else who’s curious, just check out the info about Va’loo HERE

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Aaaand there we go! Hope this answers your question! <: