Highlights
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom explores the diverse inhabitants of Hyrule, including the Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo tribe, Zora, Gorons, and more.
- The Barbarian Set in Tears of the Kingdom suggests the existence of a long-forgotten Hyrulean tribe, possibly not the Zonai as initially assumed.
- The origin of the Barbarian Armor remains a mystery, with theories suggesting it could be from the Ancient Ones, Sheikah, or a long-lost tribe of Humans or Hylians.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's land of Hyrule is a diverse place. Its inhabitants include the human-like Hylians and Sheikah, the almost exclusively female Gerudo tribe, the aquatic Zora, the Goron rock people, and more. That's not even counting the various spirit creatures and races that only appear in other games. Tears of the Kingdom also prominently features an ancient civilization known as the Zonai, who inhabited Hyrule before the beginning of recorded history.
However, there is one tribe whose name seems to have been lost to history. While exploring Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, players may stumble across the Barbarian Armor Set. At first glance, one might assume the Armor belonged to an ancient Zonai warrior. However, there is a big problem with that interpretation, and the Armor may point to the existence of a long-forgotten Hyrulean tribe.
Tears of the Kingdom's Forgotten Tribe
The Barbarian Set consists of the Armor, Helm and Leg Wraps. Breath of Wild players will find pieces in Shrines, while Tears of the Kingdom players will find the Barbarian Set scattered in secret caves across Hyrule. The Helmet seems to have been made from the skull of a Lynel or some similar creature. The rest of the outfit consists of fur, leather, and bone, with leather straps and bits of rope holding everything together. The Armor also includes magical body paint that bolsters the wearer's combat strength.
According to the item descriptions on the Helm, Armor, and Leg Wraps, the Barbarian Set was crafted by a warlike tribe who inhabited the Faron region of southeastern Hyrule. Given the prominent Zonai ruins in Faron, they seem like the obvious contender. A line in the Breath of the Wild Sourcebook also suggests the Armor might be of Zonai origin, though the Sourcebook only presents that as an in-universe rumor, and "barbarian" is an odd way to describe the technologically advanced Zonai. Additionally, nothing fans know about the Zonai suggests they were particularly warlike. Even Zonai clothing doesn't look that much like the Barbarian Set.
One possible explanation is that the barbarian armor dates to a very early time in the Zonai's history, long before they developed advanced technology. However, there are still holes in this theory. The Zonai was supposed to be divine beings descended from gods, with even Zelda antagonist Ganondorf commenting on how they would have appeared godlike to early Hylians. Again, this doesn't make them sound very barbaric.
There are, of course, other theories about who the ancient Barbarian Tribe might have been. Some fans theorize that the Barbarian Armor was created by a civilization called the Ancient Ones. This lost civilization created the titular Mask from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and was known to be fairly warlike in nature. The shamanistic-looking Mask wouldn't look too out of place in a technologically primitive society like whoever created the Barbarian Armor.
Others think the Armor might be Sheikah in origin. After all, players get the Barbarian Armor pieces from Sheikah monks in Breath of the Wild. As with the Zonai, the ancient Sheikah were a bit too advanced to be called barbarians, but the Armor could date back to a much earlier time in Sheikah history. However, the Sheikah's importance in Breath of the Wild makes it odd that the item descriptions would be so coy about the Armor's origins.
Another theory is that the Armor belonged to a long-forgotten tribe of Humans or Hylians. Humans are absent from Tears of the Kingdom but have appeared in other Zelda games. If the humans in this incarnation of Hyrule were particularly warlike, they might have been killed or driven out, explaining their absence. Both races have a similar height and build, so either possibility would explain why the Armor fits a Hylian like Link. Unfortunately, however, there isn't enough information to give a concrete answer.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on Nintendo Switch.
