The Spirit Temple
“Past, present, future . . . To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple, you must travel back through time’s flow . . . Listen to this Requiem of Spirit . . . This melody will lead a child back to the desert.”
— Sheik, Ocarina of Time
“My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came the wind carried the same thing . . . Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose.”
— Ganondorf, The Wind Waker
“I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
— Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1818)
— Sheik, Ocarina of Time
“My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came the wind carried the same thing . . . Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose.”
— Ganondorf, The Wind Waker
“I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
— Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1818)
Picture Credit: http://qlockwork.deviantart.com/
As previously stated, the last two major temples featured in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are manifestations of two different aspects of death. The Shadow Temple, built by the Sheikah, represents fear, suffering, and the more sepulchral attributes of earthly demise. The Spirit Temple, constructed by the ancient predecessors of the Gerudo Tribe, embodies and exemplifies aging, the unalterable and irreversible passage of time, and remembrance. That the song dedicated to spirit should be a requiem is highly appropriate. The word ‘requiem,’ derived from Latin, means rest; it is a lamentation of repose that quietly meditates upon those that have passed. The Spirit Temple is a somber monument, reminding those that venture through it of the impermanence of life and of the Self. Its atmosphere is one of contemplation, rejecting ostentation and upholding a simple grandeur that enables one to witness deterioration and the collapse of human achievement. The desert which surrounds this complex is ever churning, swallowing the creations of man, and, at times, revealing that which was once buried. This is a subtle reminder that some things, while forgotten, are not quite gone, although everything will eventually be destroyed in the onslaught of time. The beautiful parallel drawn by this structure, as with so many temples in our world, is of humankind’s struggle to gain dominance over time — it is that we seek to be remembered, even when we know it to be an impossible, and tragic, task.
People who inhabit deserts perhaps know the simple facts of that written above better than any other human population. The fact that sands and dunes are ever-changing produces a landscape whose parts are virtually indistinguishable from each other; looking across a vast swath of desert, featureless as the ocean, evokes a sense of timelessness.
The Gerudo live in just such a region, and have a civilization and religion that reflect their nearness to such a dry and merciless expanse. The Gerudo Fortress Complex, the tribe's main place of dwelling, lies hugging an enormous cliff in a sheltered part of the desert. Built like a hive, with many tunnels of interconnectivity and openness between rooms and buildings, it is low to the ground and has few windows. These are common features of Native American architecture of the Southwest region of North America, particularly evident in Bandelier National Monument, as well as Montezuma Castle National Monument. These buildings also reflect similarities of dwellings found in The Bandiagara Escarpment in the African country of Mali. The reasons for such details should be readily apparent; few windows and squat buildings enable such houses to deter the intake of too much particulate matter from the desert, and also help to keep out heat and maintain a cooler temperature within the structure. They lack any sense of the ornate, and are meant to be very functional. Too much human energy cannot be afforded to such buildings, and embellishment and grandeur are saved for larger places of greater cultural significance.
People who inhabit deserts perhaps know the simple facts of that written above better than any other human population. The fact that sands and dunes are ever-changing produces a landscape whose parts are virtually indistinguishable from each other; looking across a vast swath of desert, featureless as the ocean, evokes a sense of timelessness.
The Gerudo live in just such a region, and have a civilization and religion that reflect their nearness to such a dry and merciless expanse. The Gerudo Fortress Complex, the tribe's main place of dwelling, lies hugging an enormous cliff in a sheltered part of the desert. Built like a hive, with many tunnels of interconnectivity and openness between rooms and buildings, it is low to the ground and has few windows. These are common features of Native American architecture of the Southwest region of North America, particularly evident in Bandelier National Monument, as well as Montezuma Castle National Monument. These buildings also reflect similarities of dwellings found in The Bandiagara Escarpment in the African country of Mali. The reasons for such details should be readily apparent; few windows and squat buildings enable such houses to deter the intake of too much particulate matter from the desert, and also help to keep out heat and maintain a cooler temperature within the structure. They lack any sense of the ornate, and are meant to be very functional. Too much human energy cannot be afforded to such buildings, and embellishment and grandeur are saved for larger places of greater cultural significance.
The Gerudo Fortress Complex
The interior space is also quite vacant, not reflecting poverty so much as willful simplicity, and is also probably indicative of the scarcity of a great many resources not found in a desert region. The stones of the walls are roughly-hewn and airtight, simply made to provide respite from the heat; the windows are without glass, and the doors are open airways. Chairs, tables, and rudimentary cooking equipment can be found inside this complex, as well as prison cells — which also tells us something about Gerudo culture. The only decorations that are visible are animal skulls posted above doorways, adorned with colorful feathers and other simple things like chains and beads. The crest of the Gerudo, depicting the back of the head of the king cobra, which is also found upon blocks, switches, and the Mirror Shield, is shown many places within the fortress. [1] It is speculative, but it could be that the Gerudo, whose skill as craftswomen gave way to the export of these items, had access to special materials only mined within their territory. Hence, these goods are found in many areas of Hyrule.
Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, USA — Photo taken by the author.
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The Bandiagara Escarpment — Mali — By Ferdinand Reus from Arnhem, the Netherlands (Bandiagara) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]
Preventing entry and escape is a huge wall encircling part of the fortress. A massive barbican with portcullis and guard tower is the only breakage in the wall, and allows access to and from the Haunted Wasteland. After Link is inducted into the tribe, he is granted permission to venture through the wasteland and into the areas beyond. The Haunted Wasteland is an area with nearly non-existent visibility, and is home to several oddities. A sign on the outskirts states: “If you chase a mirage, the desert will swallow you. Only one path is true.” Unsurprisingly, to succeed in crossing, the Lens of Truth is necessary. A trail of worn red flags upon gnarled posts weaves through this land, and was created by the Gerudo to mark a safe path through the wastes. These pennants are also found within the bounds of the fortress complex. The only other feature of this land is a small structure of plain stone, very low to the ground, which is surrounded by these flags and swirling sands; it appears to have been built of the same materials which comprise the previously-discussed fortress complex. Aside from the underground chamber, on the roof lies a stone platform with an inscribed plaque, advising: “One with the Eye of Truth shall be guided to the Spirit Temple by an inviting ghost.” After a serpentine voyage through featureless haze, one finally comes to the Desert Colossus.
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The canyon of the Desert Colossus is, aside from a few enemies, a fairly peaceful place. It is a safe haven from sandstorms, and it holds not only an oasis which doubles as a fairy fountain, but a Great Fairy Fountain dedicated to the Goddess Nayru. It is dotted with palms, surrounded by small cliffs, and is bounded only by a sapphire-blue sky and wispy clouds. At the end of this valley rests the Spirit Temple. A megalithic post-and-lintel construct rests before the colossus herself, an immense statue of the Goddess of the Sand. We know this effigy to have been constructed in a more ancient era by the predecessors of the Gerudo people; as the vast majority of their tribe consists of women, the statue was likely planned and raised by female engineers and stonemasons. [2]
From the existence of the Desert Colossus, we can guess that the Three Golden Goddesses of Hyrule were not the principal object of worship among those of the Gerudo Tribe. These differences in religion have caused some amount of friction between the Hylians and the Gerudo, with nearly all Hylians considering the Desert Colossus as sacrilegious idolatry of an evil deity. [3] Yet, to the Gerudo, their desert has been deified, and takes on the appearance of this Goddess of the Sand, carved into the side of a cliff. Her austere gaze rests on the entirety of this valley, and she remains seated, legs crossed, with erect posture and hands held out in offering. Her midriff is bare, her wrists are graced with bracelets, her upper chest is covered with cloth of a snakelike pattern, and she bears a snake which encircles her body, coming to rest in the form of an elaborate headdress above her. This serpent is perhaps another representation of the goddess, or is perhaps her avatar or servant. Between her breasts is a brilliant ruby-red gemstone, and her face is painted beneath the eyes with red triangles. This image is seated atop the entrance to the temple, and the portal itself is also interesting. The lintel bears resemblance to ancient Egyptian monuments, as do the columns flanking the doorway. Especially within the 3DS remake of this game, the columns carry a motif of several serpents, encircling and devouring one another. The lintel is a sunken relief of a winged circle, which, in Egyptian architecture, was emblematic of the Sun God, Ra, whose symbol was that of the sun disc. This is an image of the Old Kingdom, and is associated with divinity and power. While it retains these connections in the Desert Colossus, its focus is truly upon the Triforce, which is located within the disc itself.
From the existence of the Desert Colossus, we can guess that the Three Golden Goddesses of Hyrule were not the principal object of worship among those of the Gerudo Tribe. These differences in religion have caused some amount of friction between the Hylians and the Gerudo, with nearly all Hylians considering the Desert Colossus as sacrilegious idolatry of an evil deity. [3] Yet, to the Gerudo, their desert has been deified, and takes on the appearance of this Goddess of the Sand, carved into the side of a cliff. Her austere gaze rests on the entirety of this valley, and she remains seated, legs crossed, with erect posture and hands held out in offering. Her midriff is bare, her wrists are graced with bracelets, her upper chest is covered with cloth of a snakelike pattern, and she bears a snake which encircles her body, coming to rest in the form of an elaborate headdress above her. This serpent is perhaps another representation of the goddess, or is perhaps her avatar or servant. Between her breasts is a brilliant ruby-red gemstone, and her face is painted beneath the eyes with red triangles. This image is seated atop the entrance to the temple, and the portal itself is also interesting. The lintel bears resemblance to ancient Egyptian monuments, as do the columns flanking the doorway. Especially within the 3DS remake of this game, the columns carry a motif of several serpents, encircling and devouring one another. The lintel is a sunken relief of a winged circle, which, in Egyptian architecture, was emblematic of the Sun God, Ra, whose symbol was that of the sun disc. This is an image of the Old Kingdom, and is associated with divinity and power. While it retains these connections in the Desert Colossus, its focus is truly upon the Triforce, which is located within the disc itself.
Winged Sun Discs from a Temple to Hathor, in Egypt — Francesco Gasparetti derivative work: JMCC1 (Flickr_-_Gaspa_-_Dendara,_tempio_di_Hator_(71).jpg) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The temple is divided into two roughly-equal halves, available either to child or adult. Passage through time is necessary to achieve access to certain areas of the dungeon. Upon entering, the traveler is met by a stairway flanked by two serpents, and these icons offer necessary information. In this instance, each snake is aligned with a particular half of the temple, one dedicated to youth, and the other to maturity. This binarial temple also creates an allegory of memory. Only a child can reach a portion of the temple, while an older person may not. And while the child’s half of this place of worship certainly still exists, it is inaccessible to those who are no longer children. In order to fully remember or experience this half, a state of childlike purity must be re-attained. To the grown, the only passageway back to this memory is a cramped hole, a mere crawlspace. And, just so, the adult portion is only open to those with the necessary tools and experience that come from aging. This architectural allegory is the counterpoint of youth and adulthood, of innocence and the painful burden of reminiscence.
The atmospheric music is unhurried and heavy. Its feeling and gravity anchor the listener to present location, promoting an experiential contact with both history and architecture. In the dimly-lit passages of this compound, the music becomes a monumental entity unto itself. The beginning sequence of notes commands attention, as with the approach of an immensely important figure. Then, the slower, more weighty, theme begins — one of measured, hand-beaten, drums and soft strings, all resting in the background while an instrument akin to the Indian Dilruba creates a serpentine motif above the rest, in a constant, blurred glissando.
A number of walls throughout this compound are engraved from floor to ceiling with Gerudo script. In others, the script is inscribed upon burgundy plaques. The stone of the temple is likely sandstone, being of a tan appearance, and is hewn into many differently-sized blocks and bricks. Some areas of the dungeon keep the natural walls of the cliff as barriers from the outside, and have floors partially buried in sand. Pilasters here take on the appearance of an insect. The shaft carries a thorn-covered vine design, and the capital is the head of a beetle with large mandibles. The upper level, which is smaller in stature than the lower floors, is the most cave-like in appearance. In the one finished room, which lowers a part of the floor with four huge chains into the main sanctuary, the trim on the walls is of cartoonish human skulls.
A number of walls throughout this compound are engraved from floor to ceiling with Gerudo script. In others, the script is inscribed upon burgundy plaques. The stone of the temple is likely sandstone, being of a tan appearance, and is hewn into many differently-sized blocks and bricks. Some areas of the dungeon keep the natural walls of the cliff as barriers from the outside, and have floors partially buried in sand. Pilasters here take on the appearance of an insect. The shaft carries a thorn-covered vine design, and the capital is the head of a beetle with large mandibles. The upper level, which is smaller in stature than the lower floors, is the most cave-like in appearance. In the one finished room, which lowers a part of the floor with four huge chains into the main sanctuary, the trim on the walls is of cartoonish human skulls.
There are two monolithic statues of the Goddess of the Sand within this region. One resides on the exterior of the complex, and has been ravaged both by time and by the environment. It is weather-beaten and cracked, and, if it ever held color, it is has long since disappeared. The interior icon retains its colors — green, red, gold, wearing the same geometric bracelets, and serpent-patterned coverings. Her outstretched hand bears the Triforce. The room in which this statue rests is the center, the sanctuary, and holds the main shrine. As a sanctuary, it is notable for the number of entrances into the room, the several inaccessible platforms, and the levels and staircases that frame the room. The walls are inscribed in totality with the alphabet of the Gerudo.

By far the most perplexing chambers are those that contain the Iron Knuckles. They are vaulted throne rooms of dark stone, with a path to the throne flanked by solitary pillars of brick. Upon the wall hang suits of armor (solely in the 3DS version, it should be noted), braziers, and large axes, crossed with heraldic symmetry. Although there are dark red carpets with embroidered gold in nearly every room in this complex, here they feature more prominently. They forge a path to the exit, which is protected by the enthroned warrior. The doors in these places are splendidly engineered, with fluid molding surrounding the actual portal, coming to a head around the symbol of the Gerudo tribe, which lies in the center of a shield. These cells are confusing both because of their number and due to the military presence within this holy temple. However, the martial presence here could simply be due to the fact that Ganondorf is using the dungeon as a hideout, and has filled it with his minions. Regardless, there are several such throne rooms in this enclosure, and one cannot tell whether they predate the reign of Ganondorf or if they were creations of his rule.
The use of lighting is highly reserved. Aside from the sparse torches, the only natural light comes through small, barred-off, circular windows. These lesser openings serve to let in streams of pure light. They are beams that break the dimness of the passageways, and they are often meant to be reflected in the mirrors so cardinal to this temple. These mirrors are built into statues of serpents, and help to channel light through the dusk. These smaller icons focus the light onto, lastly, a large mirror which enables the bearer of the Mirror Shield to destroy the mask of the goddess inside the inner sanctum. Light, especially from the sun, is critical to desert-dwelling peoples. Like the Egyptians, the ancient Gerudo gave high importance and respect to the image of the sun. Sun mechanisms, puzzles of the light, the Mirror Shield, and the many other reflective surfaces within this region corroborate the cult of the sun, rising implacably over the dunes.
The poem above, Ozymandias, is the written embodiment of all that the Spirit Temple reveals about human nature with respect to time, history, and how memories are formed, metamorphose into other shapes, and are lost. The fact that even the greatest works of our greatest civilizations will become dust is a sobering one, but the continuing struggle of humanity against the absurdity of our position in the universe is assuredly a vainglorious, yet admirable, attempt at a certain aspect of immortality. And, where we look toward the future, we are simultaneously gazing into the past, into the uncertain and transfixing world of remembrance.
The poem above, Ozymandias, is the written embodiment of all that the Spirit Temple reveals about human nature with respect to time, history, and how memories are formed, metamorphose into other shapes, and are lost. The fact that even the greatest works of our greatest civilizations will become dust is a sobering one, but the continuing struggle of humanity against the absurdity of our position in the universe is assuredly a vainglorious, yet admirable, attempt at a certain aspect of immortality. And, where we look toward the future, we are simultaneously gazing into the past, into the uncertain and transfixing world of remembrance.
Makhtesh Ramon, Negev Desert, Israel — Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons
Addendum:
The outer lintel above the entryway, as well as being more complex in design in the 3DS release, is highly colorful. The circle is dyed red, and the outstretched wings are painted blue. The Triforce is further accentuated at the center of this piece, due to the vibrant surrounding colors. The bases of the flanking columns bear a pattern of interweaving red threads against the tan sandstone. A few lintels within the dungeon, as well as trim near the ceiling, hold a relief sculpture similar to that of the outer portal; it is a four-legged creature with wings, but in the center, instead of the Triforce, there rests a lidded eye. The walls of the boss chamber, heavily-laden with runes, shimmer with opalescent purples, greens, and yellows. Upon the main platform in this room lies a large rug patterned with glyphs and crescent moons; these are all done in the shape of a sunburst, and surround a smaller image of the sun.
The outer lintel above the entryway, as well as being more complex in design in the 3DS release, is highly colorful. The circle is dyed red, and the outstretched wings are painted blue. The Triforce is further accentuated at the center of this piece, due to the vibrant surrounding colors. The bases of the flanking columns bear a pattern of interweaving red threads against the tan sandstone. A few lintels within the dungeon, as well as trim near the ceiling, hold a relief sculpture similar to that of the outer portal; it is a four-legged creature with wings, but in the center, instead of the Triforce, there rests a lidded eye. The walls of the boss chamber, heavily-laden with runes, shimmer with opalescent purples, greens, and yellows. Upon the main platform in this room lies a large rug patterned with glyphs and crescent moons; these are all done in the shape of a sunburst, and surround a smaller image of the sun.
Notes and Works Cited:
[1] “Historical Records: The Different Races.” The Legend of Zelda — Encyclopedia, by Keaton C. White and Tanaka Shinʼichirō, Dark Horse Comics, 2018, p. 45.
[2] "Beyond the Gerudo Fortress lie the ancient ruins of the Haunted Wasteland and this temple [the Spirit Temple] built by ancestors of the Gerudo people."
Ibid., 149.
[3] Ibid., 45.
[1] “Historical Records: The Different Races.” The Legend of Zelda — Encyclopedia, by Keaton C. White and Tanaka Shinʼichirō, Dark Horse Comics, 2018, p. 45.
[2] "Beyond the Gerudo Fortress lie the ancient ruins of the Haunted Wasteland and this temple [the Spirit Temple] built by ancestors of the Gerudo people."
Ibid., 149.
[3] Ibid., 45.