Kingdom Of Ikana

One of the most interesting enigmas of the Zelda world to me is Ikana Kingdom, from Majora's Mask. What is left of the former kingdom is in the form of old ruins and troubled ghosts. However we are left with very little information on the nature of its glory days and then eventual demise. I'm interested in what others have found on the subject. Please share any articles, theories and speculations.

History of Ikana
The Theory
As you play through Zelda games, questions about hidden races and hidden kingdoms show up in the archives of Zelda. I am here to clarify the History of Ikana, which is so far only in one game, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

As far as we know, Igos Du Ikana, the obvious founder of the castle and kingdom, once ruled the Kingdom of Ikana. More information that I found out was that it is possible that the Garo Ninjas used the Majora's Mask to help the war against Ikana. For some reason Ikana and the Garo Ninjas were once in war with each other. Currently, in the time of Majora's Mask the Garo Ninjas and the Ikana knights are all dead.

The following is a description of Majora's Mask "It is an accursed item from legend that is said to have been used by an ancient tribe in its hexing rituals. It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears that mask.

According to legend... the troubles caused by Majora's Mask were so great... the ancient ones, fearing such catastrophe, sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing its misuse.

But now, that tribe from the legend has vanished, so no one really knows the true nature of the mask's power..."

More Ikana research brings us to Flat and Sharp, the two composer brothers of Ikana. The following quotes are by them.

Flat: Are you the one who freed my soul? I served the Ikana Royal family. I am the composer called Flat. The songs connected to the Royal Family that remain here were all composed by my brother and I. Oh...Sharp, my dear brother. He sold his soul to the devil and was the one who locked me in here... You who do not fear the dead, learn well the song that is inscribed behind me... And if you ever meet my brother, I'd like you to inform him... The thousand years of raindrops summoned by my song are my tears. The thunder that strikes the earth is my anger! ...I have made my request.

Flat's Monument: The thousand years of raindrops summoned by my song are my tears. The thunder that strikes the earth is my anger! Here is written the song that shall cleanse his cursed, black soul.

Sharp: What business have you in Ikana Kingdom, land where only the dead roam? This is no place for one as full of life as you. Or do you say that you wish to join the dead? That is fine... If that is the case, then sleep gently to the melody of darkness that the great composer, Sharp, shall play... and join the ranks of the dead. I understand your desire... You don't give up. I see you really do wish to join the ranks of the dead. Hmm? Somehow, my heart is eased. This melody has serenity to it... And yet... To one of the dead and darkness, like myself, a song like that no longer holds meaning for me. You shall end your futile resistance and quickly join the ranks of the dead. W-What is this? ...This song? ...N-No, it can't be. This song... Flat, my dear brother. Forgive your foolish brother who dreamt of the revival of the Royal Family... ...Ye who do not fear the dead... With my brother's song, you have broken the curse that was placed upon me. It is all thanks to you. We dead should not be lingering here in this land. It was all a trick of the masked one who had upset things. If you truly do not fear the dead... I wish for you to go to the temple in this land and sever the root of the evil curse that torments us. To do that... I, the only one who knows the way into the temple, shall direct you to the King. The King is in the ruins of Ikana Castle, awaiting the coming of the one who will break the curse. ...I have made my final request.

This quote is from the Poe Collector.
Poe Collector: Eee-hee-hee... Ikana Kingdom was founded on this land, stained with a history of darkness, drenched in blood... Even now it is a place where troubled, regretful spirits gather. If you are seeking the one who is stronger than you are, you may find strength here... from a group of spirits plagued by lingering regrets. If you have faith in your skills and might... then try saving these wandering spirits. Yee-hee-hee... It is impossible in your current state, but once you have eased your weariness and have gained faith in your skills... You must try saving these wandering spirits. Yee-hee-hee... You cannot heal all souls with that song.
That is the mask of the leader of the ninjas who once spied on the hilltop castle with the blood-stained history. With that, you may be able to call out their spirits that even now are still wandering. Perhaps you may be able to save the souls that wander beyond here... Yee-hee-hee.
Yee-hee-hee. You are wearing an interesting mask. That is the mask of the captain of the soldiers who once served to protect the castle on the hilltop. Now it is the gathering place for the spirits of those with lingering regrets. Until now they wander, seeking one who can save them.
Yee-hee-hee. What are you doing in a place like this? Ikana Hill beyond here is the place where spirits with troubles and lingering regrets wander. Even now, the spirits wander in search of one who can save them. It is unfortunate, but it is no place for one such as you... But if you must enter, then you must obtain the mask containing wandering spirits that can be found near the ranch. Without that mask, you cannot save their souls... Until then, I will not let you pass by here. Yee-hee-hee!
Yee-hee-hee. It seems, somehow, you have managed to send the Ikana's wandering spirits into peace... But outside of Ikana... There are still swarms of wandering spirits with lingering regrets... The ones in this room want to meet you again and have been waiting here for quite a while. Go see them if you feel like it... I'm sure they'll welcome you. Yee-hee-hee!

Igos Du Ikana: Oh, insolent one who has brought the unthinkable into a land as dark as Ikana... My servants have fallen namelessly before the light that guides you. However... You shall see with your own eyes...

Servant Ikanians:
1.You're blocking me! Get out of the way! I can still get him!
2.B-blocking you?! The reason he beat us is because you were so feeble! Don't blame this on me!
1.What?! Just try saying that again to my bony face!
2.Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble! Feeble!
1.Shut up, already! Grrrr!!! Don't look at me--I was once called the best swordsman in all of Ikana...
2.The greatest swordsman in all of Ikana? You? Feeeeeeeeble.
1. ...Draw your weapon!
2. Huh?
1. I'm telling you to draw your sword!
Igos Du Ikana : ...... How? Rrrrrr-Ah!!! Will you stop?!!? What fools! Haven't you begun to understand? The kingdom being ruined and us left in this state... Isn't it petty, little battles like this that have caused it? Believing in your friends and embracing that belief by forgiving failure... These feelings have vanished from our hearts. It all happened after somebody thrust open the doors of that Stone Tower. You who bring light into darkness, I am the King of Ikana Kingdom, Igos du Ikana. The spellbinding that had been cast upon us was broken by that light which you carry. To return true light to this land, you must seal the doors of Stone Tower where the winds of darkness blow through. But Stone Tower is an impenetrable stronghold. Hundreds of soldiers from my kingdom would not even be able to topple it. It is far too reckless for one to take on such a challenge. ...And so... I grant to you a soldier who has no heart. One who will not falter in the darkness. This soldier who has no heart is your twin image. A shell of yourself that you will shed when your song commands it. On my kingdom...shine the light of justice... The darkness in which my servants live is, after all, fleeting. Just what kind of thing true darkness really is.

Captain Keeta: I commanded the Ikana Army of Ikana Kingdom atop the hill. I am called Skull Keeta. Since being shamed by loss in a battle within my kingdom... I have waited here for one to come and awaken my soul. Young swordsman who has awakened and deftly defeated me... I shall rely on your power to fulfill my request. I ask you to take my soul, which rests in the fiercely burning flame... And convey my words to my men, who, even in death, remain loyal to me. Tell them the war has ended... Then I shall be able to drift quietly into sleep...

Pamela's Father when you ask him about the Gibdo picture: Are you curious about that picture? That is a mummified man. Its scientific name is Gibdo. A tale in Ikana tells of a treasure that rests at the bottom of the well on the hilltop. It seems the spirits of those who became Gibdos upon entering the well in search of that treasure still linger inside It's been said going down there is a petrifying experience. So even the mummy hunter may become mummified! I even tried to go into that well once myself... Strangely enough, though, I don't remember anything that happened there. Well, you never know what might happen, so it's simply best not to approach it.

Pamela's Father when you ask him about the Garo picture: Are you curious about that picture? That is the ghost of a ninja. Its scientific name is Garo Robe. They are merely shells that are empty on the inside. They're the shells of spies from an enemy nation sent to investigate Ikana. They have been unable to forget their living days. Even now their spirits--emptiness cloaked in darkness--continue to spy. According to rumor, those Garos frequently appear near the ranch on the far side of town. Although they are said to be shells, Garos are still ninja and they will not show themselves in front of people. Yet there are many sightings near the ranch... That's strange.

Ikana was fighting the Garo, apparently the Garo beat them and Ikana fell, but from within as well because of the fights amongst the Ikanese themselves, because they would place personal quarrels above duty to their country.

The Garo who were killed in Ikana remain as shells, once their body faded away only their robes were left, these robes wander endlessly to serve their purpose, that of the way of the Garo Ninja.

This is just information that I have been provided with. So with this I assume that at one point Ikana was at war with the Garo. During this war, both fleets ended up dying and were left with a curse placed my Majora. Now both the composers are also dead and the Poe Collector just collects lost souls of the Ikana. More information about this is that the graveyard that Dampe is at is also the same place they buried dead soldiers. My guess is that Igos Du Ikana wanted to get into the Stone Tower Temple for something and the Garo didn't let him. Igos Du Ikana said himself that him and his soldiers couldn't get in. King Igos Du Ikana's general was also defeated somehow. His general is Captain Keeta. I don't know why he is so big, but I am willing to bet it had something to do with the Giant's Mask. Also I am thinking that Termina isn't a alternate reality in the first place.

Something I found whilst googling.

I do love Ikana.
I belive Ikana was bigger in life then what was shown in game spanning the canyons around it. The town itself seemed to of been cobbled at one point as well as the lower walls as both as stone remains inside them, And obviously there was a river going threw the middle of town, So we can get a vague idea of what it looked like at least.

Oddly enough Ikanas archecture and symbols can be found all over Termina, such as under the clock tower.

Yes, perhaps there are more ruins and such we haven't seen yet. Considering all the talk about what a strong nation it was, where are the ruins of any towns, markets and temples (other than Stone Tower)? What was the bloody war about? There's so little info, that so many speculations can be made.

Perhaps the war was territorial, in an attempt to gain control over Stone Tower, and by extension weaponry inside (giant mask, light arrows).

I really hope to see Ikana in future games.

Ikana kingdom was abandoned , due to some odd reasons.
The Ikans moved to clocktown and established democracy.
After setting up the town , they obtained a mayor.

It explains why the art in Ikana canyon also appears in clocktown.

My theory is also supported by the fact that Termina is parallel to Hyrule and copies many of it's properties , such as the destruction of the kingdom and the migration to a town.

I'm not sure the Ikana people are the same as the current Terminians of Clock Town. Look at the Ikanians...Stalfos skeletons! Hylians and Stalfos certainly do not share the same bone structure, so I don't think the theory that the Ikanians settled Clock Town and elected a mayor could fly so well.

On the other hand, perhaps Clock Town was originally an Ikanian settlement, and the Terminians moved in once the Ikanians all died out years earlier.

I think all Terminians were once from Hyrule. They found the portal to the parallel dimension and just never went back.

The stalfos in tp look hylian.

The stalfos used in n64 were probably created to have the "Boney" Look ,in mind.

Sorry, I forgot that the Stalfos Knights usually look very human-like because of their skulls, but you can't disagree that throughout the series the Stal-people have had very certain bone structures about their faces.

Also, Stallord in TP does not look like a Hylian.

There are some articles on ZeldaInformer:
The Great War of Ikana
The Message of Majora's Mask

Originally Posted by Cukeman

There are some articles on ZeldaInformer:
The Great War of Ikana
The Message of Majora's Mask

I just finished reading both of those. Very interesting read. Really gets the mind thinking.

http://www.zeldainformer.com/2009/08...r-of-ikana.php
http://www.zeldainformer.com/2008/05...joras-mask.php

Originally Posted by Sparty

I'm not sure the Ikana people are the same as the current Terminians of Clock Town. Look at the Ikanians...Stalfos skeletons! Hylians and Stalfos certainly do not share the same bone structure, so I don't think the theory that the Ikanians settled Clock Town and elected a mayor could fly so well.

On the other hand, perhaps Clock Town was originally an Ikanian settlement, and the Terminians moved in once the Ikanians all died out years earlier.

I think all Terminians were once from Hyrule. They found the portal to the parallel dimension and just never went back.

No, it's a PARALLEL world. For example: Malon and her little parallel twin. They aren't both from Hyrule, one is from one place, one is from another.

Btw, Ikana was the absolute best part of Majora's Mask. I think it deals with a lot of what a typical Zelda theme is. Being a ghost for the rest of time due to a sort of regret.

Originally Posted by Watties

No, it's a PARALLEL world. For example: Malon and her little parallel twin. They aren't both from Hyrule, one is from one place, one is from another.

Btw, Ikana was the absolute best part of Majora's Mask. I think it deals with a lot of what a typical Zelda theme is. Being a ghost for the rest of time due to a sort of regret.

Too true, this is indeed a Parallel World. So Hylians probably didn't come from Hyrule to inhabit Termina...that's what you're saying, right?

So somewhere down the line, the Kingdom of Hyrule had a huge temporal disturbance that caused it to split in two, making Hyrule Castle's land and Clock Town's land. Along the way, they developed different names for each other: one was Hyrule, one was Termina, and both had Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, Deku Shrubs, and the ancient civilization known as the Stalfos/Ikanians.

So we can probably say the Stalfos are perhaps an ancient race of Hyrule, whereas their counterparts are the Terminian Ikanians. Would this be a safe assumption?

Also, clearly, the undead Stalfos are able to add to their ranks, making those who are lost in the Lost Woods turn into them...as per the Blond Kokiri Girl in the Lost Woods in OoT, of course

Originally Posted by Sparty

Too true, this is indeed a Parallel World. So Hylians probably didn't come from Hyrule to inhabit Termina...that's what you're saying, right?

So somewhere down the line, the Kingdom of Hyrule had a huge temporal disturbance that caused it to split in two, making Hyrule Castle's land and Clock Town's land. Along the way, they developed different names for each other: one was Hyrule, one was Termina, and both had Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, Deku Shrubs, and the ancient civilization known as the Stalfos/Ikanians.

So we can probably say the Stalfos are perhaps an ancient race of Hyrule, whereas their counterparts are the Terminian Ikanians. Would this be a safe assumption?

Also, clearly, the undead Stalfos are able to add to their ranks, making those who are lost in the Lost Woods turn into them...as per the Blond Kokiri Girl in the Lost Woods in OoT, of course

It is exactly what I was saying. TY Sparty. But, instead of Hyrule just splitting, I'm just going to go with NoA right now and say the gods ****ed up and made 2 worlds.

I've read a lot of theories on here saying that Ikana Canyon is just behind the Gerudo Desert or something like that. Can someone explain to me why that would be when it's basically confirmed to be a parallel world?

It is a parallel world.
Some people like to think that there is one big map that has all the different places on it. I have no idea why they think this because it is a parallel world, but this is theory and thus people are entitled to their own weird opinions.

Originally Posted by Navi the Fairy

It is a parallel world.
Some people like to think that there is one big map that has all the different places on it. I have no idea why they think this because it is a parallel world, but this is theory and thus people are entitled to their own weird opinions.

Sadly, too many people believe that Termina borders Hyrule. I once met a fellow Zelda fanfiction author who actually had a very good story going about Termina. Unfortunately, as I read on, he added in a little tidbit that Hyrule was just beyond Termina's border. Since the story didn't actually feature Hyrule, I wrote to him and told him that this was an easy fix, that he could just leave mention of Hyrule out of his story in such a manner since they are parallel worlds instead of bordering nations.

Ugh...he got mad at me for even suggesting it. Supposedly his story wasn't finished and he was going to implement Hyrule later on in his story in some kind of battle royale between the nations. I told him this wasn't possible because they were parallel worlds and couldn't invade each others' borders. By then, he didn't want to hear any more because my reasoning was ruining his story plans.

Some people just don't get it, and are too stubborn to want to understand it. At least here we can theorize without getting too angry at each other.

Originally Posted by Sparty

Sadly, too many people believe that Termina borders Hyrule. I once met a fellow Zelda fanfiction author who actually had a very good story going about Termina. Unfortunately, as I read on, he added in a little tidbit that Hyrule was just beyond Termina's border. Since the story didn't actually feature Hyrule, I wrote to him and told him that this was an easy fix, that he could just leave mention of Hyrule out of his story in such a manner since they are parallel worlds instead of bordering nations.

Ugh...he got mad at me for even suggesting it. Supposedly his story wasn't finished and he was going to implement Hyrule later on in his story in some kind of battle royale between the nations. I told him this wasn't possible because they were parallel worlds and couldn't invade each others' borders. By then, he didn't want to hear any more because my reasoning was ruining his story plans.

Some people just don't get it, and are too stubborn to want to understand it. At least here we can theorize without getting too angry at each other.

Wait what? I thought you hated my guts out.

Back to the point, here's what happens with termina:

Lost Woods (Hyrule) -------------AND THEN...








Oh no, we fell. Oh wait, now we're going upside down. So, here's the layout

Hyrule






ANIMRET (pretend this is upside down).

That isn't bordering, that's straight out another world, dimention.

If they were bordering, it would be

Hyrule Termina

I wrote a theory on Ikanas history, an a sepreate thread, titled A Theory on Ikana.

Now Termina is not a parallel to Hyrule, Termina i believe is a world of its own, just because the people look familiar dont mean there related to hyrule in anyway.

Apart from its offically parallel, Its even the first thing said on the manuals page 6. Im not sure why so many people seem to be unable to grasp the simple fact.

Originally Posted by Celvantis

Apart from its offically parallel, Its even the first thing said on the manuals page 6. Im not sure why so many people seem to be unable to grasp the simple fact.

Correct. Also, if Termina is not a parallel world, then the moon falling should also be a concern for Hyrule and yet we don't see their involvements. Termina is a parallel world.