Pointy Ears Vs. Round Ears

We learn from the AlttP Manual that the Hylians used their pointy ears to hear messages from the goddesses...

Originally Posted by A Link to the Past Manual

It was also said that their long, pointed ears enabled them to hear special messages from the gods.

The Hylians were the race that were chosen by the goddesses, so they inherited these special ears that “enabled them to hear special messages from the gods.”

I believe that as time went on, the pointy ear traits of the Hylians could have worn off, and people could have begun being born with round ears instead. Let me explain...

In AlttP, we learn that most of the past Hylian culture and magic had been lost. Knowledge of things and places that had been popularly known to the people in OoT, such as the Temple of Time, the Triforce, and the sacred realm were completely lost by the time of AlttP. Thus, knowledge of the powerful deities behind it all would also be lost. As the People slowly began to stray from the goddesses, their “magic infused blood” became diluted, and their ability to communicate with the goddesses was lost as well. What happened, was a complete disconnection from the goddesses.The result... Round ears.

Although most people have lost this trait, there are still few who possess it. Those people mainly being Link and Zelda. Becasue Link and Zelda are “Chosen by the goddesses” , They have been granted this communication regardless of what happened to the rest of the race.

This could also explain why Ganondorf has pointed ears in TP. Because he too was chosen by the goddesses, he developed this trait which labeled him as having close relations to the goddesses.

So pointy ears might not be something that is strictly attributed to Hylians but could just be an indicator of how close one is to the goddesses.


Thoughts?

Most of the people in LttP have pointy ears, despite the fact that the backstory marks this out as a Hylian trait, and the decline of the Hylian bloodline is a major part of the plot. It would seem that pointy ears originated as a sign of closeness to the gods, but as Hylians began to lose their powers (perhaps due to interbreeding with round-eared humans) some still retained the pointy ears.

I personally believe Ganon's pointy ears are supposed to be a demonic trait, like his greenish skin in OoT. Think of it as a side effect of being a dark wizard.

Royalty usually can't just marry anyone.
They would probably keep the Hylian strain pure in the Royal Family.

Just saying that regardless of genetics or closeness to the goddesses, Zelda's ears
probably would not be affected.

Im not saying that the rounded ears were caused by interbreeding, I am saying it was caused due to the disconnection from the goddesses and magic.

Yes, and I'm disagreeing. I think LttP's common presence of pointy ears on people during a time when Hylian magic and piety was low is an indicator that the ears, while initially a sign of closeness to the gods, are still a genetic trait, and therefore don't really mean anything other than that an individual has Hylian ancestry.

Bloodline and physical traits don't become diluted for no reason; unless of course, you breed with other kinds of races. As such, it makes more sense that Hylains had bred with humans. The human trait (apparently a dominate trait) being signified by rounded ears and having no magical abilities. From Ocarina of Time, we can see that pretty much everybody is Hylian. However, over time (Wind Waker, A Link to the Past, etc.), we can see that the Hylian race becomes extremely rare with the human race taking domination instead.

Even long-eared Hylians had already lost the ability to hear the voices of the gods, according to a bystander in Castle Town in OoT. So I think the distinction's a bit more complicated than who has what ears.

For reference for everybody else:

They say we Hylians have big ears in order to hear the voices of the gods...but I've never heard them!

This could be due to a number of reasons. It could be that the gods, during around the era of Ocarina of Time, had already distanced themselves away from the Hylains so as to avoid any sort of divine intervention. Aside from Wind Waker, it's highly suggested that after the creation of Hyrule and the Master Sword, the goddesses had little to no divine intervention in Hyrule. As such, communicative between the Hylains was also a part of divine intervention.

Allow me to play Devil's Advocate. On one hand, it makes sense (to a degree) that over time, magical abilities were diminished from the Hylians. However, it makes no sense that physical traits were suddenly diminished as well without some sort of breeding with other races. Especially when only after every few hundred years or so, a percentage was changed and not the entire race.


Also note A Link to the Past, where it references Hylians as part of a bloodline and a (ancient) race in itself:

Long ago, a prosperous people known as the Hylia inhabited this land...

According to the tales handed down by the Hylia, only the Hero who has destroyed three

You can use it to read the ancient language of the Hylia

This must be an omen of the Great Cataclysm foretold by the people of Hylian blood...

They say the Hylia people controlled mysterious powers, as did the seven wise men. But the blood of the Hylia has become thin over time.

Blood can only become thin if mixed with other blood. If it was a matter of magical proprieties or distancing of goddess/Hylian relationship, they would have merely stated so. But I think it's quite apparent that it's a matter of blood and racial integration between the Hylian race and the human race.

Link to the Past also shows us Hylian-to-Hylian telepathy. If the goddesses ever spoke to them through that, it's not that big a stretch to imagine they thought it was because of they're longer ears.

At least, that's what I always figured.

I'll expand on my theory a bit more

Nayru is the goddesses of Wisdom, who created everything having to do with law; The laws of morality, as well as the laws of the universe and science. Therefore, in theory, one's Wisdom within the Zelda universe, has a direct correlation to their biological bodies.

Their lack of magical knowledge leads to their lack of magical abilities. The blood and genetic makeup of the Hylian race changes, causing them to, over time, lose their pointy ears.

It sounds a little strange, I'll admit, but it makes some sense.

It's plausible, except, it doesn't have support or evidence to back it up.

im thinking about this one...in wind waker i saw a few people who had pointy ears