#bionicle lore

Then the story introduces the other elements and gives us nearly NOTHING to work with. One of the goals of this blog is to analyze the cultures of the Matoran to use as a guide for connecting to this world. I translate everyone in my life into the world of Bionicle and the deep culture of the main six elements makes that very easy and fun.

Through headcanon and assumption, fans have chipped away over the years at what the secondary/rare elements are like as a culture. I want to go over some of that and give examples of how I’ve applied that to people in my life to find representatives of those elements.

I must continue to strive. I must push myself to do more.

We really don't know a lot about these guys, which is a shame. They are, after all, long term slaves of The Makuta whom have been subject to uncountable atrocities in the process. We know next to nothing about their language, their culture, their religious beliefs or understanding of their cosmos.

Still, I think we can come to some conclusions about their overarching timeline sequence.

Let's get the easy one out of the way in the first post.

She let her words hang in the air as she waited for Jasui’s response. This must have all been a surprise to him after all of the time they had known one another. After thousands of years apart though, he had changed too. Not as dramatically, but it was noticeable. He was calmer, more patient, more experienced. She imagined getting away from Fahi Nui was as beneficial for him as it had been for her. Their old team had never seemed to find Unity after becoming Toa and their Duty felt like shackles.

“Well if I’m being honest, I can’t say I’m surprised!”

“Really?” She replied. The surprise was hers to be had, apparently.

“Well sure! You used to always tell stories about transformation, even after we all became Toa. This just seems… right for you.” Jasui leaned back in his seat and rested his arms broadly on the craft as he spoke, body language conveying a comfort that helped her trust his words.

“Thank you. It means a lot that you understand. The other Toa I was with were not so kind about it.”

“You mean they rejected you for trying to be yourself?”

She turned her head to face the open sea ahead of her for a moment. She knew in her core that she had done everything right. That she had become who she was meant to be. She looked back to Jasui so she could be heard over the wind and waves. “It was worse than that… I wasn’t the only one on the team to pursue a new identity and the others accused me of copying them instead of finding my own Destiny.” She paused again. Jasui said nothing. “It felt bad. It made me question myself but when I left and started sailing, it was like the sea washed away all of those doubts. It wasn’t me, it was those who I was with that were making me unhappy.” She met Jasui’s eyes as she finished her thought. He stared back intently. The brow of his Kanohi curled slightly towards the center.

“Sure. I get that.” He rose and stood beside her but immediately struggled to steady himself on the vessel. She took one hand from the wheel and caught him around the shoulder. “Thanks.” He laughed. That was nice to see. Long ago he had been so consumed with being perfect. Even small stumbles in situations nobody was expecting him to have experience in would send him into a fit. “So what can I call you now, Sister?” He offered his fist as he spoke.

“Ruita.” She replied with confidence as her fist met his. She had been practicing the name in private and it had only felt more like her own each time. “The Matoran we were protecting, they used the name to describe that Energized Protodermis. The transformative stuff.”

“Ruita.” Jasui practiced the name a few times. “I like it.” The boat rocked again and he elected to sit back down. “Thank you for coming to tell me. For taking the time to find me. I know things were not always great between us but-”

“No.”, holdng up her hand for emphasis, she guided some of the surf to splash Jasui’s mask. “No more apologizing for who we were. We are who we are now. Things are good. Let’s enjoy it.” She looked back to Jasui and smiled. He shook the water from his mask and matched her.

Ko Matoran have a reputation for being hard to get along with. The tribe values peace and quiet to a high degree and their preference for the cold makes them difficult to acclimate to other climates. This is both literal and figurative as Ko Matoran are notorious for staying within their comfort zone. The general trend is that a Ko Matoran will make a friend with a single Matoran from another tribe on their own terms, and then slowly integrate into a larger social circle.

-Ko Matoran treat one another with mutual respect on the surface. Everyone leaves one another to their studies and communicates what is necessary when it is necessary to do so. While we have seen that there can be pettiness and rivalry in canon within the tribe, at the end of the day all Ko Matoran know that they are working towards the same goal each in their own way.

-Ta Matoran embody Duty. Ko Matoran embody Destiny. Culturally, these tribes are straightforward and blunt. A friendship between them would likely stem from working together on a common goal that allows the Ko Matoran to develop emotional trust. Be mindful though, as a disagreement in the method behind the task can strain this relationship.

-Ga Matoran have the easiest time making friends and Ko Matoran are no exception to that rule. High tolerance and empathy is the Ga Matoran’s in to support and befriend the otherwise closed off Ko Matoran.

-Ice and Stone are solid and inflexible, both in literal substance, and often in disposition. The lofty, head in the clouds philosophy of Ko Matoran is typically of little interest to a Po Matoran and the down to earth simplicity of a Po Matoran would likely be of no interest the other way around.

-Diametrically opposed, Ice and Earth are a dynamic that offers a broad perspective. In the event that a bond is formed between members of this tribe, it would greatly expand the perspective of both. Predicting the future is a skill that is bolstered by understanding the past, after all.

-Le Matoran and Ko Matoran are hard pressed to find anything in common. Ice is far too rigid and meticulous. A Le Matoran would appear to be the single biggest hazard to all Ko Matoran hold dear. Noisy, impulsive and overall hyperactive, a relationship between members of this tribe would require quite a bit of compromise from both.

“So that’s where I’ve been all this time.” Jasui’s voice was filled with pride and confidence. Zatama stared back at him, unsure how to feel about the tales he had just spun. He knew Jasui had felt confined in Fahi Nui, that much he had made clear after Kytao had disappeared and tensions rose with their Turaga. Zatama had felt it was his duty to stay in this place their initial journey had landed them and so he did. Jasui left in anger. Tenakha had left to see if he could find Jasui or Kytao and Vouku left shortly after to ‘strike out on his own’, whatever he thought that meant.

“Sound’s like you really went and found yourself.” Was all he could muster in reply. He found brief eye contact with Jasui but found it hard to maintain. It had been four thousand years since they had parted ways. Jasui had changed, clearly. The anger was gone, or at least Zatama wanted to believe that to be true. But what had he done? He had held his post in Fahi Nui with Kokatoro faithfully, leading an uninteresting life and inevitably being overwhelmed by Makuta’s forces and joining a stronger Toa of Fire he had never even heard of to journey beyond what he thought was the end of his universe that he had been tasked with protecting and…

“Hey,” Jasui’s voice cut through the welling anxiety. “I know I left on bad terms. I know we had a Duty and maybe even a Destiny in Fahi Nui. I don’t really think things would have turned out differently if we had all stayed together. Six dysfunctional Toa against… all of that probably wouldn’t have made the difference in the end. But we all survived and now we get to be a part of something new!” He paused, possibly waiting to see if Zatama would re-establish eye contact. Zatama looked up as Jasui offered his fist. “I’d like to do so together, if you would.”

Zatama looked from Jasui’s fist to his eyes and again felt the urge to look away. He didn’t want to. He wasn’t ready. The fist hung there, occupying so much more space in Zatama’s head than it did in physical space. After an amount of time he felt had become awkward, he met it with his own. A lie. A false promise. He was not ready. Jasui’s very presence and demeanor made him radically uncomfortable but the part of Zatama that was stronger than the part that craved comfort wanted to follow what Jasui wanted. To appease him.

“Absolutely, brother.” The words were like ice through his vocal array and the clank of his fist against Jasui’s felt hollow.