Imagine a religion that, instead of forecasting a radiant future, predicts the inevitable rebirth and triumph of evil: a religion that assumes the gods repeatedly allow their people to suffer in an eternal cycle of destruction.
Welcome to the religion of Hyrule, the world of the Legend of Zelda.
In this seemingly idyllic land, the population holds to an ideology of enduring pessimism due to the cyclical resurrection of demonic forces that terrorize the people with each passing generation.
Why do I argue this? Well, let's back up a bit.
In a previous video, I shared a thought experiment. Imagine you're an anthropologist and you've been transported into the Legend of Zelda universe with the task to study Hylian religious behavior. The Zelda video games are your sources. What would you find?
I argued that Hylianism -- the religion practiced by the people of Hyrule -- revolves around obtaining and protecting ritual power. Specifically, almost every aspect of Hylian religion revolves around protecting objects of power. For example, consider their pantheon of Gods.
Although the Hylian pantheon includes a Trio of Creator Gods and a Patron Goddess Named Hylia, the creator gods are almost completely absent from Hylian ritual practice. Nobody seems to worship them. Or, at least their worship plays a minor role in day to day life. Now, the patron goddess Hylia is more important in that she blesses and protects the Hylians throughout their history, and she seems to be venerated and temples and at small-scale shrines, but it's the Triforce and Not the Gods that take center stage in Hylian religion, An Object of Near Ultimate Power Made By The Creator Gods. But the existence of the Triforce introduces an existential risk. Physical contact with this relic can impart power to any individual, evil or otherwise, and thus losing control of this object can plunge the world into chaos if it falls into the wrong hands.
And what can the gods do? Well, nothing.
The destiny of the universe is Outside the Control of the Gods, so with the gods ceding their power to this object, Hylians strategically leverage their religion to mitigate the risk the Triforce poses. Hylianism is thus a form of damage control, both on an individual and cosmic scale, all in an effort to protect the Triforce. But protection from whom?
Demons. Lots and Lots of Demons.
Well, monsters too, but demons are the big bads in the Legend of Zelda. There's the body-snatching Malladus, the demon sorcerer Vaati. There's Girahim and Zant and of course the most famous of them all -- The Demon Train. No, I mean Ganondorf. It's Ganondorf.
He's The Most Famous One.
With so many demons, a robust understanding of Hylian religion requires that we develop a robust understanding of Hylian demonology.
Demonology is the systematic study of malevolent supernatural beings. This includes studying the belief around these entities, their characteristics and the roles they play in various religions, mythologies and cultures. Demonology encompasses a huge range of topics -- everything from the origin of demons, to their classification, powers, weaknesses, and ritualized forms of exorcisms or protection against them. Now I'm using the term "demon" here somewhat loosely --
as a cross-cultural category to describe any type of malevolent spirit or supernatural entity.
But anybody who studies comparative religion should know comparison is tricky business. Malevolent supernatural beings do appear in every culture. You have the oni in Japanese mythology, the rakshasas in Hindu mythology. In Ancient Akaddian texts, there are several beings that could be translated as demons, including rabisu, gallu, utukku. All referring to different types of oftentimes malevolent beings. But the entities that may be labeled as "demons" in one cultural context might not necessarily align with the characteristics of demons in another context. There's always going to be some conceptual slippage between religions.
So we need to be cautious when employing a term like "demon" across cultures, especially if that concept is deeply rooted in a specific religion.
For example, in a Christian majority country like the United States, Christian conceptions of demons might loom so large in our public consciousness that Christian demonology might sway our analysis of a different culture. So while the term may be a convenient shorthand to discus any sort of malevolent supernatural being, it can also oversimplify and thus run the risk of misunderstanding the specificity of indigenous concepts. The Japanese oni or rakshasas in Hinduism are not perfect analogues to a demon in Christianity.
In fact, the Greek word itself, daimon where we get the English word "demon" is not necessarily analogous either. It originally referred to different kinds of ambiguous divine entities, everything from the souls of the dead to even the Gods. But ancient Jewish and Christian literature later developed a strongly polarized demonology in which demons became categorically evil creatures. The demonology of Hyrule shares this strong polarization we see in Christianity. Almost without exception, demons are evil beings. But Hylian demonology is a remarkably sophisticated system that echoes demonologies from many different religions. So what is a demon in Hyrule?
The demons of Hyrule have been described as a race or a tribe that emerged from under the earth in the distant past. This would make them analogous to the other tribes of sentient beings occupying Hyrule, like the aquatic Zoras, the rock-dwelling Gorons and the sylvan Koroks, but I'd argue that demons share very little with these other beings, who typically have their own unique cultures and societies, not to mention shared physical features. Instead, demons seem to be a fundamentally different class of being. There's little to indicate that they share some sort of culture or society of physicality.
Comparing all of the demons in the Zelda universe, they really only share their evilness and some shared supernatural abilities.
What's interesting though, is that "being a demon" doesn't seem to be an unchangeable characteristic. Individuals from other tribes have transformed into demons. Vaati once belonged to the small magical people called Picori before his stint as a sorcerer and One-Eyed Demonic Creature. In The Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf was once a human and leader of a tribe of warrior-thieves called the Gerudo. Conversely, the demon Batreaux transforms into a human with the help of Link, who gives him crystals earned by doing good deeds for others.
So you can become a demon if consumed by enough evil, and reverse that condition with enough good deeds, which might undermine the argument that demons are some sort of species or race, and more like the end-state of any being when corrupted by enough evil.
But, as I dove headfirst into this rigorous scholarly pursuit of studying the religious ideology of a video game franchise, I started to formulate a Grand Theory of Hylian Demonology.
You see, some scholars classify demons as a type of "small god". The term small gods refers to a diverse range of supernatural entities that don't fit neatly into many religious traditions. They're ambiguous entities that occupy a middle-ground between the divine and the mundane.
In other words, small gods are beings that are very powerful -- they're greater than human, but they're also closer to humans, both in terms of proximity and power level. This can include beings such as fairies, nature spirits, ghosts and demons. Because they inhabit this categorical space between Gods and humans, and because they literally act as intermediaries between Gods and humans, some scholars call them "intermediary spirits".
Now, despite their "smallness" intermediary spirits often hold a significant place in local folklore and popular belief. They're often locative, in the sense of relating to a specific location. They live in a particular steam, grove, or building. In some cases these beings might be seen as useful or benevolent, like guardian angels. While in others, they may be seen as malevolent or dangerous. Others are deeply ambiguous entities that hover in a zone of uncertain and ambivalent power.
In Greco-Egyptian magick for example, a daimon is sometimes a useful being you can call upon, or a chaotic and dangerous being to avoid.
These small gods can be contrasted with the very difficult and very technical term "big gods". The social psychologist Ara Norenzayan defines big gods as "powerful, omniscient and morally concerned supernatural beings that serve as the central figures in many world religions". These Gods are believed to posses the ability to monitor human behavior, reward moral actions and punish immoral ones.
Big Gods can be found in various religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. In each of these cases, the central deity is believed to be All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Deeply Concerned with Human Morality and Behavior. I'd also add Gods like Zeus and Osiris or Major Hindu Gods like Vishnu and Shiva, Gods Who Are Clearly In A Class Of Their Own, above humans and intermediary spirits.
In Hylian Demonology, demons are not small gods at all. Well, there are lower-level demons, but more often than not, they're only referred to in passing. Other times, they appear as small-scale antagonists, like Dark Link who appears to be some sort of demonic being.
But overwhelmingly, most demons in Hylian Demonology should not be classified as small or intermediary. You have Demon King Malladus, Demon King Ganondorf -- Zant, King of Darkness. The title of King is thrown around all the time and these beings go toe to toe with the Gods in battle and Sometimes Win.
So what we're dealing with here are Big Demons, or Master Demons, rulers of lesser demons who are closer in power level to Big Gods.
Master Demons are a common feature in world religious. There's of course Satan, the main antagonist of God in Christianity. The Dead Sea Scrolls and other Second Temple Jewish Literature mention Belial, the leader of the Sons of Darkness. And in Hinduism, there's Ravana, the Multi-Headed King of the Rakshasa, who is a central figure in the epic poem called the Ramayana. Hylian Demonology is really a demonology of Master Demons. A Master Demonology, if you will. In fact, the entire moral universe of Hyrule and Hylian cosmology revolves around a Very Big Demon, indeed. A Demon King called Demise.
Demise is the central antagonist in the Hylian Religion; a primordial demon king who, according to the Spirit of the Master Sword, is An Eternal Being and The Source of All Evil.
As the events of Skyward Sword unfolded, the hero Link arose and defeated Demise, but he then uttered a curse that set the stage for a recurring struggle between good and evil for eternity.
An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time.
The Legend of Demise is thus an etiology for evil; a mythical explanation for the origins of evil as a general concept and evil beings like monsters.
The idea of a Primordial Demon King is a rarity in world religions, but not unheard of. The closest parallel to Demise is likely the entity known as Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) in Zoroastrianism, a primordial spirit from which originates evil.
The Curse of Demise thus means that a surprisingly depressing or even cynical type of demonology underlies Hylian Religion. An ideology that I like to call "cyclical apocalypticism". You might be more familiar with apocalypticism in ancient Judaism or Christianity, which refers to the ideology that God will Intervene in the near future, bring an end to an evil era and inaugurate a new era by establishing His kingdom.
But critically in Christian apocalypticism, Time is Linear.
The end of days arrives, Satan is vanquished and the Kingdom of God Lasts Forever. It'd be unthinkable in Christian end times theology that Satan would One Day Arise Again and Topple God's Kingdom.
But in Hylian Apocalyptic Demonology, the Curse of Demise launched and endless boom and bust cycle. Phases of peace and prosperity followed by cataclysmic events that plunged the world into an era ruled by evil, usually at the hands of some sort of Master Demon -- An Incarnation of the Primordial Evil.
So if Hylians are subjected to an endless cycle of cataclysm after cataclysm, how do they deal with these Master Demons?
Ritual strategies to defeat demons are found all throughout the world.
In my own sub-field of ancient Mediterranean religion, you commonly see various forms of exorcism. Rituals that aim to extract a demon from somewhere or someone. Jesus famously exorcises demons with a simple command, but there are also elaborate exorcism formulas from the ancient world that require special incantations or ritual objects. Another strategy you'll commonly see are various forms of apotropaic magic; rituals and objects that aim to ward away demons pre-emptively. For example, someone might wear an amulet to keep a demon away. But these are strategies to combat lesser demons. As we've said, the people of Hyrule regularly need to deal with Master Demons, so these small-scale rituals wouldn't quite cut it.
Hylians generally defeat master demons in two ways. First, by literally destroying them in physical combat with sacred weapons, such as the Master Sword or the Bow of Light, which possess divine properties capable of vanquishing demonic forces.
In fact, according to the Japanese manual to the Super Nintendo's A Link to the Past, the Master Sword was originally called tama no ken, which we can translate as Exorcism Sword.
In other words, a sword specifically designed for banishing demons.
When battling demons, Link usually needs to identify and exploit the demon's weakness, observe enemy patterns, dodge and block attacks and seize opportunities to strike. This might sound formulaic, but it's not unlike how some demons are defeated in world mythologies. For example, consider the description of Rama vs. Ravana in the Ramayana. They shoot arrows back and forth during a chariot duel, but eventually reach an impasse. Rama then takes up a sacred arrow, a gift of Brahma, a mighty arrow unfailing in battle. He consecrates it by chanting mantras over it before shooting it directly through Ravana's heart.
But Master Demons in Hyrule seem to be difficult to kill, so more often than not, the Hylians resort to binding and sealing the demons. This often involves a powerful figure like Zelda, the sages, or a Goddess like Hylia engaging in forms of ritualized constraining and containment, banishing and trapping the demon in a different realm or prison. Another example of ritualized containment occurs in Twilight Princess. When the execution of Ganondorf goes awry, the sages banish him to the Twilight Realm through the Mirror of Twilight.
Now, because of the cyclical nature of Hylian cosmology, these seals never last, but it at least ensures a few hundred years of peace.
Demonology may strikes some of us as exotic. It's the weird side of religion, the occult side of religion. But as the scholar David Frankfurter says, "as exotic as it often seems, the study of demonology engages the most subtle dimensions of culture..."
For example, studying the demons of a particular can reveal how that particular culture conceptualizes the landscape. In what sort of place do demons dwell? It can reveal how that cutlure views sickness or disabilities or bodily autonomy. Studying demonology enables us to explore the specific threats and anxieties that a society perceives, and what strategies that society views as effective to mitigate or confront those dangers, either through writing, iconography or prayers that seek to repel or bind them.
Moreover, because demonological beliefs can be found among both the religious elite and the general population, studying demonology can help illuminate modes of religious authority. For example, the roles of priests, shamans or other ritual specialists who are believed to have the ability to combat demonic forces, can provide valuable insights into the authority structures and the sources of social prestige within a society.
So by studying the demonology of Hylianism, we catch a glimpse of Hyrule's cultural beliefs, values and fears. A society locked in an endless, cyclical struggle between good and evil, a society that thus values sacred power and divine weapons to overcome the revolving glass door of master demons, and the society that must also grapple with the reality that divine intervention only offers temporary relief and the gods might be powerless to vanquish demonic forces once and for all.
