Why the Sheikah Tribe Values Bananas as a Critical Resource
Among the shadowy Sheikah people, the vibrant yellow Mighty Banana has transcended its humble origins as mere fruit long ago to become an integral piece of culture, nutrition and survival for a civilization shrouded purposefully in mystery for millennia.
An Ideal Plant Ally
Preferring to live in remote villages and travel inconspicuously amongst the vines or rocky ridges dotting Hyrule’s landscape, the Sheikah benefited greatly from relying on extremely viable food sources to stay nourished for journeys that could unexpectedly last weeks if not months.
According to Professor Hawkins, an expert in Sheikah anthropology at Hyrule University, “To understand why Mighty Bananas are so precious to the Sheikah, you must appreciate how uniquely compatible this tropical plant’s properties are to Sheikah priorities from a botanical standpoint.”
Indeed, deveral key characteristics made the hardy Mighty Banana a perfect ally.
Nutrient & Caloric Density
Mighty Bananas contain just over 120 calories per average 7 inch fruit, making them extremely energy dense. Their smooth, starchily firm flesh also packs nearly 3 grams of dietary fiber and over 400 mg of potassium – an electrolyte mineral key for optimizing muscular movement and reflexes.
This nutrient and caloric density perfectly fuels the Sheikah lifestyle requiring both suddenly bursts of intense effort like martial arts combat or stealthily infiltration paired with patient, strategic periods of lying in wait or surveillance.
Portability
Unlike messier or more delicate produce, Mighty Bananas benefit from protective peel encasing layers naturally designed for easy transport without bruising. A Sheikah explorer can readily stash several Mighty Bananas to eat over multiple days without carrying any additional storage vessels or tools to open.
Consistent Harvests
Native to lush tropical coasts and rainforest valleys like those found in Hyrule’s Faron region, Mighty Bananas bear fruit continuously throughout the year rarely disrupted by changing seasons.
This reliability means the Sheikah always have access to freshly harvested Mighty Bananas as a ready food source regardless of harsh weather or reduced winter vegetation in more temperate zones.
Seed Propagation
Mighty Bananas propagate new baby banana plants easily via shoots and root sprouts from an existing corm, enabling cultivation across a wide area with minimal labor. As the Sheikah traveled and established new hidden villages across Hyrule over the millennia, bringing Mighty Banana plants sustained their communties.
In an interview, Sheikah village elder Aya commented, “When we must flee war or relocate entire tribes on short notice, we can rely on our dear Mighty Bananas thriving so long as even a single corm reaches the destination.”
Cucco-and-Egg-Laying Origins
Archival records show even thousands of years ago when the mysterious Goddess Hylia first designated an elite group of Hylians blessed with magical abilities to become her early servants and champions, these Original Sheikah had already discovered Mighty Bananas during ages spent hiding in Faron’s forests avoiding detection.
Over generations of consuming Mighty Bananas for sustenance, select Sheikah physiology adapted to process the digestible starches and glucose far more effeciently than the average Hylian allowing for previously impossible feats of acute mental focus and physical prowess earning fearsome reputations as Hylia’s unseen warriors of justice.
Eventually as the early Original Sheikah emerged from isolation and took on more overt servant protection roles for Goddess Hylia’s mortal reincarnations in the Royal Family, their dependency on Mighty Bananas factored heavily into establish permanent settlements offering both secrecy and banana yields to sustain their unique lifestyles and abilities. Dense tropical forests with banana-friendly habitats became prime locations for Sheikah villages like Kakariko to take root and flourish.
While the Sheikah tribe‘s reverence for Mighty Bananas originiated organically early on from sheer subsistence and convenience, this staple fruit transformed over time into a beloved icon intertwined with Sheikah cultural identity and capacities.
Yiga Obsession Corrupts the Sheikah Banana Legacy
Unfortunately when rogue Sheikah factionalized from the main tribe after losing faith in their guardianship roles and formed the aggressive Yiga Clan, they also clung tightly to their ancestral banana diet though with almost sinister gluttonous fanaticism.
No longer bounded by Sheikah moderation and discipline, chaotic Yiga glut themselves compulsively on bananas out of nostalgia and addiction.
Conclusion
In the end, the Sheikah tribe‘s affinity and deep respect for Mighty Bananas derives from this vitamin-rich plant‘s fingerprints indelibly left on Sheikah history and advancement as a people tied back to Goddess Hylia herself.
Though the severed Yiga Clan may have betrayed their Sheikah origins, even these villainous traitors cannot untangle themselves from an ancient, nigh divine banana legacy.
