A possible explanation for Majora’s name
Posted on June 19, 2011 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News
Origins of Nintendo’s video game characters can be quite interesting. Just a few days ago we learned how Ocarina of Time’s development team named Navi. Now one Nintendo Everything reader believes he has discovered where the name “Majora” comes from. I’ll let the explanation speak for itself!
After reading The Message of Majora’s Mask a while ago, I was finally able to understand what made me like this game so much. I played MM when it came out and absolutely loved its somber tone. One thing I always wondered, though, is where the name for Majora’s Mask came from. One day, it clicked.
I’d like to start by pointing out that there’s a lot of Brazilian influence on Nintendo games, which is something usually best seen in their music: many Mario songs, especially the main theme, have a distinct samba feel, and even Majora’s Mask itself has the New Wave Bossa Nova ocarina melody. I remember reading some interviews with Miyamoto and Koji Kondo in which they confirm how they like to take many aspects of the Brazilian culture as inspiration for their creations. Did you know Samus’ name is based on soccer player Pelé? (source)
There is an island in Brazil called Marajó. On this island, in pre-Columbian times, there was a sophisticated society now called the Marajoara, which produced pottery in a distinct art style. They also made (zoo-)anthropomorphic figures and, most importantly, masks.
Sadly, there isn’t much info about them in English on the internet, but if you search Google Images for “máscara marajoara” (“Marajoara mask” in Portuguese) and compare the results to the actual Majora’s Mask, I’d say they seem just too similar for this to be just a coincidence. The entrance to the Stone Tower Temple and this other sculpturealso have the same art style, including the big round protruding eyes which is a characteristic of Marajoara masks. Bear in mind that those are just the examples I found on the article I linked above, but I remember seeing other similarities when I played the game, as well as in many Marajoara items I’ve seen in Brazil but couldn’t find examples on the web.
A different search for “marajoara art” brings a few more results, including this one (the caption, “Ser Mítico”, means “Mythical Being”) which seems oddly similar to the “eerie” art style adopted in many parts of the game and also has the peculiar bulged eyes. Another of the main Marajoara art aspects is banding/striping (which is even present on the golden rim of Brazilian coins [Obverse] [Reverse]). While I couldn’t find screenshots to back this up, I remember there being some instances of this in at least some parts through the game.
But then why is the name different in Japanese? My theory is that they originally wanted it to be called “Majora” (????) in Japan as well, but changed it to “Mujura” (????) in order to avoid it containing the word ?? (Majo, “witch”), which would cause confusion about the plot.
What do you guys think? I’ve never exposed this theory to anyone other than a few friends, who say it “makes sense”, so I’d really like to hear if you think there’s a relation or if I’m just seeing things.
TL;DR there’s an ancient Brazilian tribal society with a very similar name (Marajoara) which made masks which look strikingly similar to the art style of Majora’s Mask.
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Addendum: If this is all true, it also explains where they got the idea for the creepy smile of Elegy of Emptiness statues: image. Couldn’t find more, but I’ve seen other Marajoara masks with that “smile” IRL.
Addendum 2: according to Zeldapedia, there’s a theory about Majora’s Mask and the Fused Shadow from Twilight Princess (image – note the angular line patterns, which are all apparent on this vase and this rug (a modern replica, but illustrates well the art style) and this other vase, and the remaining eye, which is also round and bulged with a large pupil) being created by the same “tribe” or “ancient race”.
Thanks to João P for the tip!
