Zelda franchise strategy guide/Races/Sheikah

The Sheikah were an ancient race from the Legend of Zelda video game series that swore to protect the Hylian Royal Family. They had elongated ears and wore clothes suitable for an active lifestyle. Their eyes were gray and they often had tattoos on their faces which suggested ferocity to their enemies. Some of the Sheikah were known to have levels of clairvoyancy and had red eyes. They were outcasts and feared in Hyrule. The most famous members were Impa, the maid of Princess Zelda, and Sheik, the guised alter ego of Princess Zelda herself. They were skilled in magical and combative arts, and their cultural pendant was an eye with three triangles above it (as if to imitate eyelashes) and a teardrop, to symbolize the betrayal of the Royal Family (according to the official Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time manga). Young males pierced their ears as a traditional rite of passage. Not much is known about their lifespan or other details about their lives. They were assumed to have become rare after the Imprisoning War.

The Wind Waker

They were assumed to have become extinct after the Great Flood in the pre-Wind Waker era.

Breath of the Wild

The Sheikah play a critical role in the background of Breath of the Wild, having created much of the technology seen in the game. During the events of the game, the Sheikah managed to maintain a village post-calamity. An offshoot of the Sheikah, the Yiga, allied with Calamity Ganon.