This ancient religion tells us the truth about both , Zoro and the sun god nika.
It’s no secret that One Piece is largely inspired by mythologies from around the
world. From Sengoku’s Golden Buddha Mythical Zoan to the Norse roots of Elbaf’s giants,
Oda has clearly studied his myths and legends extensively. However, One Piece also
shares a lot of its mythology with an ancient religion that you may not know as much about:
Zoroastrianism. The connection between the two runs so deep that Oda might have taken inspiration
from this religion for at least two of his major characters. Today we look at the Zoroastrian
roots of the Sun God Nika, and even ask: Could Roronoa Zoro be short for... Roronoa Zoroaster?
Before I tell you why the answer is probably yes,
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As we wait for Eiichiro Oda to reveal the secrets of Sun God Nika and Joy Boy,
now is the perfect time to theory craft and see if we can uncover the rich secrets that make up
the fabric of the One Piece world. While pulling from so many mythologies from around the world,
Oda still manages to weave a cohesive narrative. That’s an impressive feat,
being able to pull together so many different parts into a solid whole.
But perhaps, as user u/jammypants915 **on my subredit as found out,** there’s something about
these mythologies that helps him along the way.
Oda’s bringing in elements from Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Islam:
Kuma carries a Bible, and the Quran features a story of the Zaqqum, a tree in hell that grows
actual devil fruits. He also incorporates Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism - Again,
we have Sengoku’s Daibutsu fruit and, of course, Zoro taking the form of Asura.
Oda even borrows from beliefs in Norse or Ancient Egyptian mythology - we’re all looking forward to
meeting Prince Loki of Elbaf and we remember Pell and Chaka’s fruits which allowed them to
take the shape of animals that resemble Gods of the Egyptian pantheon. The jackal fruit
essentially turned Chaka into Anubis while the falcon fruit gave Pell the traits of the Egyptian
God Horus. The jury is still out on whether Horus could also survive massive explosions.
What if these separate influences play together
so nicely because there are common threads that run through them all? Well,
it turns out that almost all of these religions were influenced or inspired by Zoroastrianism.
For anybody who doesn’t know, here’s a brief run down before we get into the One Piece connections!
Zoroastrianism is the world’s oldest known monotheistic religion - or the first major
religion to teach that there is only one supreme God. It comes from Persia located in what is
modern day Iran. This faith is based on the teachings of an ancient prophet called Zoroaster
or Zarathustra. Some of the defining features of its belief system center around a duality between
good and evil and the eternal battle between them. The tenets of Zoroastrianism became
so widespread that they’ve influenced many other faiths throughout the world
including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and more.
Zoroastrianism is also one of the world’s oldest continuously practiced religions with
many people in the world still adhering to the Zorastrian faith today. One famous
practitioner you might be surprised at was none other than Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
Clearly, the Galley-La Company’s Peeply Lulu’s resemblance to Freddie Mercury was
no mere coincidence and One Piece’s connections to Zoroastrianism have been hinted at all along…Okay,
maybe that one is a big stretch, but now that we’ve covered the basics of
Zoroastrianism it’s time to dig into how it’s inspired One Piece so much!
Zoroastrian teachings say that the world was once pure and good, but was slowly
corrupted by evil forces. However, to defeat this evil and return the world
to its ideal state, every 1,000 years a hero is reincarnated or reborn until
finally, with the last cycle, the hero finally vanquishes these forces of evil.
This is a big simplification of some very complex theology. Of course,
you can learn more about it if you get your hands on a copy of the Avesta,
the sacred text of Zoroastrianism, but even that bit of information should scream One Piece to you.
One Piece is all about inherited will. Almost all of the Straw Hats and many other characters have
inherited the will of someone close to them. And Luffy himself seems to share so many parallels
with the former King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger. Roger was too early in arriving to Laugh Tale - it
seems that there is a cosmic calendar counting down the time toward some cataclysmic destiny and
Luffy is the fated hero to take part in a great battle to determine the future of the world.
Most recently, we’re seeing that Luffy appears to be a reincarnation of sorts for Joy Boy. We know
little about Joy Boy so far, but we do know that he played a significant role in the Void Century
which happened nearly 1,000 years ago, somewhat in line with Zoroastrianism’s cycle of reborn heroes.
Another important connection to Zoroastrianism comes from Zoro
himself. Is it possible that Oda got Zoro’s name from this religion?
Most Western viewers, when thinking of the name Zoro, think of the swashbuckling pulp hero,
Zorro with two Rs. But despite Antonio Banderas’s impressive sword wielding skills,
the rest of the comparisons fall pretty flat. In fact, we know that Zoro wasn’t
actually named after this other hero. And thanks to the similar name, we have Zorro with two
Rs to thank for every English reader having to suffer through the official translation
calling our favorite swordsman Zolo. So, thanks for that, copyright law.
Bonus Fact! If you’re wondering where the Roronoa part came from,
well that’s derived from the real life pirate Francois
L’Olonnais. L’olonnais = Roronoa.
Back to Zoroastrianism, though! One of the most important connections to Zoro
is his Asura technique. Today, Asuras are known as divine beings within Hinduism and
Buddhism. But their lineage can actually be traced back to Zoroastrianism. In fact,
the supreme god of Zoroastrianism is known as Ahura Mazda - The Ahura pronunciation
and spelling shifting to Asura as it moved across different places, times, and languages.
This is also where the automobile brand Mazda got its name. So, if you drive a
Mazda then One Piece isn’t the only place where Zoroastrianism is affecting your life today.
Another connection between Zoro and Zoroastrianism comes through his many brushes with death. It’s
said that in the climactic battle, the great hero of Zoroastrian myth will cause the dead to be
reborn and for the souls lost to the underworld to be purified and brought back to the light. I can’t
help but notice that Roronoa Zoro is currently having a run-in with the grim reaper itself…but
until we find out more about how that situation will play out, it’s hard to speculate further.
The final connection between Zoroastrianism and One Piece has to do with fire and light. Luffy has
been shown to have unexplained powers to conjure fire. He is the foretold hero that will bring the
dawn of the world - the one who will shine light again on a world that’s been shrouded in darkness.
It just so happens that fire and light are crucial symbols in Zoroastrianism. In this religion there
is a practice to light an eternal flame within a place of worship called a fire temple. When the
ideas and values of Zoroastrianism are passed from one person down to the next, it is symbolized by a
new flame being lit from the existing one. Thus an eternal flame, one that endures the flow of time,
represents an inherited will not dissimilar to the concept of inherited will within One Piece.
Speaking of inherited will, in addition to being a new Joy Boy,
it would seem that Luffy is also related to a figure called Sun God Nika.
In Zoroastrianism, fire is used to represent the god Ahura Mazda.
In addition to this, there is also a Zoroastrian moral code that follows
three main principles. Good Thoughts, or Pendar Nik, Good Words, or Goftar Nik,
and Good Actions, or Kerdar Nik. This word “Nik” which can be translated as “good”,
“true”, or “chosen” just so happens to be where the Persian name “Nika” originates.
The name of the sun god Nika literally comes from Zoroastrianism. If you weren’t convinced by
any other pieces of evidence, I’m sure this one will make you think twice.
And While we focused on the Zoroastrianism side of his argument, Oda-sensei also dives deep into
Norse Mythology. IT’s the inspiration for both the giants of Elbaf and our red-haired legend SHanks.
Shanks and Luffy are bound to meet very soon. And if you want to know why it will be on
Elbaf and why Luffy must fight his mentor, you really can’t miss out on this video right here.