Left-Handed Catcher

Steph (she/her) is an archivist with a B.A. in history from Gettysburg College (class of 2011; minored in Civil War Era studies) and an M.S. in library science from Pratt Institute (class of December 2014; archival studies focus). See her about page for tags! Founder of the Autistic Gaming Initiative. Ask her your train questions - she'll answer! Runs purely on caffeine and guts.

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Historical and Cultural References in the Indivisible Cast

This post will be continually updated as Indivisible gets closer to its fundraising goal and Lab Zero reveals more Incarnations, as well as whenever we get new information about the characters.

Fund the game and play the prototype here! 

Ajna: 

Zebei:

Razmi:

  • Razmi’s name ironically means “bright” in Sanskrit. Interestingly, according to this source, it’s also a Qaranic name that can mean any of the following: “sign,” “symbol,” “gesture,” “code,” “reserved,” “demure,” and “quiet.”
  • Razmi is a shamaness, and mystics in Persian and southeast Asian art often wear tiger or leopard skins. Razmi wears a tiger pelt.
  • Bom, Razmi’s tiger spirit friend, lives in her lantern, which she needs to ensure remains lit to keep Bom with her. Eternal flames are part of Zoroastrianism

Tungar:

  • Yes, the urumi is a real weapon! It’s typically worn as a belt when not in use, though, but Tungar is allowed to wear it as a turban because he’s a boss.
  • The weapon’s origins are traced to southeast India and Sri Lanka and possibly dates back as far as the Maurya Empire (322-185 BCE).

Dhar:

Thorani:

Vasco:

  • Vasco’s armor appears to be conquistador-based.
  • The most famous bearer of his name is Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the first European to reach India via sea.

Kushi and Altun:

  • Kushi appears to be specifically based on Ashol-Pan, a thirteen-year-old Kazakh falconer living in Mongolia.
  • Hunting with eagles (Altun is a roc) is a specific form of falconry practiced by the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyzs.

Narssus:

  • Narssus likely served a bokor, a vodou (voodoo) sorcerer for hire. Haitian vodou describes bokors as using potions to stupefy victims and put them into servitude. Since the victims appear to initially be dead, they’re often buried, only to rise from the grave to do the bokor’s bidding - making them zombies. (In fact, this is where zombies enter into popular culture from - Haitian vodou.) 

Yan:

  • For a real-life example of a dancer like Yan, check out Simona Atzori.
  • The Jade Dynasty is an obvious reference to China, although there is no actual Jade Dynasty in China’s real-life history. As we learn more about the game and the world, it will be easier to pinpoint the time in China’s history that this dynasty represents (especially given the large number of coups over China’s long history).

Naga Rider:

  • If it wasn’t already obvious, he’s a reference to Kamen Rider.
  • A naga is a snake deity found in various religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. A notable Western pop culture sighting of the naga is Nagini (lit. “female naga”), Voldemort’s snake.
  • Naga Rider has a dharma wheel on his belt, as well.

Phoebe:

  • Phoebe was one of the Titans in Greek mythology, most notable for being the grandmother of twin archer gods Apollo and Artemis. The in-game Phoebe carries a bow that shoots spears instead of arrows and is a single mother. Also, she’s big and buff. Don’t mess with her. 

Kaldi:

Toko:

  • If written using certain kanji, Toko’s name reads as ‘tenth child’ in Japanese: 十子. The in-game Toko has nine siblings, although she’s the only survivor of a massacre.
  • Toko’s character design appears to combine elements of samurai armor with a monk/nun look. Christianity is present in Japan, but it is very much a minority religion there. The first Christians to arrive in Japan were the Portuguese in the 1500s.
  • During the Tokugawa Shogunate, Christianity was banned and practitioners were often persecuted. The ban on Christianity in Japan was not lifted until 1873, several years into the Meiji Era. (Hat tip to @utaoutauhito for informing me that I forgot to include this!)
  • @utaoutauhito also added that Toko’s weapons resemble the pairing of the katana and the wakizashi, although generally they weren’t carried sheathed like a cross!

George:

  • Saint George is most notable for being a dragon-slayer, much like this George is. He fought the dragon wielding a lance, although at the moment of actual dragon-slaying he used a sword. The story appears in numerous Christian traditions and emerged roughly around the 10th or 11th century. 

Baozhai:

  • Baozhai appears to have been heavily influenced by historical figure Ching Shih, a notorious 19th century female pirate who commanded a massive fleet (crew numbers sometimes are given as high as 80,000), remained undefeated her entire career, and eventually retired peacefully from piracy after negotiating with the government as a very rich woman.
  • Additionally, her name is close to 爆炸 (Bàozhà), which is Mandarin Chinese for ‘explosion.’ (source: @timi-insp)

Antoine:

Zahra:

  • Zahra’s design appears to be influenced by the Himba, a nomadic indigenous group living in Namibia and Angola. The Himba coat their skin and hair with a paste called otjize, which gives their skin a reddish tone that is considered an ideal beauty standard. Usefully, otjize also protects the skin from exposure to the heat and sun and from insect bites.
  • Her instrument, the oud, is common in Middle Eastern, Greek, Turkish, and North African music.

Tenoch:

Nuna:

  • The in-game Nuna is the youngest of three sisters who can all commune with nature and make plants grow. The Three Sisters are the three main crops of various Native American groups, including the Iroquois Confederacy: winter squash, maize, and climbing beans.
  • Nuna is a variety of common (climbing) bean, further strengthening this connection.

Lanshi:

Qadira:

Tatanka:

Leilani:

  • Leilani’s name means ‘heavenly flower’ in Hawaiian.
  • Her weapon appears to be inspired by the leiomano, a Polynesian weapon (particularly associated with Hawaii) that consists of a sort of paddle or club studded with shark teeth.
  • Many shark deities appear in Polynesian culture. Hawaii in particular has several shark gods (read about them here!) including Ka-moho-ali’i, who guides ships lost at sea back home. Fiji has Dakuwaqa, a shark god who protects fishermen.

Hassam:

Kampan:

  • Her influences are more steampunk than strictly historical, so there’s not too much I can add about her weapon here other than the fact that it’s really cool.
  • She does, however, share her name with a Tamil poet! Kampan, also known as Kambar, is best known for writing the Ramavataram, perhaps the greatest work in Tamil literature. The story is based upon the life of King Rama of Ayodhya, although Kampan’s version varies in some places from the Sanskrit original.
  • กำปั้น (Kảpận, pronounced ‘kampaan’) is Thai for ‘fist.’ (source: @timi-insp via @tanktopcamo)

Kogi:

Sangmu:

Ren: 

  • A kusarigama is one of the coolest weapons ever devised by humankind. If you’re unfamiliar with it, check it out here! It was likely developed during the Muromachi period in Japan.
  • Ren is also wearing tabi, traditional Japanese socks that separate the big toe from the other four toes. Many workers still wear special tabi in order to increase their tactile ability (i.e. construction workers who need to keep their balance, etc.). Considering that Ren is an assassin, they likely provide him with the same balance.
  • The Japanese name Ren can alternatively mean various things, like ‘lotus,’ ‘love,’ or others depending on the kanji it’s written with. For example, in the baseball manga/anime series Ookiku Furikabutte, pitcher Mihashi Ren’s given name is written with 廉, which can be read as the following words on its own: “ bargain, reason, charge, suspicion, point, account, purity, honest, low price, cheap, rested, contented, or peaceful.” To make a long story short, it’ll be a bit harder to read into Ren’s name until we know more about him.
  • I’m also fairly sure he has nothing to do with Kylo.
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