zandalari Aztec or Maya?

[Rhlor]

Personally I like more the Mayans are a much more civilized people who developed great astronomical and mathematical knowledge! They were a people much more educated.

I would like the zandalari to have more Mayan cultural aspects than Aztecs.

I would also like to see a troll society that reflects the Incas (mountain troll maybe)

[Magnagarde]

I believe Blizzard has gone with a 'South America' style on this, rather than going straight for one specific group. It is a little bit of everything.

[Frood]

The WoW designers don't limit themselves to one specific culture when they're looking for inspiration. From the top of my head, the troll civilization in WoW is influenced by Polynesian cultures, Jamaica (mostly the language and hairstyles), as well as both the Mayan and Aztec cultures, like you mentioned, and especially the Muisca for some parts of Zandalar.

[Benomatic]

You could say they were a mixture of ancient Egyptian, mayan, incan, aztec and certainly Vodou.

[Aucald]

The Zandalari definitely have a Mayincatec feel to them - their aesthetics and architecture are predominantly Mayan, their society and polytheistic religion are predominantly Aztec, with random bits of Incan and Olmec flare thrown into the mix.

[A Chozo]

They have the common sense to reference more than one culture. Mexica, Aztec, Incan, Toltec... Olmec, etc. They just go "it looks MESOAMERICAN!".

[TheCount]

The headdress is somewhat reminiscent of the headdresses worn by Aztec emperors. The system of government is also very similar, where rulers are thought of as being gods and even most of the higher echelons of governance are primarily filled with priests and a few generals.
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Rastakhan

[Eazy]

I believe Blizzard has gone with a 'South America' style on this, rather than going straight for one specific group. It is a little bit of everything.

Same with MOP and asian.

[Netherspark]

All trolls are pretty much an amalgamation of various native south american and native/modern carribean cultures.

[Rhlor]

They have the common sense to reference more than one culture. Mexica, Aztec, Incan, Toltec... Olmec, etc. They just go "it looks MESOAMERICAN!".

Although the Incas are actually from South America and not from Mesoamerica

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The headdress is somewhat reminiscent of the headdresses worn by Aztec emperors. The system of government is also very similar, where rulers are thought of as being gods and even most of the higher echelons of governance are primarily filled with priests and a few generals.
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Rastakhan

the Aztecs did not believe that their emperor was a god, he was a mixture of king and high priest but not a god.
the Incas believed that their emperor was a god! son inti the sun god

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Now that I see it carefully the rastakhan crown resembles the Inca crown!

[Techno-Druid]

They're an amalgamation of various Mesoamerican and South American cultures with touches of Afro-Caribbean and West African culture.

[A Chozo]

Now I'm curious to see if they have any high-tech golem thing going on in Zuldazar. Drakkari golems on Gundrak and the Zandalari wargolems in the Isle of Thunder were awesome.

Although the Incas are actually from South America and not from Mesoamerica

Never said they were

[TheCount]

@Rhlor
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I thought I had read that somewhere awhile ago but was not 100% sure

Either way the headdress does strike me as being a combination of Aztec and Inca. The feathers combined with the golden figure on the top.

[Deleted]

They're an amalgamation of various Mesoamerican and South American cultures with touches of Afro-Caribbean and West African culture.

This. They're based on *insert ancient south american civilization here*

[yetgdhfgh]

I think its a mixture of both civilizations seeing how our Trolls take inspiration from the West Indies.

[Deleted]

Both? I don't think Blizzard care much about differences between too fairly similar cultures. Blizzard tend to go for broad cultures or stereotypes.

[Korsha]

Think Blizzard will draw some inspiration from all the south American cultures, mixing and matching. Asking if Zandalari are Aztec or Maya is a little like asking if Vrykul are Danish or Swedish. They're gonna start with the general term "Indian/Native American" and then delve into details, extracting some, inventing others.

[Rhlor]

@Rhlor
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I thought I had read that somewhere awhile ago but was not 100% sure

Either way the headdress does strike me as being a combination of Aztec and Inca. The feathers combined with the golden figure on the top.

without a doubt it is a combination of Aztec and Inca! the Aztecs did not use as much gold in their clothing as the Incas! rastakhan clearly has Aztec and Inca elements



It is interesting that the zandalari trolls are a combination of the great pre-Columbian empires
although it's a shame because we will not see a troll variant of the Incas

[Obelisk Kai]

snip

I'm just surprised more Alliance players aren't angry at the vastly superior aesthetic of the Zandalari compared to the Kul Tirans.

I mean, look at Rastakhan. He looks awesome. Horde players will be use gear from that aesthetic whereas the Alliance is using bog standard medieval tropes again.

It will be a pleasure to spend late 2018-late 2020 in sun kissed, Dinosaur roaming Zuldazar than ordinary Boralus.

[Blamblam41]

I'm just surprised more Alliance players aren't angry at the vastly superior aesthetic of the Zandalari compared to the Kul Tirans.

I mean, look at Rastakhan. He looks awesome. Horde players will be use gear from that aesthetic whereas the Alliance is using bog standard medieval tropes again.

It will be a pleasure to spend late 2018-late 2020 in sun kissed, Dinosaur roaming Zuldazar than ordinary Boralus.

Oh I'm furious all we are getting is Gilneas by the sea and the Horde get the best fucking zones since MoP.

Just more annoyed at the faction war even being a thing in BfA, but that's for another thread.

OT: As many have already said, they are definitely a mixture of ancient South American cultures with some modern Jamaican elements and references.