Matoran

Matoran were the chosen species of the Matoran Universe's protector, the Great Spirit Mata Nui. The Matoran are one of the largest and most populous races in the Great Central Universe, second only to the Centurians and just ahead of the Metru Soldiers

Matoran Nui
Like Toa and many other creatures, Matoran had the ability to combine into a single being, with a six-member combination called a Matoran Nui. This had been known to happen twice:


 * Six Matoran from Metru Nui formed into a Matoran Nui in order to help the Toa Metru fight the Morbuzakh.


 * Several Matoran from Mata Nui also joined together to fight a Nui-Jaga scorpion.

History and Purpose
The Matoran were the first beings created by the Great Beings for the Matoran Universe. The first to be created served as prototypes for the others - the Av-Matoran. Because they were the first ones, they had abilities to channel their innate light powers and transform into Bohrok. Eventually, the other types of Matoran were created. The Matoran were brought into existence even before Mata Nui, and were helping in his construction, though they didn't know what exactly they were building. Some Matoran, that showed particular promise, were allowed to go to the Artakha refuge and work in the light. After the Universe was built and Mata Nui awakened, the Matoran spread across the universe. They made their homes in many different enviroments and had many different styles of living. Some Matoran came to rely completely on the technology and inventions for work and protection, others grew completely independent, with no help from Toa, Turaga,or other beings. The Matoran's purpose after the universe was built was to do their work, to keep the universe in balance. The known jobs that Matoran performed are listed below:

Homelands and Colonies

 * Metru Nui (formerly)


 * Northern Continent (formerly)


 * Southern Continent (formerly)


 * Xia (formerly)


 * Stelt (formerly)


 * Nynrah (formerly)


 * Southern Islands (formerly)


 * Artakha (formerly)


 * Karzahni (formerly)


 * Karda Nui (formerly)


 * Mata Nui (formerly)


 * Spherus Magna (currently)

Settlement Patterns
Matoran usually tended to live in groups by elements, and in areas with climates that best suited their preferences; for example, water-loving Ga-Matoran chose to live together near the seas, while the heat-resistant Ta-Matoran chose to live together in fiery places like Ta-Wahi. In hostile places like Voya Nui, however, Matoran of different types often had to live in the same area, regardless of whether or not it suited their environmental preferences. In most cases, Matoran settlements were led by Turaga.

Beliefs
The Matoran usually served the Great Spirit Mata Nui and the Great Beings. The Turaga often told them the Legend of Mata Nui, how he was sent from "Paradise", to give the Matoran a purpose. The Matoran had a work-based culture and upheld many virtues, primarily Unity, Duty and Destiny.

Sportings
Kolhii

Language
The Matoran spoke the language created for them by the Great Beings. This language was actually spoken by the whole Matoran Universe. Le-Matoran of Metru Nui and Ca-Matoran of Deloxia, however, have created a slang called chutespeak (or treespeak), which combined two words into one. Chutespeak has also spread to other Matoran.

Types
Matoran were classified by whichever Element they were affiliated with. Each type had a job, based on their attributes, to help keep the universe in balance. Although several were identified, there are more in existence.

Ta-Matoran


 * Ta-Matoran, the Matoran of Fire, had a natural resistance to extreme heat and tended to value diligence and responsibility. All Ta-Matoran had red as the primary color of their armor, though they were often orange, yellow and black as well. They were always male.

Ga-Matoran


 * Ga-Matoran, the Matoran of Water, had a greater lung capacity than other Matoran, and were more agile underwater than other types of Matoran. They were generally peaceful and friendly, and were always female. Their armor was always in shades of blue.

Le-Matoran


 * Le-Matoran, the Matoran of Air, had heightened agility and reflexes. Le-Matoran were often daring and lighthearted, tending to take crazy risks and enjoy a good practical joke. They were always male, and their primary colors were shades of green, with some having turquoise as a secondary color.

Po-Matoran


 * Po-Matoran, the Matoran of Stone, had great physical strength. They frequently tended to be down-to-earth and practical, not putting too much stock in what they couldn't see and touch. They were always male, and their primary colors were generally brown, tan, dull orange, black and sometimes yellow.

Onu-Matoran


 * Onu-Matoran, the Matoran of Earth, had increased strength and night vision, but could be easily blinded by bright lights. They often had a great respect for the past. Their armor was primarily black, with purple, tan, dark grey and occasionally orange as secondary colors. They were always male, and always had green eyes.

Ko-Matoran


 * Ko-Matoran, Matoran of Ice, had a natural resistance to extreme cold. They tended to be quiet to the point of being antisocial, and spent a lot of time being pondering the future. All Ko-Matoran were primarily white, with grey and shades of light blue. Their eyes were also always light blue, and they were always male.

Av-Matoran


 * Av-Matoran, the Matoran of Light, were the first type of Matoran to be created. They had the ability to change their armor color and could shoot small light bolts from special energy swords. They could be either male or female. Their natural color scheme was white and gold.

Kra-Matoran


 * Shadow Matoran were Matoran of other types who had their light drained, either by a Shadow Leech or a Kanohi Avsa. Shadow was not a natural Matoran element. They were always aligned with Makuta, and had the limited ability to launch shadow bolts. Their colors were black and a murky shade of their previous colors, and their eyes were always red. They could be male or female, since any Matoran could become a Shadow Matoran.

Fe-Matoran


 * Fe-Matoran, the Matoran of Iron, had enhanced endurance, and were frequently skilled in metallurgy. They were always male, and had armor in burnt orange and metallic colors. Many of them were called the Nynrah Ghosts.

De-Matoran


 * De-Matoran, the Matoran of Sonics, were extremely sensitive to sound. All De-Matoran were male. Their primary color was gray.

Ce-Matoran


 * Ce-Matoran, the Matoran of Psionics, were resistant to all mental attacks. All Ce-Matoran were female. Their primary colors were blue and gold.

Ba-Matoran


 * Ba-Matoran, the Matoran of Gravity, were resistant to high-gravity pressure. All Ba-Matoran were male. They were purple and black in color.

Su-Matoran

Su-Matoran, the Matoran of Plasma, were resistant to heat and sunlight. All Su-Matoran were male. They were orange and white in color.

Vo-Matoran


 * Vo-Matoran, the Matoran of Lightning, were resistant to eletrical shocks. All Vo-Matoran were female. They were blue and white in color.

Fa-Matoran


 * Fa-Matoran, the Matoran of Magnetism, had a better sense of direction. All Fa-Matoran were male. They were gunmetal gray and black in color.

Bo-Matoran


 * Bo-Matoran, the Matoran of Plantlife, had a better understanding of plant attributes such as poisons. All Bo-Matoran were male. They were green and blue in color.

Ca-Matoran


 * Ca-Matoran, the matoran of Sky, could survive longer in vacuums and have adapted to water. Ca-Matoran could be either male or female, and were usually silver and gray with a third color of either blue, green, purple, or white.

Biology
Matoran were bio-mechanical beings, and were comprised of both organic and metallic Protodermis. However, most of the details of their anatomy remain unknown. What is known, however, is that they have been said to have had a circulatory system, and it has been demonstrated that they needed to breathe air, and thus had lungs. It is also probable that their brains were at least partially organic, though they were created with some basic knowledge and skills pre-programmed into them.

Matoran could be created by Mata Nui or whoever was in control of the Matoran Universe. Matoran wore powerless Kanohi that kept them "functioning"; a Matoran who lost his or her mask would quickly go into a coma-like state until a mask was replaced. They didn't have the mental strength to activate the powers that Great Kanohi and Noble Kanohi held, but if they wore such masks, they could sense that power was present.

Matoran had a little bit of power of an element; just enough to influence their physical abilities. The Matoran also had to "recharge" their energy occasionally, in one of two ways; they either went to a power station and recharged once a year, or they "ate" by energy from objects like fruit, berries and fish. Gender differences existed between the Matoran, but served no purpose in reproduction, as new Matoran were created via other means. However, it was not unheard of for Matoran of different genders to be unusually close (for example, Hewkii and Macku).

Certain destined Matoran had special power hidden within them and when it was unleashed, the Matoran transformed into a Toa, with increased physical strength and Elemental Power. This power could be triggered in different ways, for example giving the Matoran Toa Power, or the energy of the Red Star, but if they are not destined they cannot become Toa.

The average lifespan of a Matoran is unknown; there have been Matoran, Turaga and Toa who have long since passed the 100,000 year marker mark, yet none have shown any signs of aging whatsoever; in fact, of all the deaths that have occurred among the Matoran species, none were caused by old age. Theoretically, given the capacity for organic regeneration displayed by Toa, as well as the existence of the Red Star, theoretically the Matoran lifespan could be much greater than 100,000 years. However, Greg Farshtey has confirmed that Matoran and other beings that live within the Mata Nui Robot can die of old age. This is further confirmed by Mutran stating that, after transforming into pure energy, Makuta were no longer susceptible to aging and Helryx, the first and therefore oldest Toa, being described as being frail-looking for a Toa.

Trivia

 * The Toa and Turaga are part of the Matoran species.