Matoran were a race of biomechanical beings living in the Matoran universe and were the species chiefly responsible for maintaining the colossal robotic body of Mata Nui. As such, Matoran enjoyed special status as workers considered vital to the well-being of Mata Nui, whom they revered as a deity known as the Great Spirit. Matoran lived by the Three Virtues given to them by Mata Nui: Unity, Duty, and Destiny. Matoran inhabited numerous lands throughout the Matoran universe, including Metru Nui, the southern and northern continents, and Artakha.
Matoran were relatively small in stature and designed for labor, not combat. Matoran were divided into several sub-types, or tribes, based on the elemental powers. Although Matoran of most types had no special abilities, each type had attributes that made its members better suited to live in environments associated with its element. For example, Matoran of Fire were resistant to heat, and Matoran of Water were skilled swimmers. In order to function properly, all Matoran needed to wear a Kanohi mask, which served as a long-lasting power supply. Any Matoran who spent an extended period of time without wearing a Kanohi would lapse into a condition resembling a coma. As Matoran were unable to access abilities granted by Kanohi Masks of Power, they generally wore Kanohi without powers, using them solely for life-sustaining purposes. With the exception of Av-Matoran, Matoran of a particular tribe were all of the same gender (male or female), and most Matoran tribes were male. Given Matoran's biomechanical nature, gender in Matoran was not so much a physical trait as it was a psychological one.
Matoran were the beginning of the Matoran-Toa-Turaga life cycle. A select few Matoran could, if infused with Toa power, transform into Toa, champions of justice who protected Matoran. Toa could in turn transform into Turaga, respected leaders of Matoran communities. Only Matoran who were destined to become Toa could be so transformed.
After Makuta Teridax was defeated and the Matoran universe was irreparably damaged, all Matoran migrated to the surface of Spherus Magna to build a new civilization with the native Agori and Glatorian.
Notes
The Matoran of Mata Nui lived in six villages, called koro. The villages were spread out in different regions of Mata Nui, and they were all distinct and had very different kinds of buildings as well as customs. Although the Matoran were very loyal to their native villages, all Matoran shared a common dream: to defeat Makuta and live in a land of peace and beauty.2
On Mata Nui, the Matoran loved many sports, and kolhii was by far the most popular.3
The city of Metru Nui was inhabited by beings called Matoran. Although small in stature, they were incredibly hard workers and were responsible for producing virtually everything used in the city, creating works of art, and maintaining and repairing buildings and transport systems. Matoran from different metru varied in skills, temperaments, and appearance.4
As of mid-story year 2004, 1,000 Matoran inhabited Metru Nui.5
On Metru Nui, physical violence between Matoran was almost unheard of, but Matoran with serious disagreements were known to engage in disk dueling.5
Matoran were villagers on Metru Nui, Mata Nui, Voya Nui, Mahri Nui, and elsewhere. There were seven known types of Matoran: Ta-Matoran, Po-Matoran, Onu-Matoran, Le-Matoran, Ko-Matoran, Ga-Matoran, and Av-Matoran. Each type was normally identified by armor and mask coloration. Matoran were the only beings shown to be able to evolve into Toa. Groups of six Matoran, one from each village, were capable of merging into a Matoran Nui.6
The Matoran lived on Metru Nui until they were captured by Makuta and forced into Matoran spheres, where they were thrown into a form of suspended animation. This lasted until they were brought to Mata Nui and awakened by the Toa Metru. Over time, as an after-effect of their time in the spheres, the Matoran's bodies shrank in stature, and they lost all memory of their lives on Metru Nui.6
Matoran wore Kanohi which had no extra powers. However, wearing them was essential for Matoran, as having a mask off for too long could lead to a condition resembling a coma.7
Matoran were granted special status in Mata Nui's eyes.8
Matoran made notoriously poor conquering armies.9
On Metru Nui, the body of a murdered Ta-Matoran was once taken to a slab in Ta-Metru.10
Matoran workers were always among the most important inhabitants of the Matoran universe; without them, the will of Mata Nui could not be carried out.11
The Matoran living on Metru Nui had the means to have new Matoran come into being. This was not possible on the island of Mata Nui.12
Tens of thousands of Matoran lived on the southern continent alone.13
The actual building of the Mata Nui robot was done by nanotech wonders called Matoran, who would one day inhabit the robot and keep it functioning properly.14
A Matoran's Rhotuka would not necessarily be elemental, but it would be relatively weak (weaker than a Toa's or Roodaka's).15
Mata Nui only required the Matoran, not other species, in order to live.16
Countless Matoran came into being since the Great Beings created Mata Nui, so naturally they did not all receive their names from the Great Beings, but came up with their own names.17
Turaga were able to create Matoran as needed. For example, if there were some massive project in a city that required more workers, Turaga could produce them. Makuta also had the ability to create Matoran.18
Mata Nui didn't have to be awake for Matoran to be created.19
The purpose of the Matoran was to keep the parts of the Mata Nui robot's body functioning, such as Metru Nui, which served as the brain.20
Before Velika tampered with the Matoran's intelligence, they were sentient, but they did not have access to any kind of emotional programming. They simply did their jobs, and were not building a culture or forging friendships.21
Masks provided Matoran a largely unending power source so they could keep working.22
If a Matoran lost his Kanohi for an extended period of time and slipped into a coma-like condition, simply replacing the Kanohi would wake him up again.23
When new Matoran were created by the machines controlled by the Turaga, they did not come out already wearing a Kanohi, but rather were given one.24
The Matoran were reduced in size during their time on Mata Nui because Makuta robbed them of their powers.25 Before arriving on Mata Nui, the Matoran resembled the forms they had after they eventually rebuilt themselves. They had been shrunk because Makuta had been draining their powers since they arrived on Mata Nui.26, 27
Matoran were not able to use mask powers, even when the mask had a power like those worn by Toa.28 Matoran did not have the mental discipline or knowledge needed to make Great or Noble Masks work.29, 30
After the Matoran on Mata Nui were rebuilt, they were still able to merge.31
Matoran were named after Mata Nui.1
If a Matoran's mask were removed, it took more than a few minutes for the negative effects of this to set in. Once past this point, it did not matter how much longer the Matoran went without a mask, as the effects did not get much worse with time. This basically worked the same way that taking a Toa's mask off did, except Toa functioned better than Matoran without masks.32
Av-Matoran were prototypes for the rest of the Matoran. Not knowing at that point how many Toa might be needed to manage the Matoran universe, the Great Beings made Av-Matoran with an especially high potential to become Toa. However, having such a high percentage did not make much sense, since more resources would have been needed to make more Matoran to replace them, so the percentages were cut down for subsequent tribes.33
War between Matoran was uncommon.34
Matoran were usually given their names by Turaga.35
Matoran could not change their own names.36
Matoran would consider finding uses for carcasses left behind by Rahi to be gross.37
Not every Matoran could become a Toa. A Matoran could only become a Toa if was his or her destiny to become a Toa.38
Toa could not be created spontaneously; the Matoran could only become Toa when it was their destiny to do so.39
Matoran weren't naturally inclined to be good. As with all species, they were made up of individuals who made their own choices.40
Matoran mostly wrote by carving into stone because they didn't have paper.41
Matoran felt incapable of envisioning the Great Beings.42
The Matoran respected the power of the Great Beings, but did not worship them.43
Matoran lived easily tens of thousands of years on average.44
Matoran had music to listen to.45
Not every Matoran was capable of becoming a Toa.46
Wars between Matoran were exceedingly rare; creative ways were often found to settle disputes.47
Since they cannot use mask powers, there was no difference for a Matoran to wear a powerless, Noble, or Great Kanohi.48
The Matoran were Mata Nui's people because it was through their labor that Mata Nui's will was done.49
Matoran was the name of the Matoran's species.50
All Matoran elements had prefixes.51
Matoran were the most populous intelligent species in the universe.52
The Matoran in Metru Nui prior to the Great Cataclysm were in their natural forms. This was not necessarily the natural form of Matoran everywhere.53
The Matoran didn't "worship" Mata Nui, but they honored and respected him. Their honor and respect would mean nothing if they didn't have free will, which means they also had the ability to ignore the three virtues if they chose to.54
Matoran types weren't specific to regions with no other types present.55
Very, very few Matoran were destined to become Toa.56
At least on the island of Mata Nui, Matoran probably viewed only the masks of deceased Matoran as important because evidently the masks held remnants of their identities.57
Matoran culture didn't treat masklessness like human cultures treat nudity. A maskless Matoran eventually went into a coma.58
Without a mask, a Matoran would eventually go into a coma.59
Matoran masks had no powers, so there was no reason they needed to know what they could do if they had powers.60
It wasn't possible to change a Matoran's element.61
It was impossible for more Matoran to come into existence on Mata Nui, but it was possible elsewhere.62
On Metru Nui, Matoran did not have a real reason to buy new Kanohi masks. They only changed masks is their old one was damaged.63
It is possible that there were Matoran who wore Matoran versions of masks shaped like the Great Matatu, Noble Akaku, etc.64
New Matoran in Metru Nui were not created in the Great Temple. Presumably, they were created as often as needed.65
Biology
Matoran were bio-mechanical.66, 67 Matoran were known to live for thousands of years.67
When the organic tissue of a deceased Matoran rotted or was removed, the corpse could be used as raw materials. This would likely be considered desecration.68
Aging was not really an issue for Matoran because they could live thousands or potentially even hundreds of thousands of years.69
The average lifespan of a Matoran was many thousands of years.70
Matoran could die of old age.71
Matoran consisted of mechanical parts linked together by organic tissue, but there was no organic tissue within their mechanical parts. They were able to disconnect their organic tissue without suffering, and the tissue would fuse to a new mechanical part when added.72
Being biomechanical, Matoran had sensory apparatuses so they could smell, hear, and experience other sensations without obvious noses or ears.73
It was very unlikely that Matoran could cry tears.74
Matoran could likely cough, as they had lungs.75
Matoran had no need to taste because it wasn't important given how they ate.76
Matoran joints didn't need external lubrication.77
Matoran were incapable of blushing.78
Matoran were mechanical parts connected by organic tissue. Given that they had no skin, they had no sweat glands and did not produce sweat.79
Matoran were unlikely to have spit.80
Matoran were unlikely to shake from fear or cold.81
Matoran required sleep.82
Matoran got nutrition by absorbing energy directly from certain things such as fruit and fish. They absorbed energy merely by making physical contact with these items; they did not chew or swallow their food.83
Matoran breathed air, so they were mammals.84
Matoran generally didn't need physicians because Matoran were mostly mechanical and their organic parts were well-shielded.85
The builds seen in story year 2004 were the standard form of Metru Nui Matoran, but that didn't mean it was the standard form of all Matoran everywhere.86
New Matoran could not come into being if Mata Nui were dead.87
What was needed to create Matoran would no longer exist if Mata Nui died.88
Matoran were probably named on their creation, most likely by their Turaga if they had one.89
Matoran were likely the most populous species in the Matoran universe.90
Matoran would only be able to use masks if they shared a mental link with Toa so they could share the mental attributes of the Toa, but no such mechanism was known.91
Other Information
- The story team decided that the method by which Matoran come into being could not be discussed.92