Who is Nahida in Genshin Impact?

The introduction of Sumeru in Genshin Impact 3.0, which is anticipated to be released sometime around August 22, 2022, will further expand the world of Tevyat. Kusanali, the Flower Archon God of Wisdom, is in charge of the region, and she seems to have an interesting relation to a new character called Nahida. So, who is this Nahida character, and what does she have to do with Genshin Impact’s Dendro Archon?

Of course, this article will be filled to the brim with spoilers of Sumeru and Genshin Impact 3.0 (and some stuff might even be subject to change). You have been warned!

Genshin Impact’s Nahida: Who is She?

As mentioned above, Nahida seems to have a very close connection to Sumeru’s God of Wisdom. And apparently, Nahida is supposed to be the real name of Kusanali, the Lesser Dendro Archon, according to Genshin Impact leaker BLANK. This could imply that Kusanali is really just another title for Nahida; similar to other Genshin Impact characters which are vessels to Archons, such as Rex Lapis and Morax for Zhongli as well as Raiden Shogun and Beelzebub for Raiden Ei.

In Zoroastrianism, Nahid or Nahida seems to be one of the names used for Anahita, goddess of wisdom and fertility. So Nahida ties with the God of Wisdom, Kusanali in Genshin Impact.

The end of the Genshin Impact 2.8 Summertime Odyssey event also pretty much implies some of the stuff that Traveler and co. encountered during the event was a manifestation of Kusanali’s dream. A mysterious voice mentions dreams are like “pure and delicate bubbles” floating on the water. Mona also said something about a god connected to “dream-like mirages” and the Fatui has learned of it. Then, BLANK pointed out that the Statues of the Seven in Sumeru in this article’s header image depicts the Archon sleeping, indicating Kusanali might be more of a Goddess of Dreams/Mirage than a Goddess of Knowledge.

Meanwhile, in Middle Eastern cultures, dreams seem to correlate heavily with knowledge. Muslim prophets saw dreams given to them by God as a way to help them achieve their goals in their journeys. But Satan can also infect someone’s dream and misguide them with false knowledge to lead them away from God’s teaching.

Another well-known leaker, Ubatcha, said that the 500 years old Archon might be a hikikomori-type character — a Japanese term for someone who barely goes outside their dwellings. BLANK added that miHoYo might use a “bait” to make players pull for Kusanali. Reddit users assumed there’s going to be a tragic story behind Kusanali’s vessel that connects to Sumeru’s treatment of knowledge and why she’s called as God of Wisdom. In the end, her fate might lead to something similar to the Sunchildren of Enkanomiya.

Lastly, like Qiqi or Klee, the rumor mill has said that Nahida will have the “short female” body type in-game. But remember that apparently, Kusanali or Nahida’s character model currently swirling around on the internet (as seen above) is not the final version.

It appears that miHoYo will change how Kusanali appears in the game; either to make her appearance look more appropriate for her Lesser Archon title or because they are creating a new model of her vessel, Nahida, who will be playable a bit later. While it is said that Genshin Impact 3.0 update banners will feature two 5-star characters and one 4-star character, Nahida’s release might have been postponed, and she won’t even show up until after the 3.1 updates.

Related:

Genshin Impact: Everything Known About Dehya So Far

Genshin Impact is available on PC, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 platforms.