For the in-universe BIONICLE, see The BIONICLE.
BIONICLE
BIONICLE is a line of Toys and a Storyline made by the Lego Group that is marketed towards those in the 7-16 year-old range. The line was launched in January 2001 in Europe and June/July 2001 in the United States.
History
The 3 Virtues: Unity, Duty and Destiny, most notable symbol of BIONICLE
The year 1997 was an absolutely horrid time for the Lego company. For the first time in the history of the company, it had posted a loss. The Lego Company needed a change in order for it to appeal to this new generation of youngsters. They realized that kids in this fast-paced modern world wanted something cool to play with that would encompass more than building blocks. Kids wanted a story behind those blocks, and to go with that story they wanted neat pieces that they could use to create their own play fantasies.
No, this was not the start of BIONICLE as one may expect it to be, this was the birth of the Star Wars line. Star Wars was a smash hit, and it almost took Lego out of the red for 1999. However, although the sales for the sets were outstanding, a large number of royalties had to be paid to Lucasfilm in order to retain the licensing agreement for Star Wars. Lego now knew that bricks with a story and focus worked, but the licensing agreement with Lucasfilm kept Lego out of the black.
Themes of LEGO BIONICLE
Toa Mata
The first line of Bionicles.
The Toa Mata were the first line of BIONICLE that LEGO produced, along with some side sets that advanced the story like Rahi (first antagonists), Matoran/Turaga (villagers), and the Toa Mata consisted of: Lewa, Tahu, Kopaka, Pohatu, Onua, Gali. Each had Elemental Powers--powers that let them use the elements to their will. These Toa had a collective destiny: to awaken the Great Spirit Mata Nui. These Toa came in "Toa canisters", which were just as much part of the packaging as they were of the storyline. First, the Toa fought Rahi, which were actually the first sets. They gathered some masks, and eventually acquired the golden masks of power. Then these Toa had to fight six types of Bohrok and Bohrok-Va (smaller Bohrok scouts), each from a different village the Toa defended. The Bohrok challenged the Toa's powers and nearly overcame them. Krana were the "brains" of the machine-like bodies of the Bohrok. The Bohrok hordes were controlled by their Queens: Cahdok and Gahdok. The Toa later learned that something was controlling the Bohrok swarms and quickly traveled to their lair, after discovering its entrance by following a Bohrok Va, and fought Cahdok and Gahdok. After winning and encasing the queens, the Bohrok no longer served them, and were tame.
After defeating the queens, the Toa Mata became Toa Nuva, granting them more power. Soon afterwards, the Bohrok-Kal were revealed.
- Characters - Factions, Toa, Matoran
- Islands
- Rahi
- Books - BIONICLE Chronicles, BIONICLE Adventures, BIONICLE Legends
- BIONICLE Sets
Word Meanings
For a time, the BIONICLE franchise used words out of Polynesian languages, most noticeably the New Zealand Māori language.
However, after some controversy (see below) regarding Lego's use of words from other cultures, many of their names now either have no root word, or are based on English or Latin words.
Being Names
- "Mata Nui" is the New Zealand Maori words for "Great Eye" and is the name of the being who watches the Matoran Universe.
- "Toa" is the New Zealand Maori word for "Warrior" and is the name of the heroes of Bionicle.
- "Kopaka" is the New Zealand Māori word for "cold" or "ice" and is the name of a Toa of Ice.
- "Onewa" is the New Zealand Māori word for "basalt" and is the name of a Turaga of Stone.
- "Pohatu" is the New Zealand Māori word for "stone" or "rock" and is the name of a Toa of Stone.
- "Tahu" is the New Zealand Māori word for "burn" and is the name of a Toa of Fire.
- "Whenua" is the New Zealand Māori word for "earth" and is the name of a Turaga of Earth.
- "Jala" was used as the name of a fire character and changed to "Jaller".
- "Maku" means "wet"; it was used as the name of a water character and changed to "Macku".
- "Kahu", meaning "cape" or "cloak", and "Kewa" were used for types of birds; they became one and the same as "Gukko birds". (However, a recent advertisement for the Toa Mahri mistakenly listed Kongu as a "Kahu" bird rider.)
- "Nui" is the New Zealand Maori word for "Great" and was used as a prefix/suffix of many things e.g. Nui Stone, Karda Nui.
- "Malum is a Latin word that means "bad," or "evil."
- "Metus" is a Latin word that means "fear".
- "Fero" is a Latin word that means "I carry."
- "Umbra" is Latin word that means "shadow".
Place Names
- "Koro" is a Fijian word for "village" and is used similarly.
- "Turaga" is a Fijian title for village chief and is used similarly in BIONICLE.
- "Suva" -not likely a Māori Word- the BIONICLE name of shrines to Toa. It is the capital and largest city of Fiji.
Other Names
- "Puku" means "stomach", "belly", etc.; it was used as the name of a pet Ussal crab belonging to Takua. The crab's name was changed to "Pewku".
- "Tohunga" means "priest", "expert", etc.; it was used for the race of villagers and replaced with the term "Matoran"
Controversy
After the BIONICLE toy line was released in 2001, Māori activists criticized Lego for the use of Māori words, saying that they were illegally patenting aspects of their culture for their recently released video game based on the toys. A lawyer, Maui Solomon, had written to Lego on behalf of three Māori tribes, demanding that sales of the game halt. Solomon later added that it was a trivialization of their culture, such as the use of Tohunga (meaning "Priest") as a word for the common people of the BIONICLE world, that brought up cultural and moral issues. Eva Lykkegaard, a spokeswoman for Lego, denied allegations of interfering with their cultural heritage, saying, "On the contrary, we have a deep respect for the history of the Polynesian people and for the richness and cultural diversity of the universe," adding that Lego had only registered BIONICLE for a trademark, but none of the other words. Lego would not use any more Māori words from then on, however they could not change many words that were already incorporated in the BIONICLE universe.