Bula Berry

The Bula was a green berry that grew on the Bula trees of the island of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. and was known among the MatoranThe Matoran CouncilThe governing body of the sunken city of Mahri Nui, a rotating council of Matoran leaders who met monthly in the Council Chamber of the Mahri Nui Fortress to plan the city's future, distribute the gifts from above, and decide the response to the Barraki incursion. for its ability to restore energy. Its energy passed straight into a Matoran who touched it, which made it handy on long trips. (BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The fruit and its property#

The Bula was a small green berry, one of the named plants of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. alongside the MaduMaduThe volatile coconut-like fruit that grew on the Madu trees of Mata Nui, whose ripe form detonated at the slightest disturbance and whose unripe Cabolo form became a Matoran improvised weapon., whose coconut-like fruit could explode, and the Vuata MacaVuata Maca CrystalThe Vuata Maca Crystals were the energy-bearing crystals that powered the Vuata Maca Trees in each Koro of Mata Nui, and the items Takua recovered to cleanse the poisoned trees during the Dark Time., whose fruit was rich in energy. What marked the Bula out was its restorative power: a MatoranThe Matoran CouncilThe governing body of the sunken city of Mahri Nui, a rotating council of Matoran leaders who met monthly in the Council Chamber of the Mahri Nui Fortress to plan the city's future, distribute the gifts from above, and decide the response to the Barraki incursion. received energy from the berry simply by touching it, with no preparation needed. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

That property gave the Bula a practical role on the island. The MatoranThe Matoran CouncilThe governing body of the sunken city of Mahri Nui, a rotating council of Matoran leaders who met monthly in the Council Chamber of the Mahri Nui Fortress to plan the city's future, distribute the gifts from above, and decide the response to the Barraki incursion. of Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. lived in six villages spread far apart, and travelling between them meant crossing wild country full of RahiRahiThe Rahi were the biomechanical wildlife of the Matoran Universe, built largely by the Brotherhood of Makuta, ranging from background fauna to engineered war beasts.. The Encyclopedia notes that the berries were especially useful on long trips. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

Documented appearances#

The Bula's first appearance was in BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa, the game in which TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. gathers what he needs to bring the Toa MataWho are the Toa Mata?Six warriors built to order by Artakha, stored in canisters, dropped into the ocean. This is the origin story of Bionicle's heroes and why their first week of work was entirely amnesiac. together. The game's items include the Bula berry alongside the MaduMaduThe volatile coconut-like fruit that grew on the Madu trees of Mata Nui, whose ripe form detonated at the slightest disturbance and whose unripe Cabolo form became a Matoran improvised weapon. fruit and the Vuata MacaVuata Maca CrystalThe Vuata Maca Crystals were the energy-bearing crystals that powered the Vuata Maca Trees in each Koro of Mata Nui, and the items Takua recovered to cleanse the poisoned trees during the Dark Time. fruit and crystal, grouped as healing items rather than tools or weapons. (BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa)

The Bula tree also appears in the Chronicles books, and the berry is described in both editions of the BIONICLE EncyclopediaTakua's Quest for the Toa StonesThe 2001 Game Boy Advance game in which Takua, banished from Ta-Koro, crosses Mata Nui to rescue the Turaga, recover the six Toa Stones and summon the Toa Mata.. A further mention comes in BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final BattleThe Final BattleThe convergence of the Toa Nuva, Takanuva, and the Toa Ignika at the Codrex beneath Karda Nui, the second Energy Storm, the reawakening of Mata Nui by the sacrifice of the Ignika's body, and the moment Teridax revealed that he had taken the body for himself., set during the fight in Karda NuiKarda NuiThe vast cavern at the core of the Matoran universe, home of the Av-Matoran's Sky Villages and the Codrex, and the site of the battle to awaken Mata Nui., where LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui. tells a story about three MatoranThe Matoran CouncilThe governing body of the sunken city of Mahri Nui, a rotating council of Matoran leaders who met monthly in the Council Chamber of the Mahri Nui Fortress to plan the city's future, distribute the gifts from above, and decide the response to the Barraki incursion. carrying a basket of Bula berries who ran into a swarm of Nui-RamaNui-RamaLarge insect-like Rahi with deadly claws and venom, known for kidnapping Matoran and attacking Le-Koro.. (BIONICLE Chronicles 2: Beware the Bohrok; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated; BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

The game-record variance#

There is one difference between the sources. The Encyclopedia describes the berry as restoring energy, passed into a MatoranThe Matoran CouncilThe governing body of the sunken city of Mahri Nui, a rotating council of Matoran leaders who met monthly in the Council Chamber of the Mahri Nui Fortress to plan the city's future, distribute the gifts from above, and decide the response to the Barraki incursion. on contact. In BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa, the Bula works as a health item instead, healing damage rather than restoring stamina. (BIONICLE: Encyclopedia; BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa)

The Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. Online Game has a related moment. MatoroMatoroA quiet Ko-Matoran translator who became a Toa Inika and then a Toa Mahri, Matoro gave his life with the Mask of Life to restore Mata Nui. of Ko-KoroKo-Koro GuardThe defensive force of Ko-Koro on Mata Nui, also known as the Sanctum Guard, drawn from Ko-Matoran trained for vigilance in the icy peaks. finds TakuaTakuaAn Av-Matoran hidden on Mata Nui as a Ta-Matoran, who gathered the Toa Stones, served as Chronicler, and ultimately accepted the Avohkii to become Takanuva, the Toa of Light. after he collapses in The DriftsThe DriftsKo-Wahi's frozen wastes were a deadly expanse where snowstorms made navigation nearly impossible, claiming Matoran who ventured unprepared. and gives him something to restore his energy, but the game never names it as a Bula berry. (Mata Nui Online Game)

Place in the Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. flora#

Among the island's plants, the Bula counted as a healing item, unlike the MaduMaduThe volatile coconut-like fruit that grew on the Madu trees of Mata Nui, whose ripe form detonated at the slightest disturbance and whose unripe Cabolo form became a Matoran improvised weapon., whose fruit was known to explode and was treated more like ammunition. The Vuata MacaVuata Maca CrystalThe Vuata Maca Crystals were the energy-bearing crystals that powered the Vuata Maca Trees in each Koro of Mata Nui, and the items Takua recovered to cleanse the poisoned trees during the Dark Time. was the other notable source of energy-rich fruit for the Matoran. (BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa; BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated)

The Bula was an everyday plant rather than a ceremonial one. LewaLewaToa of Air, member of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva, whose career was marked by repeated possession, body theft, and aerial campaigns from Le-Wahi to Karda Nui.'s story, with its basket of berries carried by ordinary Matoran, shows the fruit as the sort of thing villagers simply had on hand. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)

Status after the Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. era#

The Bula's appearances are concentrated in the Mata NuiMata Nui (Location)An island created by accident on the Great Spirit's face, home to the Matoran for a thousand years. era, with Lewa's story in BIONICLE Legends 11 as its last mention. No story says whether Bula trees survived after the Matoran left Mata Nui or what became of them when the population later moved to Spherus MagnaSpherus MagnaA desert world of ancient conflict that became the merger point of the Matoran Universe and Bionicle's true endpoint.. (BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle)