Character guide

The Young Man

major

Also known as ye, yours, thou, the young man, thee

He arrives at the priest-chief's house with gifts wrapped in white buckskin, navigating the delicate protocols of Zuni courtship with careful ceremony. His restraint at the meal—eating 'ever so little'—reveals a young man keenly aware that desire must be tempered by propriety. His journey across the western plains sets the tale's central trial in motion, making his earnest pursuit the emotional anchor of the opening arc.

The Maiden

major

Also known as thou, herself, thee, the maiden

She moves through her father's house with quiet competence, placing wafer-thin héwe before the visiting stranger and sweeping crumbs after his modest meal. Her beauty is legendary, yet her role in the household—serving, observing, being watched—hints at the constrained agency of a prized daughter. Her presence transforms a simple courtship visit into a trial, making her the still center around which the tale's romantic contest turns.

Coyote

major

Also known as the Coyote, The Coyote, the old Coyote, A Coyote, the little Coyote, This Coyote, Your

Coyote stages an elaborate performance of self-mutilation and miraculous healing, substituting antelope bones for his own legs with theatrical cries of pain. His flattery—'there is no deer that can run away from me'—hooks the gullible Demon, whose eagerness to match Coyote's speed blinds him to the con. This episode showcases Coyote's signature blend of cunning and cruelty, establishing him as a figure whose tricks entertain even as they maim.

Old Tarantula

supporting

Also known as The Old Tarantula, Old Tarantula, the old Tarantula, the Aged Tarantula

Old Tarantula's theft triggers a communal crisis, sending men, women, and children with digging-sticks and baskets to tunnel after him until they strike the mountain's bedrock. His den becomes a symbol of elusive wrongdoing, forcing the town's elders to seek supernatural aid from the Great Kingfisher. As the antagonist of this pursuit tale, Tarantula embodies the challenge that tests a community's resourcefulness and the limits of ordinary effort.

The Old Demon

supporting

Also known as the old Demon, The old demon, the Demon, himself

The Demon complains of hard times catching deer and antelope, his eyes sticking out further as Coyote boasts of outrunning any quarry. His vanity—'Do you think I am a baby? or a woman?'—makes him the perfect mark for Coyote's con, and he smashes his own thigh without hesitation. His gullibility and physical ruin serve as a cautionary counterpoint to Coyote's cleverness, illustrating how pride and desperation invite deception.

The Turtle

supporting

Also known as The Turtle, Turtle, The old Turtle, the old Turtle, old Turtle, the proud Turtle

Turtle's reputation for cleverness rests on his ability to outlast and outthink opponents who underestimate him. Though his body is slow, his mind works with a deliberateness that mirrors his pace, making him a foil to the impulsive Coyote and the hasty Demon. In tales of wit against speed, Turtle represents the quiet triumph of strategy over brute force, anchoring the collection's moral imagination.

The Old Grandmother

supporting

Also known as the old Grandmother, The old grandmother, herself, myself

She is the grandmother whose house the boy runs to when the contest of frights demands more than human nerve. Far from a passive hearth-keeper, she blackens one side of his face with soot and the other with ashes, then hands him a stone axe of ancient power. Her quick, delighted readiness to help — 'All right, my son; I will help you!' — shows a woman who understands that wit and paint can beat brute strength, and she sets the tale's central trick in motion.

The Eagle

supporting

Also known as The Eagle, Eagle, the old Eagle, Great Eagle, mine, himself, its

In the great white-walled house of the Eagles, reached only through roof openings, this old man rises to pronounce the youth and Eagle-maiden wife and husband. He belongs to a winged people who can take human or bird form at will, and he oversees the patient training that follows: soft bedding laid on the floor, a novice flapping and tumbling, then at last sustained flight. His welcome and his blessing turn a stranger into kin, making the marriage and the youth's slow transformation feel earned rather than magical.

Great Kingfisher

supporting

Also known as the Great Kingfisher, Kingfisher, Instantly Great Kingfisher, himself, your

He belongs to the winged powers that hover at the edges of the Mátsaki courtship story, where a suitor climbs a ladder with a bundle of mantles and necklaces rolled in white buckskin. The tale moves with careful ceremony — wafer bread offered, eaten sparingly, crumbs swept — and figures like the Kingfisher carry its sense of a world where birds and gods take part in human fortunes. His presence signals that the lovers' trial will be decided by more than earthly favor.

Friend Mouse

supporting

Also known as the Mouse, The Mouse, mine

He lives under the wall of the old woman's corral, with no grandmother to feed him, and grows bold on the Tâkâkâ Cock's tortilla crumbs. Caught mid-theft, he loses his long tail to one hard peck and mourns it as a young dancer mourns his hair, squeaking vengeance. His wounded vanity and patient scheming make him the tale's engine of retribution, a small creature whose grudge against a shameless great beast drives the mischief that follows.

The Cock

supporting

Also known as The cock, the Cock, The Cock, the old Tâkâkâ Cock, the Tâkâkâ Cock, the old Tâkâkâ

Kept by a poor old Italia-kwe woman in a wattle-and-rawhide cage too tall to fly from, he sits in the sun kâ-tâ-kâ-tok-ing and dreaming of worms. Fed only refuse, he mistakes the Mouse's naked tail for one and bites it clean off in a single gulp. His heedless greed turns a petty theft into a feud, and his sleepy, stiff-necked complacency makes him exactly the kind of adversary a clever mouse can ruin.

The Bear

supporting

Also known as the old Bear, the great Black Bear, The Bear, yours, himself, myself, your

He meets the boy on the plateau with a bellow of ownership — 'They are mine!' — and proposes a trial: whoever can scare the other keeps the ground. He charges from the thicket snapping trees and snarling, yet the boy never stirs a leaf, so the Bear must submit to being frightened in turn. His bluff, blustering confidence and his comic collapse before soot, ashes, and a magic axe make him the tale's grand obstacle and its loudest joke.

The Gopher

supporting

Also known as The old Gopher, The lubber-cheeked old Gopher, the old Gopher, himself

The Gopher belongs to the animal folk who populate Zuni storytelling, a creature of the earth whose burrowing ways give him advantages no winged or four-footed rival can match. His defining trait is cunning rather than strength, and he delights in turning the pride of others against them. In the early arc he embodies the tale-teller's lesson that wit, not size, decides who wins.

Mátsailéma

supporting

Also known as Mátsailéma Stole the Thunder-Stone, himself, your

Mátsailéma is one of the Beloved Two, sons of the Sun-father and the Waters of the World, raised on Twin Mountain with their old grandmother. Where his elder brother Áhaiyúta rushes forward, Mátsailéma counsels patience and cunning, and it is he who reads the demon's flattering ways before the ambush. His theft of the thunder-stone marks him as the bolder, more transgressive twin, and his judgment shapes how the brothers confront the threats to the children of earth.

Old Mítsina

supporting

Also known as Mítsina, old Mítsina, The Hermit Mítsina, himself, myself

Old Mítsina dwells away from the pueblos, a solitary figure whose long memory of the ancients makes him a source of wisdom for travelers and suppliants. His withdrawal from communal life sets him in quiet tension with the busy world of priests and maidens, yet his door still opens to those who come with proper respect. In the early arc he represents the older, harder knowledge that the young must seek out if they hope to survive the dangers abroad.

Átahsaia

supporting

Also known as himself

Átahsaia is the terror of the ancient days, a giant who devours men, women, and children and carries a bow of mountain-oak and a knife as broad as a man's thigh. For all his ugliness he is a great liar and flatterer, luring his victims with gentle words before he strikes, and his chuckle of 'Good lunch! Two for a munch!' echoes across the mesas. His pursuit of the two maidens of Héshokta draws the twin war gods into the hunt, making him the first great threat the brothers must answer.

Áhaiyúta

supporting

Also known as little Áhaiyúta, himself, your

Áhaiyúta is the elder of the Beloved Two, born of the Sun-father and the Waters of the World and raised on Twin Mountain with his grandmother. He is quick to act and quick to quarrel, and when the cry of Átahsaia sounds he wants nothing but to run at the demon at once. His brother's insistence on waiting and planning tests him, but together the twins guard the Land of Zuni, and his courage is the blade his brother's cunning directs.

The Deer

supporting

Also known as The Deer, Deer, their, thou, its, thy, themselves

The Deer is the leader and foster-mother of a great herd, who long ago found a mortal infant and nursed him as her own. When the people discover the herd and decree a grand hunt, she must tell the youth the truth of his birth and prepare him to return to his own kind. Her quiet acceptance of the hunt as a sacred exchange, and her guidance of the boy to the Lake of the Dead, make her the moral heart of the tale's early arc.

The Young Swift-Runner

supporting

Also known as Swift-runner, himself

The Young Swift-Runner belongs to the world of Zuni animal tales, where human and creature meet on equal footing and every encounter carries a test. His defining ordeal is the loss of his garments to the Aged Tarantula, a humiliation that forces him to rely on speed and wit rather than pride. His plight anchors the early arc of his tale, turning a simple contest of swiftness into a lesson about vulnerability, resourcefulness, and the price of underestimating even the smallest adversary.

The Stranger

supporting

Also known as the stranger, thee, thou, Thou, thyself, thy

The Stranger arrives at the priest-chief's door in Mátsaki with a bundle of mantles and necklaces, hoping to win the hand of the beautiful maiden within. His tension lies in the delicate dance of Zuni etiquette: he must eat little, speak formally, and let the old ones guide the conversation while his heart presses toward its desire. He matters because his courtship sets the entire Trial of Lovers in motion, transforming a quiet hearthside visit into a contest that will test the worth of every suitor.

The Eagles

minor

Also known as Eagles, The Eagles, the little Eagles, their, our

A group of eagle characters, sometimes including young ones, in various stories.

The Priest-Chief

supporting

Also known as the priest-chief, thou, thee, their, thy

As the father of the beautiful maiden of Salt City, the Priest-Chief presides over the largest house in Mátsaki, a dwelling adorned with buckskins, turquoises, and shells from the ocean. His authority is both religious and social, and he weighs each suitor who climbs his ladder with the calm of a man accustomed to councils and sacrifice. His measured hospitality and quiet judgments shape the early contest for his daughter's hand, making him the gatekeeper whose favor every young man must earn.

The Maiden the Sun

minor

Also known as the Sun, himself

A maiden who is loved by the Sun and bears his children.

The Priest-Chief's Daughter

supporting

Also known as the priest-chief's daughter

The Priest-Chief's Daughter moves through her father's great house with the ease of one accustomed to turquoise-covered portholes and endless stores of buckskin. She serves wafer bread to visiting strangers and sweeps away crumbs with practiced grace, yet her own desires remain veiled behind the customs that govern her. Her beauty and her father's standing make her the center of a contest that will reveal which suitor possesses not only fine presents but true worth.

Coyotes

minor

Also known as the Coyotes, Those Coyotes, the little Coyotes, The Coyotes, their

A group of coyote characters who act together in certain tales.

Blackbirds

minor

Also known as the Blackbirds, The Blackbirds, their, themselves

Birds who dance with Coyote in a trickster tale.

The Turkeys

minor

Also known as Turkeys, your

Birds that appear as characters, sometimes as helpers or in trickster tales.

Etawa

minor

Also known as old Etawa

An elder character mentioned in some Zuni narratives.

The Owl

minor

Also known as Owl, the old Owl, The Owl

A single owl character appearing in specific tales.

Locust

minor

Also known as the Locust, the old Locust, himself

An insect character who races or competes with others.

The Beetle

minor

Also known as The Beetle, himself

A small insect character who interacts with Coyote.

The Ravens

minor

Also known as the two Ravens, The Ravens, their, our

Birds who race their eyes in a trickster tale with Coyote.

The Twain

minor

Also known as Twain

A pair of characters, often twins or companions, in certain stories.

The Poor Turkey Girl

supporting

Also known as the Turkey, the young Turkey

The Poor Turkey Girl drives her flock through the plazas of Mátsaki, watching the people prepare for the Dance of the Sacred Bird while she remains ugly and ill-clad, excluded from every festival. Her loneliness is softened only by the conversations she holds with her turkeys, never dreaming they understand her longing. When the old Gobbler finally speaks, offering to dress her so beautifully that no one will recognize her, her tale becomes a meditation on temperance, gratitude, and the fragile line between good fortune and its loss.

The Rattlesnake

minor

A snake character who appears in stories explaining its nature.

The Maiden of Mátsaki

minor

Also known as Mátsaki

A maiden from Mátsaki who features in a specific tale.

Grandmother Spider

minor

Also known as Grandmother, your

A wise spider elder who helps or advises characters.

The Badger

minor

Also known as the old Badger, The old Badger

A burrowing animal character appearing in some stories.

The Ugly Wild Boy

minor

A wild boy who drives a bear away from a mesa.

Grandfather Burrowing-Owl

minor

Also known as Grandfather, the Burrowing-owl, the Grandfather Burrowing-owl

An elder owl character who serves as a priest to prairie dogs.

Kólowissi

minor

A named character or spirit in Zuni mythology.

The Centipede

minor

Also known as himself

A creepy-crawly character appearing in some tales.

Mice

minor

Also known as the Mice, The Mice, their

Small rodent characters appearing in some tales.

Old Amiwili

minor

Also known as Amiwili, Old Amiwili, himself

An elder character who plays a role in certain Zuni tales.

The Mountain Lion

minor

A powerful predator character appearing in some stories.

The Owls

minor

Also known as the Owls, their, our

A group of owl characters who appear in various tales.

Mr. Cushing

minor

Also known as Cushing

The ethnographer who collected and translated these Zuni folktales.

Bison

minor

Also known as the fourfold Bison

A powerful animal character appearing in some tales.

Rattlesnakes

minor

Also known as the Rattlesnakes, their

A group of rattlesnakes appearing in an origin story.

The Storks

minor

Birds that appear as characters in certain tales.

The Badgers

minor

Also known as the old Badgers, The Badgers

A group of badger characters in certain tales.

Lesser Falcon

minor

Also known as the Lesser Falcon, himself

A bird of prey character appearing in some narratives.

Häki Suto

minor

A named character in certain Zuni tales.

The Old Gobbler

minor

An old turkey character appearing in some stories.

The Crows

minor

Also known as their

Birds that appear in some tales, often as tricksters or helpers.

Misho Lizards

minor

Also known as Misho Lizards, Misho

Lizard characters appearing in certain Zuni stories.

Páutiwa

minor

A Zuni deity or spirit character mentioned in tales.

Shúlawitsi

minor

A Zuni fire god or spirit appearing in some narratives.

The Horned-Toad

minor

A reptile character appearing in certain Zuni stories.

Locusts

minor

Also known as their, themselves

A group of locust characters in some tales.

The Raven

minor

Also known as himself

A single raven character appearing in some stories.

Awiteli Wakashi

minor

A named character in certain Zuni tales.

The Gray Wolf

minor

Also known as the Wolf

A wolf character appearing in some narratives.

Tchumali

minor

A named character in Zuni folklore.

Moki

minor

A place or character name appearing in some tales.

Waíhusiwa

minor

A named character in certain Zuni stories.

Kutchi

minor

Also known as kutchi, your

A named character or term in Zuni narratives.

Brother

minor

A sibling character appearing in some tales.