# The Priest-Chief — Zuni Folktales character guide

> The Priest-Chief in Zuni Folktales by Frank Hamilton Cushing.

**Role:** supporting

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

**First appearance:** 0001-zuni-folktales

## Snapshot

The wealthy priest-chief of Mátsaki, whose turquoise-studded portholes and towering ladder-poles mark him as a man of both sacred and worldly power.

## Who they are

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.

## In the story

### [Told the First Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/told-the-first-night)

The father of the maiden; he accepts her death stoically and orders her burial before the House of the Sun.

### [The Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/the-tale)

The father of the maiden, a priest and sage who recognizes the danger of the serpent child and orchestrates the sacrificial atonement.

### [The Foster-Child of the Deer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/the-foster-child-of-the-deer)

The maiden's father, a great priest who confronts her about the child.

### [The Young Swift-Runner Who Was Stripped of His Clothing by the Aged Tarantula](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/the-young-swift-runner-who-was-stripped-of-his-clothing-by-the-aged-tarantula)

Swift-runner's father who organizes the war party and council.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/characters/priest_chief
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/characters