Character Analysis
Tayo encounters the hunter briefly on his way down from the mountain where he found the spotted cattle. The hunter is singing a Laguna hunting chant, which he follows up with a song from another tribe. As with his sister Ts'eh, it's unclear where the hunter is from or what clan he belongs to. This mystery helps make the hunter a sort of universal character—he belongs to all the tribes.
Like Ts'eh, the hunter has an animal counterpart. He's associated with the mountain lion who twice rescues Tayo on the mountain, first by appearing to him and giving him strength and later by distracting the ranchers who have captured him. The hunter appears just after the mountain lion has rescued Tayo for the second time, and he wears a mountain-lion-skin cap. Coincidence? We don't think so. At the novel's end, the Laguna elders explicitly refer to the hunter as "Mountain Lion" (XXVIII).
Unlike the white ranchers who are destroying the mountain, the hunter doesn't hunt for fun or sport. When he brings home a deer, he and Ts'eh honor the animal with the traditional ritual. While the white ranchers represent destruction, death, and a disregard for nature, the hunter, like Ts'eh, represents a positive, life-affirming connection to the natural world. Since he's Ts'eh's brother, he's also a Montaño, meaning he's associated with the mountains. (For more on this, check out our discussion of Names under "Character Clues.")
Finally, the hunter provides for a little bit of humor in the novel. At first Tayo thinks he's Ts'eh's husband, and he's really embarrassed to be in the house with the two of them after sleeping with Ts'eh. Adorable awkwardness ensues.