Wintu-Nomlaki traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the

Wintu The Wintu (also Northern Wintun) are Native Americans who live in what is now Northern California. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun (or Wintuan). Others are the Nomlaki and the Patwin. The Wintu ...

and

Nomlaki The Nomlaki (also Noamlakee, Central Wintu, Nomelaki) are a Wintun people native to the area of the Sacramento Valley, extending westward to the Coast Range in Northern California. Today some Nomlaki people are enrolled in the federally recogniz ...

people of the western

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

in northern California. Winto-Nomalki oral literature is in many respects typical of central California, but it also reflects influences from Northwest Coast, Plateau, and Great Basin regions. (''See also''

Traditional narratives (Native California) The traditional narratives of Native California are the folklore and mythology of the native people of California. For many historic nations of California, there is only a fragmentary record of their traditions. Spanish missions in California f ...

Mythology of Yuki, Pomo, Wintun and others

''The North American Indian''
by

Edward S. Curtis Edward Sherriff Curtis (February 19, 1868 – October 19, 1952) was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people. Sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Catcher", Curtis travele ...

(1924)

Sources for Wintu-Nomlaki Narratives

* Curtin, Jeremiah. 1898. ''Creation Myths of Primitive America in Relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind''. Little, Brown, Boston. (Reprinted in 1995 as "Creation Myths of America.") (Nine Wintun myths, with commentaries.) * Curtis, Edward S. 1907–1930. ''The North American Indian''. 20 vols. Plimpton Press, Norwood, Massachusetts. (Wintu creation myth collected from Tommy Neal, vol. 14, p. 173.) * Demetracopoulou, Dorothy, and Cora A. DuBois. 1932. "A Study in Wintu Mythology". ''Journal of American Folklore'' 45:375-500. (69 texts, including multiple versions, collected in 1929–1930.) * DuBois, Cora A. 1935. "Wintu Ethnography". ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology'' 36:1-148. Berkeley. (Information on mythology and beliefs, pp. 72–88.) * DuBois, Cora A., and Dorothy Demetracopoulou. 1931. "Wintu Myths". ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology'' 28:279-402. Berkeley. (Myths, including Earth Diver, Theft of Fire, Loon Woman, and Bear and Fawns, collected in 1929.) * Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso Ortiz. 1984. ''American Indian Myths and Legends''. Pantheon Books, New York. (Retelling of a narrative from DuBois and Demetracopoulou 1931, pp. 209–211.) * Goldschmidt, Walter. 1951. "Nomlaki Ethnography". ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology'' 42:303-443. Berkeley. (Myths, including Theft of Fire, pp. 349–351, 390–400.) *

Goldschmidt, Walter Walter Rochs Goldschmidt (February 24, 1913 – September 1, 2010) was an American anthropologist. Goldschmidt was of German descent, born in San Antonio, Texas, on February 24, 1913, to Hermann and Gretchen Goldschmidt. He earned a bachelor's deg ...

, George Foster, and Frank Essene. 1939. "War Stories from Two Enemy Tribes". ''Journal of American Folklore'' 52:141-154. (Reprinted in ''The California Indians: A Source Book'', edited by R. F. Heizer and M. A. Whipple, pp. 445–458, 2nd ed., 1971, University of California Press, Berkeley. (Five Nomlaki accounts of warfare with the Yuki, compared with Yuki accounts; collected in 1935–1937, referring in some cases to events less than a century old.) * Kroeber, A. L. 1932. "The Patwin and their Neighbors". ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology'' 29:253-423. Berkeley. (Wintu/Nomlaki war stories, p. 303.) * Kroeber, A. L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C. (Brief note, p. 362.) * Kroeber, Theodora. 1959. ''

The Inland Whale ''The Inland Whale'' is a 1959 book by Theodora Kroeber. It is a retelling of nine pieces of Indigenous American folklore, along with authorial commentary. Kroeber's prose received praise, though a reviewer noted that she had taken some liberti ...

''. University of California Press. (Retelling of one traditional narrative with commentary, pp. 77–84, 178–183.) * Luthin, Herbert W. 2002. ''Surviving through the Days: A California Indian Reader''. University of California Press, Berkeley. (Retranslation of myth previously published in DuBois and Demetracopoulou 1931 and in Demetracopoulou 1935, pp. 192–218.) * Margolin, Malcolm. 1993. ''The Way We Lived: California Indian Stories, Songs, and Reminiscences''. First edition 1981.

Heyday Books Heyday is an independent nonprofit publisher based in Berkeley, California. Heyday was founded by Malcolm Margolin in 1974 when he wrote, typeset, designed, and distributed ''The East Bay Out'', a guide to the natural history of the hills and b ...

, Berkeley, California. (Four myths, pp. 22–24, 35–38, 129–130, 154–155, from DuBois and Demetracopoulou 1931.) * Masson, Marcelle. 1966. ''A Bag of Bones: The Wintu Myths of a Trinity River Indian''. Naturegraph, Healdsburg, California. * McKibbin, Grace, and Alice Shepherd. 1997. ''In My Own Words: Stories, Songs, and Memories of Grace McKibbin, Wintu''. Heyday Books, Berkeley, California. * Pitkin, Harvey. 1978. "Squirrel and Acorn-Woman (Wintu)". In ''Coyote Stories'', edited by William Bright, pp. 32–44. International Journal of American Linguistics Native American Texts Series No. 1. University of Chicago Press. (Narrated by Carrie B. Dixon in 1957.) * Schlichter, Alice. 1978. "Coyote and Badger (Wintu)". In ''Coyote Stories'', edited by William Bright, pp. 45–50. International Journal of American Linguistics Native American Texts Series No. 1. University of Chicago Press. (Narrated by Grace MacKibben in 1977.) * Schlichter, Alice. 1980. "Coyote and the 'Cricket' (Wintu)". In ''Coyote Stories II'', edited by Martha B. Kendall, pp. 71–80. International Journal of American Linguistics Native American Texts Series 6. University of Chicago Press. * Shepherd, Alice. 1989. ''Wintu Texts''. University of California Publications in Linguistics No. 117. Berkeley. (Narratives, including Theft of Fire and Bear and Fawns, collected from Grace McKibben and Carrie B. Dixon in 1975–1982.) {{Traditional Narratives (California groups) Traditional narratives Traditional narratives (Native California) Traditional narratives