Norbis Kiemila

Overview

When Olelbis builds his upper-world house, a piece cut from a white oak rolls beyond the sky into the lower world and becomes a people in the southeast. Norbis Kiemila belongs to this origin. From his southern home he sees Norwan and calls her his wife. He visits her house at night with a deerskin quiver, stays until dawn, and later comes splendidly dressed to the great dance after she has already departed with the Tede Wiu brothers.

Norbis questions the guests and then follows the brothers with his people. His messengers offer a conditional peace: surrender Norwan and he will leave; refuse and he will fight. The brothers refuse. The first day of battle alternates advantage between the forces and ends at night without a decision. Both sides summon reinforcements, and Norbis renews his demand before the second struggle.

When crushed fir bark throws his army into disorder, Norbis calls on Norhara Chepmis, whose storm provokes the intervention of Wainom Yola on the other side. Snow and rain exhaust the combatants and the armies disperse. Norbis returns southeast without Norwan; she has escaped independently. Although he calls her his wife, the narrative does not depict a wedding or her willing acceptance of his claim. Curtin’s explanation of him as a representative of the productive southeast is a later interpretive proposal.

Origins & earliest records

Wintu narrative Norwan in Jeremiah Curtin’s 1898 collection. His provenance describes California collecting; no individual teller is named for this chapter. These are first-world personages, not a description of living Wintu people.

Records & interpretation

Complete Norwan introduction, personage list and narrative pp. 69–117, through the final returning armies and subsequent metamorphoses, read alongside the complete interpretive note pp. 497–503. Curtin’s solar theory and comparisons with Greek and Algonquian traditions are his interpretations.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Creation Myths of Primitive America in Relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind

   Jeremiah Curtin · 1898

   Norwan, complete pp. 69–117; selected profile passages 71,75,78,84–94; interpretive note497–503; collection provenance486–487.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textCurtin1898: Norwan, complete Wintu war cycleResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.