Legends of Vancouver · Chapter
The Two Sisters explained
The chapter recounts the Indigenous legend of 'The Two Sisters' (known to settlers as 'The Lions of Vancouver'), in which a great Tyee's two daughters, coming of age, request that their father invite their hostile northern enemies to their
What happens
The chapter recounts the Indigenous legend of 'The Two Sisters' (known to settlers as 'The Lions of Vancouver'), in which a great Tyee's two daughters, coming of age, request that their father invite their hostile northern enemies to their coming-of-age feast. The Tyee agrees, the feast becomes a great peace, and the Sagalie Tyee transforms the sisters into the twin mountain peaks as eternal guardians of peace and brotherhood.
Themes in this chapter
Peace and Reconciliation
The central theme of the chapter: the two sisters' request transforms enmity into lasting brotherhood, ending war between tribes.
Motherhood and Feminine Power
The sisters are honored for their potential to mother future warriors, and their agency brings about peace, elevating their status to immortal guardians.
Nature and Landscape as Sacred
The twin peaks are sacred embodiments of the sisters, standing as eternal symbols of peace and the divine presence in the natural world.
Characters to notice
- The Great Tyee
The powerful chief who hosts a peace feast in honor of his daughters, setting aside war to celebrate their womanhood.
- Sagalie Tyee
The divine figure who makes the two sisters immortal, setting them as the twin peaks to guard peace and brotherhood.
- Chief Capilano
The narrator who tells the legend of the Two Sisters to Miss Johnson, recalling the story with deep cultural reverence.
- Pauline Johnson
The listener and recorder of the legend, who observes the peaks and learns their Indigenous meaning from Chief Capilano.
Key passages
“placed in a high seat, an exalted position, for is she not marriageable? And does not marriage mean motherhood? And does not motherhood mean a vaster nation of brave sons and of gentle daughters, who, in their turn, will give us sons and daughters of their own?”
A young woman is honored at her coming-of-age because she can become a mother, and motherhood ensures the growth and continuation of the tribe.
Explains the cultural value placed on women's fertility and the future of the nation.
“‘Will you, for our sakes, invite the great northern hostile tribe—the tribe you war upon—to this, our feast?’ they asked fearlessly.”
The two sisters bravely ask their father to invite their enemies to the celebration.
Shows the sisters' courage and desire for peace.
“Then the Sagalie Tyee smiled on His Indian children: ‘I will make these young-eyed maidens immortal,’ He said. In the cup of His hands He lifted the chief’s two daughters and set them forever in a high place, for they had borne two offspring—Peace and Brotherhood—each of which is now a great Tyee ruling this land.”
The divine being transforms the sisters into the twin mountain peaks as eternal symbols of peace and brotherhood.
Climax of the legend, explaining the origin of the Lions of Vancouver.