THE LEGENDS OF THE THREE SISTERS

Native American Allegories of 

Corn, Beans and Squash

Fifth installment on the importance of Maize, common beans and gourds for the ancient people of the Western Hemisphere. These legends are transcriptions of texts found on webpages. As legends, the original authors are unknown.  Because these samples are from the Eastern Woodlands region, they are less than a thousand years old.  It took more than 7,000 years for the cultivation of corn to spread from Mesoamerica to this region.

The three sisters are Maize, Beans, and Squash. They are seen as the three beautiful sisters because they grow in the same mound in the traditional inter-planting system. Maize provides a ladder for the bean vines. They together give shade to the squash that acts as a natural mulch and deterrent of weeds and vermin.

THE THREE SISTERS GARDEN - VIDEO

The Indian stories of the Three Sisters vary from tribe to tribe. The first story below is taken from an oral account of the Akwesasne Mohawk people, retold by Lois Thomas of Cornwall Island, Canada, compiled by students at Centennial College. 

The Three Sisters - Mohawk

A long time ago, there were three sisters who lived together in a field. They were quite different from one another in their size and way of dressing. The little sister was so young that she could only crawl at first, and she was dressed in green. The second sister wore a bright yellow dress, and she had a way of running off by herself when the sun shone and the soft wind blew in her face. The third was the eldest sister, standing always very straight and tall above the other sisters and trying to protect them. She wore a pale green shawl, and she had long, yellow hair that tossed about her head in the breeze. There was one way the sisters were all alike, though. They loved each other dearly, and they always stayed together. This made them very strong.

One day a stranger came to the field of the Three Sisters - a Mohawk boy. He talked to the birds and other animals - this caught the attention of the three sisters. Late that summer, the youngest and smallest sister disappeared. Her sisters were sad. Again the Mohawk boy came to the field to gather reeds at the water's edge. The two sisters who were left watched his moccasin trail, and that night the second sister - the one in the yellow dress - disappeared as well. Now the Elder Sister was the only one left. She continued to stand tall in her field. When the Mohawk boy saw that she missed her sisters, he brought them all back together and they became stronger together, again.

The Three Sisters - Iroquois

The Iroquois creation myth tells that the earth began when “Sky Woman”, who lived in the upper world, peered through a hole in the sky and fell through to an endless sea. The animals saw her coming, so they took the soil from the bottom of the sea and spread it onto the back of a giant turtle to provide a safe place for her to land. This “Turtle Island” is now what we call North America.

Sky woman had become pregnant before she fell. When she landed, she gave birth to a daughter. When the daughter grew into a young woman, she also became pregnant.  by the She died while giving birth to twin boys fathered by the West Wind. Sky Woman buried her daughter in the “new earth.” From her grave grew three sacred plants—corn, beans, and squash. These plants provided food for her sons, and later, for all of humanity. 

These special gifts ensured the survival of the Iroquois people.

The Three Sisters - Saponi Sioux

A woman of medicine who could no longer bear the fighting among her three daughters asked the Creator to help her find a way to get them to stop. That night she had a dream, and in it each sister was a different seed. In her dream, she planted them in one mound in just the way they would have lived at home and told them that in order to grow and thrive, they would need to be different but dependent upon each other. They needed to see that each was special and each had great things to offer on her own and with the others. 

The next morning while cooking breakfast, she cooked each daughter an egg, but each was different: one hard-boiled, one scrambled, and one over-easy. She told her daughters of her dream and said to them, “You are like these eggs. Each is still an egg but with different textures and flavors. Each of you has a special place in the world and in my heart.” The daughters started to cry and hugged each other, because now they would celebrate their differences and love one another more because of them. 

From that day on, Native people have planted the three crops together—Three Sisters helping and loving each other.

The Three Sisters - Cherokee

Once upon a time there were three sisters. The first sister was very tall and strong; her name was Corn Girl, and she wore a pale green dress and had long yellow hair that blew in the wind. Corn Girl liked to stand straight and tall, but the hot sun burned her feet and hurt her. And the longer Corn Girl stood in her field, the hungrier she got. And every day more weeds were growing up around her and choking her. The second sister was very thin and quick and fast, and her name was Bean Girl, but she wasn't very strong. She couldn't even stand up on her own. She was good at making food, but she just had to lie there stretched out on the ground, and she would get dirty and wet, which wasn't good for her. The third sister, Squash Girl, was short and fat and wore a yellow dress. She was hungry too.

For a long time, the sisters didn't get along. They each wanted to be independent and free, and not have anything to do with the other two. So Corn Girl stood there with her sunburned feet and got hungrier and hungrier. And Bean Girl lay there on the ground and got dirtier and wetter. And the little fat sister Squash Girl was hungry too. So Bean Girl talked to her sister Corn Girl and said, "What if I feed you some good food, and you can hold me up so I don't have to lie on the ground and get all dirty?" And Corn Girl thought that was a great idea. Then little Squash Girl called up to her tall sister, "How about if I lie on your feet and shade them so you won't get sunburned?" Corn Girl thought that was a great idea too.

So the Three Sisters learned to work together, so that everyone would be healthier and happier. Corn Girl helped Bean Girl stand up. Bean Girl fed Corn Girl and Squash Girl good food. And Squash Girl shaded Corn Girl's feet and kept the weeds from growing up around them all.

THREE SISTER LEGEND VIDEO - IROQUOIS

                          THE LEGEND IN THE CHICKASAW NATION