The Sisters
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
The Sisters (Five Sisters Of Kintail) J5x32 5 couple set Fiona MacDonald Dances In Kintail1 - 4 1s, 3s and 5s Set advancing, balance-in-line in centre of set
5 - 8 1s and 5s turn RH, 1s cast to 2nd place, 5s cast to 4th place while 3s turn RH and return to sides (2s and 4s stepping out to 1st and 5th places)
9 - 16 2s, 3s and 4s Set advancing, balance-in-line in centre of set, 2s and 4s turn RH, cast to 2nd end place, while 3s turn RH and return to sides (1s and 5s moving out to 1st and 5th places)
17 - 24 All set and face up, 1s cast to 5th place followed by 2s,3s,4s and 5s dancing up and casting to 54321, all set
25 - 28 while 1s turn RH (or birl), 5s,4s,3s and 2s ½ reel of 4 on sides (23451)
29 - 32 All set and TR
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser Fiona MacDonald)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
The hills to the north-east of Glen Shiel are known as the Five Sisters Of Kintail, and form a high ridge some 8 km (5.0 mi) long rising steeply from Glen Shiel to a maximum height of 1,067 metres (3,501 feet).According to legend, the five sisters are the oldest of seven sisters, as the youngest two sisters fell in love with two Irish princes who washed ashore during a storm. Their father would only allow them to marry once the older sisters has also been married, and so the princes agreed to send their other five brothers once they had returned to Ireland with their new wives. Although the princes failed to appear, the five sisters continued to wait, eventually turning into mountains to extend their vigil into eternity.
The five distinctly pointed summits (Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgùrr na Càrnach, Sgùrr Fhuaran, Sgùrr nan Saighead and Sgurr na Moraich) are a well-known landmark and a popular hillwalking expedition. Three of the Five Sisters, which are all over 3,000 feet, are classified as full Munros, with the other two being subsidiary Munro tops.
The ridge containing the Five Sisters continues unbroken to the east where it takes in a further three Munros (Sgùrr a' Bhealaich Dheirg, Sàileag and Aonach Meadhoin) which are often known as the Brothers of Kintail. Beinn Fhada (Ben Attow) is the other main mountain in the area.
The Five Sisters Of Kintail
Published in Dances In Kintail Collection, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Fiona MacDonald.
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Text from this original Kintail article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Anne Burgess under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.
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