The origins and language of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands remain a mystery, writes Dr Sabina Goralski Filonov
Translation by James Tweedie
The guanches, the aboriginals of the Canary Islands whose origin, lost in the mists of time, still arouses intense and passionate debate and great controversy about their origins and the how the seven Canary Islands were populated – which according to some studies occurred between 10,000 and 8,000 years BC.
Literally, the word ‘Guan’ means man or person and ‘Chenech’ or ‘Chinet’ is applied to the island of Tenerife, thus meaning a man or inhabitant of Tenerife – although according to Núñez de la Peña, the Spanish named them the Guanchos during the conquest of the islands.
But with the passage of time, experts in the subject are questioning whether the word Guanche was used to designate the primitive inhabitants of all the islands in the pre-Hispanic period.
The term ‘Guanche’ has also ceased to be applied to the distinct variants of language used to communicate in each island.
But who were the Guanches, and where did they come from? How and when did they arrive in the islands? It is an enthralling enigma.
According to the Roman historian Pliny, King Juba II of Mauretania, a vassal of Rome in the 1st century B.C. sent an expedition to the mythical Fortunate Islands to be found in the dark ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules, a reference to the straits of Gibraltar.
These explorers gave a name to one of the islands – Tenerife – calling it Nivaria for the snow that covered its mountains (nivea meaning snow in Latin), and given that they found fierce dogs on another of the islands – Gran Canaria – they called it Canaria, from Canis, the Latin for dog.
The Greco-Roman historian Plutarch called the Canary Islands the Fortunate Islands, believing that they guarded the fountain of eternal youth. The Greeks called them the Hesperides, a paradise where trees which bore golden apples grew, watched over by a monster which belched fire – El Teide. The philosopher Plato described them as the peaks of the lost continent of Atlantis. The ancient Romans referred to them as the Elysian Fields, where neither cold nor pain existed and whose inhabitants were blessed.
It is said that a Spaniard at the time of the conquest asked a group of Guanches about their origin, and they answered: “God put us in these islands, he left us here and then he forgot about us.”
According to various sources it is accepted that the Guanches were a race of white people of great beauty, tall, measuring between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet in stature (the tallest being those of the island of Fuerteventura.)
This ethnic group had large, thick bones, indicating that they possessed great physical strength and fortitude. They were also agile runners, as has been demonstrated in studies of the skeletons preserved in the Museo Arqueológico of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Museo Canario of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
They were also a well-developed people: Blonde, blue eyed, who surprisingly still lived in the Stone Age when the Spanish arrived. They had obviously journeyed to the islands by sea with their belongings and animals.
It is known that they belonged to the Cro-Magnon race of the third Ice Age, who emigrated during the harsh climactic conditions in one of the waves to what is now Spain and Africa.
Nowadays a second ethnic group of the Guanches is recognized, called Mediterranean, somewhat shorter in stature and with a darker complexion, elongated face and delicate features with a short and wide cranium, possibly due to admixture from the “visits” from other ancient cultures.
The Guanches, from their long isolation on each island where they arrived, regressed to the culture of cavemen and remained practically “pure”, maintaining their pristine Cro-Magnon genetic characteristics.
Some years ago a stone was found which was engraved with the symbols Z(A), N(A) and T(A). Known as the Zanata Stone, it is has a supposed connection to the same name of Berber (North African) origin. No-one has yet given a definitive explanation of this discovery. It can be seen in the Museo Arqueológico of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Goat skins were used by the Guanches to cover themselves, and in some islands they were tinted with saffron and red dyes, occasionally sewn with animals’ intestines. These skins were also used to cover the bodies of the dead, and in many cases this led to a process of mummification which consisted of the application a mixture of plants and minerals (whose composition is presently unknown) over the body before drying in the sun for weeks.
Once mummified the body, called the Xaxo, was placed in a “sleeping bag” of sewn skins, which were sometimes marked with dyes, then deposited in the back of a cave and raised off the floor with planks of wood. It was customary to place objects of diverse natures beside the Xaxo. If the deceased was a Mencey (king) the “Añepa”, a sceptre which symbolised royal power, was added to these objects.
The process and custom of mummification has led some authors to relate the Guanches to Egyptian culture and the mummies of the pre-Colombian American cultures, but the Canary Islands are the only place in the world where mummies were preserved in goatskins.
The Guanches where an eminently religious people, believing in a supreme god called Acoran in Gran Canaria, Achihuran in Tenerife, Eraoranhan in El Hierro and Abora in La Palma.
In El Hierro women venerated a goddess called Moneiba. In some islands the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and the stars were worshipped.
They also believed in evil. In Tenerife the Devil was called Guayota and he lived on the peak of the volcano Teide – hell was called Echeyde.
When worshipping gods or other divinities, the Guanches lifted their hands to heaven, made sacrifices of animals on the mountains, and poured goat’s milk in vessels called Ganigos. They also piled stones in the form of a pyramid, and, on designated holy days, danced and sang.
The Guanche calendar or Acano was based on the lunar month of 29 days, counting from the day that the moon appeared. The year began in summer when the sun entered Cancer on June 21 – the longest day of the year – and for nine days forth they would hold celebrations and weddings.
Socially the Guanches had groups that were distinguished by their level of wealth – measured in land and livestock. An indigenous nobility and a form of government existed in the form of the monarchy – The Menceys in Tenerife and the Guanarteme in Gran Canaria. Lanzarote and El Hierro had a single chief or king; Fuerteventura was divided into two kingdoms, La Gomera into four, La Palma into twelve, Gran Canaria in two and Tenerife into nine territories.
The kings were assisted by a senate which was chosen by the Guanche nobles. A priest was in charge of the cult of the supreme god and the goddess of fertility, in addition to mediating legal processes and directing the ritual combats which so enthused the aborigines.
In none of the islands did the Guanches know of writing. Their language, El Guanche, was only a spoken tongue, which perhaps among other things may have facilitated its disappearance.
No-one now speaks Guanche, and just several thousand words are collected in a dictionary called the Teberite – a word which refers to cuts made in goats’ ears to identify their owner.
Linguists have found similarities with the Berber language of North Africa in Guanche words. Others have found similarities with words of ancient Egypt. For example, the Pharaohs of the first dynasties called themselves Men-es, meaning the revelation of god through the sun.
There are also arguments and debates that the Guanche tongue derives from that of the Dravids, inhabitants of southern India. The similarity in the phonetics and the meaning of the words is astonishing. Some examples are:
Guanche Dravidian
Acentejo – Waterfal. A region of Tenerife A-cem-tiyu – Waterfall
Achaman – Heaven Ox-am-an – The heavens
Anaga – One of the kingdoms of Tenerife An-aka – Highest place, summit
Armenine – Pastures. Area of southern Tenerife Aram-meyni – Field of grass
Añaza – A beach and district of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Aniy-acha – Lovely beach
Bimbache – The Guanches of El Hierro Vin-bach – Land of the brave
Chenech, Chinech or Achinech – Tenerife Che-nek – Pure, clean land
Gánigo – Pot, jug Kann-iku – Water jug
Gomera – Canarian island Gomeda – Fat livestock
Gofio – Flour, bread (G) uvi-u – Flour cake
Gauacimara – Name of a Guanche princess Kaci-mara – Blonde beauty
Guanche – Native of the Canaries Cham-che – Blonde heroes
Guan – Man Gand – Male hero
Guayota – Devil Kay-ota – Wild, fierce man
Irichen – Grain, wheat Arichi – Grain, rice
Magec – God (the sun) Mangeh – The Hindu god Shiva
Mencey – King Menkay – King
Maxorata – Fuerteventura and its people Macchu-Irata – Gloden place
Tacoronte – A kingdom of Tenerife and present-day Ita-koruntu – Place of livestock
municipality
Tagoror – Council, senate Takkor – Honourable people, senators
Tajaraste – The name of a dance Tacha-arasati – Royal dance
Tamaran – Gran Canaria Ita-maram – Land of courage
Taoro – The main kingdom of Tenerife Ita-oru – Land of unity
Tenerife – White mountain Tine-eriv – Shining mountain
Vacaguaré – Preferring to die Vaka-k-arit – Choosing to die
Xaxo – Mummy, corpse Chacchu – Corpse
A map showing the distribution of Dravidian languages.
Is the similarity of these words a pure coincidence, or does there exist a coherent explanation founded on data, or which can be well demonstrated, that there is a connection between the Dravids and the Guanches or if they can be treated as linguistic “coincidences” between two peoples so separated by time and distance? How is it possible that such similarity exists?
Other forms of audible communication consisted of blowing conch shells to give warnings, and whistles with which it was possible to carry on conversations which could be heard for kilometres across the ravines.
This custom is still preserved on the island of La Gomera, where nowadays children are taught the Gomeran Silbo, a language currently protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Sabina Goralski Filonov is a medical doctor and historian, and a resident of Tenerife.