The Guanches (I)

Before the arrival of Europeans to the Canary Islands, the islands were inhabited by natives from North Africa. They were a Berber people who settled in the Canary Islands after emigrating. The studies carried out ensure that the ancient population of the Canary Islands settled in the islands as early as 500 BC. And that they lived in isolation until the arrival of the ships with the first Europeans that gave way to the Conquest. The Guanches were able to adapt to the island’s orography and volcanic environment, which led them to develop their own culture.

Studies tell that his physical appearance was robust, tall with tanned skin and graceful features. They lived in natural caves located on the slopes of the ravines or on the mountainous outcrops and were supplied by livestock and agriculture; in their diet there was no lack of gofio (a consumer product that the Canary Islanders still maintain today as food and as a symbol of identity) and the products they obtained from the animals they owned, which they also used to dress themselves, tanning their skins.

The religion they practiced was polytheistic, although they also practiced astral worship, a fact that is reflected in the fact that certain places, such as mountains, were sacralized. An example of this is El Teide, where Guayota was believed to live. Achaman was also another god, in his case of the sky and creator. It is known that the aborigines of the Canary Islands worshipped death, as they practiced mummification, especially in the higher social classes, so they believed in an afterlife and even destined caves for the realization of mummifications and necropolis caves.

They made ceramic and wood works, carved bones and other materials, using them as ornaments, as hunting or defense tools and also as clay or stone idols. They spoke their language, Guanche, of which today only a few terms remain.

The island of Tenerife was divided into nine menceyatos (or kingdoms) and each menceyato had a mencey (or king). The mencey was the highest religious, civil and military authority. And society was divided into noble class and serfs. This division into menceyatos occurred after the last single mencey of Tenerife died, leaving the nine territories in clear division. Tinerfe was the last great mencey of Tenerife and it was Beneharo I, his youngest son, who inherited the kingdom of Anaga. Their lands occupied a large part of what is now Anaga. Given its natural conditions, it was one of the richest menceyatos of Tenerife, since its lands, rich in water and suitable for grazing, made Anaga prosper due to the large number of Guanche settlers. The menceys of Anaga that are known from the writings of the first conquerors who came to the islands are Serdeto and Beneharo. It is said that the caves where the menceys of Anaga lived were located in Aguaite and San Andrés.

The Mummy of San Andrés

The funeral rite of mummification has always fascinated mankind. Numerous studies are currently being carried out, using the latest technology to unravel the secrets hidden in the mummies. The Mummy of San Andres is a Guanche human mummy that was found in a cave in a ravine on the outskirts of the San Andres neighborhood and is one of the best preserved of all those found in the Canary Islands. It is a male body, about 25-30 years old, covered with goat skin. It is believed that he could have been a mencey or someone of the nobility or important in the Guanche society of the time. Currently we can see it in the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (https://www.museosdetenerife.org/muna-museo-de-naturaleza-y-arqueologia/), in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.