The life of the Guanches, the aborigines of th Canary Islands. An interesting fact of the aboriginal culture of the Canary Islands is that they practiced the mummification, which could be an influence of the Egyptian empire, close to the towns of northwest Africa.

Means of Subsistence of the Aboriginal Canary Island Population

Written by: José M. Balbuena Castellano

Many years have passed since the Canary Islands were considered by Latin writers and Greek historians as the Garden of the Hesperides, the Fortunate Islands or the Elysian Fields. It was an attractive archipelago beacuse of its climate, the prosperity of its winds, the purity of its air, and the beauty of its landscapes. The reality, the myths and the topics were intermingled.

Still nowadays this attraction exists, although many years have passed and at times the predatory action of man has eroded part of their charm and even caused the disappearance of some species of their flora and fauna, whilst other are to be found in danger of extinction.

It´s certain that the peaceful aboriginal Canary Island population suffered a violent trauma when they were visited and bothered by the European conquerors that possessed a supposed higher culture, advancements and large know-how, which does not mean that they were better than them.

The Canary Island landscape experienced a profund change as its lands where converted into areas of agriculture. Parts of its forrests were deforested in order to use the wood for multiple uses as the colonists from Europe settled.

Little is known of the origin of the old settlers of the Canary Islands. Although they were of a white race, and though even some of then had blond hair, any historic material about a homogenous race is not to be found as there were differences between islands and sometimes even whithin the very same island. "The cultural behavior of the people of each island was also different", according to the historian Juan Francisco de Navarre Mederos. The most extended hypothesis is that they proceeded from the north of Africa and that they were related to the present Berbers.

An interesting fact of the aboriginal culture of the Canary Islands is that they practiced the mummification, which could be an influence of the Egyptian empire, close to the towns of northwest Africa.

ECONOMY OF THE CANARY ISLAND NATIVES

Although we don´t have the complete picture regarding the economy and the means of the aboriginal inhabitants of each island, a general idea is offered indicating the practice of a producer-predatory mixed economy, according to the mentioned historian. Firstly, he talks about the live stock, cattle raising and agriculture, and secondly about how they took advantage of natural resources like vegetables and animals.

In the island of Gran Canaria agricultural methods of irrigation was developed, giving the possibilities of grain storage. Some of these places that are believed to be silos where they stored the cereals still exists, like in the case of the Caves of Valerón in the municipality of Guía, or the Caves of Visvique in Agaete.

In general, the most common activity of production in the Canary Island archipelago was the stockbreeding. The typical cattle raiser farm contained sheep and goats, as well as hogs and dogs. The guanches had an indigenous hog of black color that persists still today and it has been discovered that a race of sheep without wool existed almost exclusively for the production of meat. Neither of them gave a lot of milk and the Spaniards confused them with goats. This indigenous canarian race was later carried to America by the Spaniards during the discovery. An interesting fact is that this sheep, which is called "pelebuey" has been recovered and brought back to the CAnary Islands. The sheep was found in determined places of Peru and Venezuela. In the theme park of Aboriginal World of Gran Canaria there are sheep of this species and some cattle raisers and Canary Island farmers possess them as well.

From the stockbreeding the aboriginal canarios obtained meat, milk, skins and bones. They completed their diet with harvest, hunt, fishing as well as secondary agricultural activities.

Barley was cultivated in Lanzarote and La Gomera; wheat in El Hierro; barley, wheat (yrichen in guanche language) and arvejas (a type of peas) in Tenerife. In Gran Canaria the guanches cultivated a barley that was called "azamotan" and there was also wheat, beans and fig trees. They ate "gofio" (toasted grain flour) mixed with milk, water, honey or fat. In the island of La Palma, the fruit of "amagan te", a native plant, was used for producing gofio.

Plants, seeds, roots and fruits were used both for alimentation as well as for therapeutic uses. It is known that they ate, beside shellfish, vieja (a typical fish from the Canary Island shores), as well as other sea fruits. They mantained a strict hierarcical society with all the power in the hands of one single person.

About the author

José M. Balbuena Castellano is a spanish journalist from the Canary Islands with many years of experience from mayor spanish newspapers like La Provincia.

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