The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 kilometres (60 mi) west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only native people known to have lived in the Macaronesian archipelago region before the arrival of Europeans, as there is no accepted evidence that the other Macaronesian archipelagos (the Cape Verde Islands, Madeira and the Azores) were inhabited. After the Spanish conquest of the Canaries starting in the early 15th century, many natives were wiped out by the Spanish settlers while others interbred with the settler population, although elements of their culture survive within Canarian customs and traditions, such as Silbo (the whistled language of La Gomera Island). In 2017, the first genome-wide data from the Guanches confirmed a North African origin and that they were genetically most similar to ancient North African Berber peoples of the nearby African mainland.
Tenerife in the Canary Islands is well-known as a holiday destination, but many tourists visit the island unaware that there are pyramids there and an ongoing mystery. Who built the pyramids, when were they constructed, and why? There are three theories and an ongoing debate. Güímar is a town in the south of Tenerife and it is the location where six of the pyramids are to be found. Academics, however, did not agree and put forward the alternative theory that the pyramids are no more than piles of volcanic rocks that farmers had made when clearing their land. It is also proposed that the pyramids were made in the 19th century because pottery said to be dating back to that time was found in excavations carried out by archaeologists from the University of La Laguna.
Guanche and Canario, any of the aboriginal peoples inhabiting, respectively, the western and eastern groups of the Canary Islands when first encountered by the conquering Spaniards at the beginning of the 15th century. Both populations are thought to have been of Cro-Magnon origin and may possibly have come from central and southern Europe via northern Africa in some distant age. Both aboriginal groups had brown complexion, blue or gray eyes, and blondish hair, and these characteristics still persist in a large number of present inhabitants of the islands, but otherwise they are scarcely distinguishable in appearance or culture from the people of Spain. Neither original group now exists as a separate race, but the name Canarios is now applied to all present residents.
Many legends surround the native people of the Canary Islands. Some believed the Guanches (as they were known) were descendants from the mythical island-nation of Atlantis. Others speculated they came from- or formed- other advanced civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians or Mayans of Central America. Unfortunately, history had another fate for the Guanches. They became the first casualty of the era best known as the Age of Discovery. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Spain and Portugal began colonizing the Americas and Africa. The island and its people stood in the way. Today, Guanches are considered a lost culture. Spanish colonization and the slave trade had all but wiped out these natives of the island chain. If they didn’t die fighting against the invaders, they were decimated by diseases introduced by the European conquerors. And those that survived became assimilated culturally and genetically through interbreeding with the Spanish rulers or Sub-Saharan African slaves.
The Guanches were the white-skinned and fair-haired aboriginal people of the Canary Islands. With their location so near to North Africa, their origins have long presented a mystery for researchers. Finally, a genetic study was able to link the Guanches to some of their neighbors, at least clearing up some of the questions regarding their familial ties. There is a legend which says the Guanches are descended from Atlanteans who had survived the submerging of the site because they were on mountain peaks – which we know today as the Canary Islands. But a 2017 study provided clear evidence for a hypothesis supported by anthropologists for years – the Guanches are genetically linked to the Berbers of North Africa.
Guanches – Mysteries of the Canary Island People
The Guanches were, for the most part, a fair featured (blonde-haired, blue-eyed, light-skinned, tall & bearded) Neolithic people found living on the Canary Islands by Spanish explorers in 1402. The Spaniards reported: “highly beautiful white race, tall, muscular, and with a great many blondes amongst their numbers”. The reason why it is considered somewhat of a mystery is that, if we look East to the closest land region, North West Africa, the peoples there are dark featured, (dark brown hair, brown eyes, olive skin) this anomaly would appear odd to anyone investigating the Guanches. The ultimate origin of the Guanches is no doubt Nordic (Scandinavian), but that is not the real focus of this article. The reality was at 1000BC there were many blonde-haired, blue-eyed tribes spread across Eurasia (Europe & Asia). Tribes of people kept themselves to themselves back then, more so than today. (breeding only among their own tribal/ethnic kind). There were not large amounts of people like today, back then. The Berbers of North-West Africa back then were fairer featured than today’s Berbers.
The original settlers of the Canaries called Guanches. Most experts agree that the Guanches arrived in the Canary Islands from Africa in the first or second century BC. These first inhabitants of Tenerife and the other Canary Islands lived in caves and for them this was a great place to stay as it kept them cool in summer and warm in the winter. The Guanches also had knowledge about geometric symbolism and carried out the embalming and mummification of their dead, as well as drilling the skulls of the living. It is still unknown how the first inhabitants of Tenerife ended up on the island, since no evidence has been found to explain how the Guanches crossed the ocean from Africa. Although there is a theory that the Guanches have escaped from pirates or were exiled by their own people and were abandoned or stranded on the Canary Islands. Some even claim that the first inhabitants of the Canary Islands were originally Atlanteans and that the Canary Islands used to be the summits of the underwater myth Atlantis.
The most famous pyramids in Tenerife accessible to visitors are the pyramids of Güímar. This is a 64,000 m2 pyramid complex, which is located in the southeast of Tenerife. Some people said that the pyramids in Tenerife were built for rituals or astronomy. Although these pyramids of Güímar are not the only pyramids of Tenerife, you can also find pyramids in the town of Santa Bárbara, near Icod de Los Vinos. It is also known that there have been other pyramids that have been destroyed in the course of history. In Güímar itself there were 9 pyramids in the past, but only 6 of them are still standing to this day. The Guanches had knowledge of geometric symbols. This is known because a form of decorative pottery was found by archaeologists in Tenerife. Researchers also found traces of pots from the time of the Guanches in the lava cave near the pyramids of Güímar. For this reason, many people thought that the Guanches were responsible for the construction of these pyramids. Around 1991, a team of archaeologists from the University of La Laguna began carrying out various research projects. During this investigation, they found pots with pieces that turned out to be imported and therefore did not turn out to be very historic. By examining the different layers of sand on the pyramids as well as the found pieces of pottery, the construction of the pyramids in Tenerife was estimated around the year 1900.
The Guanches were the pre-colonial people of the Canary Islands. Both genetics and cultural links thoroughly connect them to North African peoples. Their mythology is in some ways a relic of the pre-Muslim religious landscape of the region. Due to Spanish conquest and genocide, comparitively little material has survived. However, the remaining oral traditions and historical accounts paint a vivid picture of the local religions and their perception of the cosmos. Each island had a Top God. La Palma had Abora (also rendered Ibru), Tenerife had Achamán, La Gomera Orahan, Gran Canaria Acoran and El Hierro Eraorahan. Beyond these there were vast pantheons, with particularly well known gods being Magec (the sun), Chaxiraxi (the sun mother), and Guayota (evil). A multitude of lesser gods and spirits were known as the Maxios and Tibicena. Religious rites were performed in open spaces or in the mountains, there also being evidence of temple complexes. Priests were advisors to the local kings and performed both rituals as well as provide medicine and archive knowledge.
Indigenous Peoples Literature 