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1965 cont.
The Early Inhabitants of the
"Guanche" became widespread throughout the
islands at the end of the fifteenth century A.D. when the Spanish began to use
it beyond its original meaning. Its wrong use by modern writers and
archaeologists was due to a misinterpretation of Verneau's words. In reality,
Mr. Verneau only used 'Guanche' as a specialized technical word to indicate a
particular physical type. In Gran Canaria we find the prefix Guan in the first
names, such as Guanhahaben, Guanarche, Guanariga, Guanariragua, etc.
Actually, even though the Canarians spoke different
dialects varying from island to island, it is evident that all these came from
an original linguistic background of Berber extraction. Foreign influences,
such as the Arabic 'Ben' for 'Guanche' as came later, perhaps at the time of
the rediscovery or during the Spanish Conquest. The Berber origin of Canarian
speech has been recognized since the end of the eighteenth century A.D. by
George Glas who came to the conclusion that it was a variation of the Silha
dialect spoken in a region of N.W. Africa (see The History of the Discovery and
Conquest of Canary Islands, printed in London in 1767 for A. Pope and J. Swift
in the Strand.) The Canarians never used writing as such. However they used
different forms of pictography and some inscriptions have been found,
particularly in the Island of Hierro. Such petroglyphs can be divided into four
groups, each group belonging to a particular cultural stage of the natives. The
first type comprises a series of symbols having a magic or religious meaning
which recall the Upper Paleolithic Magdalenian patterns. The second type
comprises a mass of symbols put down without any apparent order or direction.
Some of these hieroglyphs might recall Palaeocretese signs. More than a writing
such a series of signs look like copies of actual symbols made out by the
natives perhaps with a view of picking up their magic power (webmaster
note-Magical Life-Giver philosophy i.e. Gaunche). The existence of such
petroglyphs might indicate that ancient explorers and sailors landed in the
Island of Hierro coming into contact with the natives. Such a supposition might
be confirmed by the discovery of a third type of petroglyphs which look like a
true from of writing. The symbols are similar to palaeonumidic letters or at
least some of them recall palaeonumidic writing. They are in vertical columns.
The fourth type of petroglyphs shows more specialized form after palaeonumidic
pattern. Here again we have only short texts arranged in vertical columns. Any
attempt to decipher in Canarian inscriptions has since failed. A typical form
of communication is that still used by the inhabitants of the Island og Gomera,
dating back to very old times, which has been adapted to the Spanish language.
Such means of communication consists of a modulated whistle imitating words
(Andre Classe, La fonetica del silbo gomero, an article in "Revista de
Historia Canaria", Nos. 125-126, year 1959, pp. 56-57). The social
organization of the ancient Canarians was quite an advanced one, as the stage
achieved by the natives was far beyond that of a purely tribal society typical
of prehistoric cultures. The territory of the islands had been divided into
districts recalling cantons of Switzerland. At the head of each district there
was a local king. These rulers, called "Reynos" (webmaster not the
same as Roman Remos but i.e. Sun-Born Twin Kings?) by the Spanish, exercised
their power with great authority and wisdom. Their title was
"Guayres" in the native speech of Gran Canaria, "Menceyes"
in that of Tenerife, "Altithai" in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura."
(Webmaster note- The "Altithai" is an extremely important word because
it is definitely pre-greek and is pretty much pre-phoenician and explains the
'Alda' prefix as a 'Alti' type word it is at least contemporary with Malaga
names and is considered a pre-celtic pseudo Basque i.e. sea people language.
Eskimo's have been known to use words like this form showing its archaic
quality. The Menceyes confirms the next stage linguistically after Althi words
or Atl-Atl's as a 'water, doublet word'. Menceyes is not necessarily Spanish in
Canaries because in pre-Dynastic Egypt that word was floating around Harpooner
clans who carried a ancient tradition that dated back to the Azilians???)
There were no human sacrifices, and only the heaviest of
crimes, as murder and adultry, were punishable with death. Capital Punishment,
however, was inflicted without cruelty.
Tribal and familiar life showed a tendency to matriarchy,
probably deriving from an old Berber custom. People belonging to the upper
class wore long hair, while the commoners used to have their hair cut. The
ancient Canarians worshipped the sun which they called 'Almogaren'. (Webmasters
note- 'Almogaren' is very Irish and Scotish sounding both of which do have
ancient Basque connections such as 'Alma' or God or Almaner and Garen i.e. a
'crown' which is God's Crown related to the circled looking sun.) The ritual of
the Canarian religion was pure and simple. A class of high priests, called
Faycans (not Pagans but use the Faga or Figa, or Vega-n term), directed the
activities of the cult. There were also corporations of nuns who lived in caves
like the hermits of the early Christian times. They were called Arimaguadas, or
Maguadas."
(Webmasters note- the indication of this a is a prefix and
suffix doublet of 'God' in Ari, and Das or Roman Dias the middle is Magua or a
'Persian like' Zoraster type of Fire-Sun God. This would explain the type of
people indicated as having a Semitic almost Mongoloidish facial
characteristics.)
The Canarians belonging to the upper class used to embalm
the body of their dead. (Webmaster note a Egyptian practice) There were
different methods of embalming which, similarly to Ancient Egypt, varied
according to the rank and financial position of the family. (Webmaster note
also a practice very Egyptian)
A cranial study on some of the mummies found in the cave of
Tenerife has been carried out by the German anthropologist, Dr. Ilse
Schwidetzky. As some scholars were asserting that an oligarchy had been
established in Tenerife by a highly cultured Mediterranean folk over the ruder
Cromagnonoids who were the majority of the population, the purpose of Dr.
Schwidetsky's work was also to ascertain if such a statement was true. Actually
she found no evidence of a particular race, as the skulls examined by her
belonged to a more or less homogeneous group showing a mixture of Cromagnonoid
and Mediterranean features. These mummies have been dated to a period ranging
from the eighth to the ninth centuries of the Christian era by radio carbon
estimation of specimens from a cave where they had been found."
(Webmasters note - new information has come to light that the practice of
mummies on the Canaries went further back to at least 200 B.C., so the 800-900
A. D. only represents cultural discontinuity over time that a practice (though
the Egyptians began to discontinue) the Canaries continued to use for much
longer after the birth of Christ.)
"This is not mentioned in Dr. Schwidetsky's article
which had already been published when such a dating could not be obtained. We
are going to examine other dates by Carbon 14 method in the following pages.
As far as the question of mixed races is concerned, apart
from the evidence given by the wall paintings discovered by Dr. Fabrizo Mori,
we wish to point out the mixtures took place since prehistoric times. In the
Museum of Archaeology of Pegli, near Genoa, Italy, there is on exhibition the
skeleton of an Upper Paleolithic man, belonging to the Aurignac race, found in
the cave of "Arene Candide" of Finale Ligure, near Savona, Italy. The
typical cap made of sea shells, as well as weapons and implements from the
burial of this man are the exact reproduction of those found in the tomb of
another Upper Palaeolithic hunter, belonging to the Cro-Magnon stock, dug up
some 40 miles afar in the caves of "Balzi Rossi" of Grimaldi, very close
to the border between Italy and France, on the Italian side. We add that the
famous "negroids of Grimaldi" were found on the same place. Some
datings by the radio active carbon estimation of samples of organic matter from
the Canarian sites have recently been obtained. A fragment of wood from a
coffin found in the necropolis of Cascajo de Puerto de Las Nieves, near Agaete,
in the NW Coast of Gran Canria, has been dated back to A.D. 783, which
corresponds to similar dating obtained from other samples of archaeological
material coming from inhumation burials found on this site. The wood coffin we
refer to had been hollowed from the trunk of a pine tree by using the same
method employed by primitive peoples for building a canoe. It contained the
bones of an old woman, probably a priestess. The tomb consisted of a stone
structure enclosing the coffin, shaped like a small tower, rising to a hieght
of six feet (Webmasters note-A Ben-Ben or Obelisk type Menhir?) It recalls the
"Chullpas" of Ancient Peru. Another fragment of wood from a funerary
cave found at Acusa, not very far from Agaete, in the Artenaria district (Gran
Canaria), (Webmaster note- Athena as Artena ?) has been dated back to about
A.D. 647. Organic matter from the deepest layers of the tumulus of "La Guancha"
at Galder, (Webmaster note- Gader a name for Cadiz,Spain) in the northern
district of Gran Canaria, has been estimated to belong to the third century of
our Christian Era. All these dating refer to comparatively recent times, and we
do hope that further discoveries bring to light some older material belonging
to the earliest settlements. "(Webmasters note-that is in some cases very
difficult depending on which island is or was volcanically active, which there
is no doubt at some time man may have witnessed horrible explosions while on
the Canaries of volcanic eruptions that bury and draw waters of disaster and
oblivion!)
"We have already pointed out that the Arabs do not
seem to have ever been able to establish durable contacts with the Canary
Islands and perhaps they never reached them, all the information they had about
the islands coming from legends and classical sources. Actually, when we turn
to the descriptions of the Atlantic Ocean islands handed down by the Arabian
authors, we always meet with extravagant and unbelievable stories. Even the
most reputed writers, such as El Edrisi and Abufilda, reported incorrect
statements and superstitious accounts of wonderful events, and facts. The only
Arabian writer we can rely on was Ibn Khaldoun, who wrote between 1332 and
1406, a man fully possessed of a logical mind, a quality which is seldom found
among historians of his time. In actual fact, he was the only one to report
some true statements on the Canary Islands and on the inhabitants. However,
when we turn to his description of the methods of determining the ships
position and course followed by the sailors who explored the Atlantic Ocean in
the Canarian area, we are rather surprised at seeing that he refers to some
very old technique which were in use many centuries before his times, when the
compass had not been invented. Either we assume that the Arabs did not know the
compass all through the fourteenth-century, or we come to the startling
conclusion that he qouted froma classical sources without realizing how much
time had elapsed since the events referred to. Knowing as we do that Ibn
Khaldoun was as accurate in reporting facts as a modern scientist, we must
confess that we are rather perplexed about his funny account. Even though he
was a "paper man" we cannot reasonably think that he had no idea at
all of navigation techniques. We must also take into account that explorers and
navigators from Genoa had already begun to sail their ships in the Ocean waters
in search of new lands to discover." "Apart from what we call the
"Ibn Khadoun enigma", it seems that the Arabs of these times were an
imaginative people, believing as they still did to a lot of frightful stories
telling of the Ocean perils, which had probably been invented by the Phoenicians
with a view to keeping all other peoples away from their secret routes."
"Even though there was a common cultural background
with a common language and a social organization extended in the same way over
the islands, it seems quite evident that the inhabitants of Gran Canaria
achieved a higher level than the natives of Tenerife." "The Gran
Canarians erected megalithic structures which recall pre-Roman Sardinia as well
as ancient Peru. Most of these monuments , which however are not so massive as
Peruvian or Sardinian Buildings, seem to have been erected for funerary
purposes. There were no big temples or palaces, no pyramids and obelisks in the
Canary Islands."
(Webmaster note- It depends on whether you call a Irish
Tower an Obelisk or not, and whether a terraced temple complex a pyramid or
not.)
"In Tenerife no architectural remains were found, and
the natives preserved the old custom of using natural caves to bury the body of
their dead. The burial rite of inhumation even when the body of the dead was
not embalmed. Perhaps the most famous Canarian monument is the tumulus of
"la Gauncha" at Galdar which we have already mentioned reporting that
its deepest layers have been dated back to the third century of our era (A.D.).
"
The Early Inhabitants of the
Canary Islands, Alf Bajocco Part IV artifacts found
