TITLE:

Myths and traditions of Nature

DESCRIPTION

Students search and present myths and traditions related to nature in the area of Guimar or on the island of Tenerife in general

AIM

Students relate oral tradition, history and nature

Students learn more about the nature of the Canarians

Students reflect on old traditions

STEPS

The teacher guides the students to resources, digital, old books, oral traditions that relate to the nature of the Canarias. Students make a research and present to the plenary.

Students try to understand the natural phenomena behind the myths

Guayota, the demon that lives in the Teide

The natives of Tenerife believed that Guayota was the evil entity living in the bowels of the Teide. According to the beliefs of the time, he was the one which was awakening the volcano, spreading fire, lava and ash over the island as it suited him. Its name means “Destroyer”, by the destructive qualities to be associated to the volcanic phenomena, which this entity supposedly was responsible for.

Guayota lived inside the Teide, at a place that connected with the underworld. According to this legend it was Achamán, the supreme god of the Guanches, who after a fierce battle managed to lock Guayota inside the volcano and close it off, achieving peace and tranquility on the island of Tenerife. Assiduously, the Canary aborigines came to the crater to make offerings to this mythological creature. With those they supposedly would appease his fury, preventing to wake him up and that he leaves his dwelling within the Teide.

Barranco de Badajoz

Among the currently most vivid Tenerife legends are the mysterious events of people who have come to Barranco de Badajoz, located in Güimar in the southeast of Tenerife.

Among the supposed inexplicable phenomena that some people claim to have witnessed are: especially if you are there at night, it is a fact that at certain points of the ravine time seems to stop, since the clocks stop working. In fact, one of the most famous stories often told about the Barranco de Badajoz, is “the girl of the pears”. A girl that in the late nineteenth century went to the ravine on request of their parents for fruit and disappeared. After that, the whole canyon was screened to try to find her, but without success. However the girl showed again decades later … but with the same appearance with which it disappeared. For the girl it had only been a few hours, even though in real space-time 20 years have passed.

The mysterious island of San Borondón

The island of San Borondon is a mysterious island of which exist numerous historiographical documents. Most notably one of the Irish monk Saint Brendan of Clonfert on an expedition between 480 and 576 A.D. After this trip undertaken by the monk that was recorded among the Vatican codices, many were those who tried to reach that island. The existence of this island even appeared in official maps and charts of the time.

According to stories and testimonials over the time, the island of San Borondon is located in two different areas, sometimes south of Tenerife, and sometimes between the islands of El Hierro and La Palma.

Currently there are still people alive who claim to have seen the mysterious island.

The Legend of Atlantis

There is an intriguing connection to Greek mythology that suggests that the Canary Islands could be the mythical lost continent of Atlantis.

According to legend, Atlantis was a large landmass ruled by Poseidon, God of the Sea.  For many generations, wise people famed for being fair and generous inhabited it.  They gladly passed on their skills and knowledge, their laws of justice and peace to others and they were the most advanced people in the world.

However, over time they changed, they became greedy, warlike and the story suggests they discovered the secret of the cosmic forces that the gods controlled. It was because of this Zeus, King of the Gods, decided to punish them by destroying their utopian civilization.

In the course of a single night volcanoes, fire, earthquakes and huge tidal waves caused Atlantis to sink into the sea and disappear almost without trace.

The Greek philosopher Plato believed that all that was left of the lost continent was the tops of the seven highest mountains peeking above the ocean. These still exist today and are known as the Canary Islands.

 The Black Madonna of Candelaria’

We go back about 700 years in time. Although the Canary Islands have already been ‘discovered’ by passing ships, they have not yet been conquered (read: converted). The primitive inhabitants of Tenerife, the Guanches, live as shepherds in organized tribes. Each tribe has its own Guanche king called Mencey .

One day, the legend goes, two Guanche shepherds find a wooden statue in the surf of Socorro beach in Guimar. The statue is about one meter high, and represents a woman carrying a candle or torch in her left hand and a small boy in the right arm.

It is assumed that the (Mary) statue fell from a passing ship and subsequently washed ashore. Others claim that the statue was left on the beach by Fransiscaner intentionally, with the goal of gently introducing the local population to Christianity.

In any case, the shepherds take the statuette, and it takes place of honor in the local Mencey’s hut, where it has been revered for years as the Goddess of the Sun, Chaxiraxi.

Chaxiraxi becomes the Virgin of Candelaria

The surprise must have been great when the Spanish conquerors, during the conquest in 1496, discovered the statue. Due to the smoke from the torches, the statue was black with soot, but it was unmistakably a statue of Mary.

In 1559, Pope Clement VIII proclaimed the Virgin as the patron saint of the Canary Islands. Unfortunately, the original statue was lost in 1826: during a severe storm, it was dragged back into the sea by a mudslide.

A year later, a copy of the statue, including a layer of soot, is made by the local sculptor Fernando Estévez.

Tenerife’s Own Olympus

In much the same way as Mount Olympus held reverence among the ancient Greeks, the Guanches afforded mythological status to Mount Teide. Believing that the volcano was responsible for holding up the sky, the ancient Guanches were to treat the volcano as akin to a deity itself. In fact, such was the importance of Mount Teide to the Guanches, remnants of ancient items found within hiding places on the mount signify the ritual deposits to ward off evil spirits.

It is, however, the story of Guayota and Magec that has become such an integral part of folklore, and one that ensures fascination surrounds Teide to this day. According to legend, Guayota (the devil) imprisoned Magec (the god of light and the sun) within bowels of the volcano, plunging the world deep into darkness. Only by appealing to the supreme god, Archaman, could the Guanches hope for the return of Magec and light to the world.

Archaman, in a battle with Guayota, was able to cast the devil into the volcano and seal the crater to keep him trapped, freeing Magec in turn. With light returning to the land and the evil trapped within, the Guanches were able to contain the devil inside, lighting bonfires during the time of eruptions to scare Guayota and keep him encased within the volcano.